Ground Report

With the advent of technology,miniature and less expensive cameras are available in the market,TV stations now able to cover stories that they earlier avoided.Usually,Newspapers don’t need pictures for this kind of stories.Newspaper reporters work quietly and write a copy based on their observations.Earlier,Broadcasting Journalists and their crews faced difficulties due to their heavy equipments.Though,occasionally newspapers,magazines use hidden cameras,spy-cams but it’s not necessary to use them.In India,Tehelka,a magazine deals with serious issues often use spy cameras to prove their points.Now,online editions of newspapers in America and other countries use videos along with still pictures and even try to compete with Television Networks.In Broadcasting Journalism,’sting operation’ where reporters loaded with spy-cams,hidden cameras cover sensible stories but occassionaly  they use spy-cams,hidden cameras to create drama.But,they can do the same thing by using the traditional methods of reporting.Though,experts believe that we cannot cover certain stories without using spy cams,hidden cameras,often methods adopted by reporters,producers cross journalism ethics.Deceptions,provocations play a major part of any sting operation.In 2008, Aaj Tak (a major Hindi News channel in India) carried out a sting operation where K.Jyothi Kumaran,secretary of Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) allegedly took money from reporters posing as businessmen who want to organise an International Hockey tournament,to inducted a young player in the national team.Though,the intention of the ’sting operation’ was to expose serious wrong doing,but reporters lured K.Jyothikumaran by offering him money.The channel could have done the same story with traditional methods used by muckrakers.Muckrakers spent much of their time searching archives,documents.The word muckrakers was introduced by American president Theodore Roosevelt for the Investigative reporters who dug the shit.