Tag: drones

Grady College to host NPPA drone workshop

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The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication partners with The National Press Photographers Association and the Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska to continue their innovative program to train journalist in using drones, or unmanned aerial systems, for their news coverage.

The program featuring hands-on workshops and flight training is being presented with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Democracy Fund and First Look Media. Additional funding is being provided by Grady College, the University of Oregon, School of Journalism and Communication, the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership and the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Participants at the 2017 drone workshops

Grady, home to NPPA, will host the workshops on Oct. 12-14 and will offer training on safe drone operations and information journalists need to study for the Federal Aviation Administrations part 107 Drone Pilot’s Certificate.  The program will also help those needing to go through the recertification process. In addition, the three-day workshops will focus on the ethical issues of drone journalism, community best practices and coordinated operations in a breaking news environment and explore ways drone photography can be used in innovative storytelling. Additional workshops will be held at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sept. 21-23.

NPPA’s legal counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher, who has worked for years speaking on behalf of journalists in support of commonsense federal, state and municipal regulations regarding where and when drone journalists could fly, will lead sessions on the legal issues of drone journalism.

“NPPA has been at the forefront in advocating for the use of drones for newsgathering. With that opportunity comes an inherent role of operating them in a legal, safe and responsible manner,” Osterreicher said. “The legal landscape is especially complex because state and local governments increasingly are imposing their own restrictions on drone flights.”

“It’s one thing to be able to put a drone up in the air, it’s something else entirely to do it in a journalistically-sound way,” said Grady Professor Mark E. Johnson. “It’s critical that journalists understand all the legal and ethical issues before they consider taking the Part 107 exam.”

“As a certified drone pilot, I know how difficult the exam can be for people who have no other pilot training,” said Nebraska’s Matt Waite, who will be instructing at both workshops. “Our goal is to give you the tools and fundamental knowledge you will need to study for and pass the FAA’s test.”

“Drones are purpose-built context machines. They can, in less time and at vastly reduced costs, give a viewer an understanding of the scale and scope of a story unlike anything else journalists have in the toolbox,” said Waite, who has become a leading voice for drone journalism through his work at the University of Nebraska. “Just getting a drone straight up 100 feet in the air has the power to change our understanding of how big, how far, how wide, how massive something is. And it can be done safely and for very little cost.”

The program also will feature hands-on introductory flight training on a variety of platforms. Participation at each hands-on workshop will be limited to the first 60 people to register. To register for the Athens workshop Oct. 12-14, visit the NPPA website.

Grady College to host Drone Summit 2017

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Grady College is joining CNN Aerial Imagery & Reporting (CNN Air), Turner Entertainment, the National Press Photographers Association and the New Media Institute to host the first Drone Summit October 20-21, 2017. The event will take place at Grady College.

The Drone Summit will gather the leading practitioners, manufacturers, technologists and educators involved with the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry for a two-day program. The event will begin with a Drone Filmfest—a pilot-submitted collection of drone footage—and will also feature panel discussions, best practice forums for using drones in media and entertainment applications and networking.

“Drones are an increasingly important part of the media landscape, be it journalism, film, public relations or advertising,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “We want to bring the industry together, get to know as many of the players as possible and build ties between them and our students.”

CNN, a leader in integrating UAS technology into its newsgathering operations, was selected by the FAA as one of the first three industry “Pathfinders” to develop safe uses in newsgathering. CNN has shared data and research that have helped formulate a framework for various types of UAS to be safely integrated into the national air space, and they continue to work to expand the safe and legal operation of UAS in newsgathering.

“Drones can be an invaluable addition to the journalist’s toolkit, allowing us to create unique and powerful imagery, to be more creative in our storytelling and more importantly, to add context and understanding for all of our viewers and users,” said Greg Agvent, senior director of CNN Air. “As a new and nascent industry, we’re making headway on the opportunities that are before us, on the regulations that impede us, and on the technology that will enable us, but continued collaboration and the exchange of ideas and information are necessary to stay on that upward trajectory.”

Grady College was also the first site for the Drone School for Journalists in March 2017.

For more information on this exciting new event, sign up for updates at http://georgiadronesummit.com/

Drone Summit

Grady College is joining CNN Aerial Imagery & Reporting (CNN Air), Turner Entertainment, the National Press Photographers Association and the New Media Institute to host the first Drone Summit October 20-21, 2017. The event will take place at Grady College.

The Drone Summit will gather the leading practitioners, manufacturers, technologists and educators involved with the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry for a two-day program. The event will begin with a Drone Filmfest—a pilot-submitted collection of drone footage—and will also feature panel discussions, best practice forums for using drones in media and entertainment applications and networking.

Training initiative on drone journalism hosts first workshop at Grady College

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Grady College has been selected to be the first site for an innovative new drone journalism program sponsored by The Poynter Institute, Google News Lab, Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska, National Press Photographers Association and DJI.

The hands-on workshop and online teaching will train journalists in using drones, or unmanned aerial systems, for their news coverage. The Grady College workshop is scheduled for March 17-19.

The workshops will offer training on safe drone operations as well as information that drone pilots need to study for the Federal Aviation Administration’s new Part 107 Drone Pilot’s Certificate. In addition, the three-day workshops will focus on the legal and ethical issues of drone journalism, community best practices and coordinated operations in a breaking news environment, as well as explore ways drone photography can be used in innovative storytelling.

As a certified drone pilot myself, I know how difficult the exam can be for people who have no other pilot training,” said The Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins, who is organizing the workshops. “Our goal is not to make you ‘test-ready’ but to show you what will be on the exam and to give you the fundamental knowledge you will need to study for the test.”

“We’re dedicated to supporting journalists’ experimentation with new technology,” said Erica Anderson of Google News Lab. “Drones present an opportunity for journalists to tell stories in visually rich and immersive ways, but there are still many open questions on how to apply them safely, ethically and creatively for news reporting. We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with The Poynter Institute on the drone journalism program to help tackle these challenges.”

Additional online training will be available later this year via Poynter’s e-learning platform, News University.

Drones are purpose-built context machines. They can, in less time and at vastly reduced costs, give a viewer an understanding of the scale and scope of a story unlike anything else journalists have in the toolbox,” said the Drone Journalism Lab’s Matt Waite, who has become a leading voice for drone journalism. “Just getting a drone straight up 100 feet in the air has the power to change our understanding of how big, how far, how wide, how massive something is. And it can be done safely and for very little cost.”

The workshops also will include NPPA’s legal counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher, who has worked for years speaking on behalf of journalists as the federal government drafted regulations for where and when drone journalists could fly.

“NPPA has been at the forefront in advocating for the use of drones for newsgathering. With that opportunity comes an inherent role of operating them in a legal, safe and responsible manner,” Osterreicher said.  The legal landscape is especially complex because state and local governments increasingly are imposing their own restrictions on drone flights.

NPPA headquarters are at Grady College.

The program also will feature hands-on introductory flight training sponsored by DJI, the global leader in drone technology and 2016 winner of NPPA’s Lemen award for technology innovation in photojournalism.  “We are thrilled to join with Poynter to empower journalists with state-of-the-art technology that inspires innovative storytelling,” said DJI policy lead Jon Resnick.

In addition to the March workshop at Grady College, three other universities are serving as hosts and partners for these workshops: Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, April 21-23; University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, June 16-18; and the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in Portland, Aug. 18-20.

In addition, the Google News Lab will support a limited number of travel scholarships for members of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association and NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ journalists.

Participation at each hands-on workshop will be limited to the first 60 people to register. Workshop details are available at http://about.poynter.org/training/in-person/drones-17.