UPDATED January 24, 2006


Managing witness contributions

Managers and editors also need to ask themselves what they are adding to coverage by using material from witness contributors.

When BBC television re-used mobile phone video footage of the July 7 bombings in a documentary about the day's events later in the year, the quality of the images were so poor that the producers used the images framed in a small space in the centre of the screen.

Ironically, without the commentary or the context, it would have been very difficult indeed for the viewer to know what was actually being shown.

But for managers and editors, witness contributions mean more than this.

Publishers and broadcasters should assume responsibility and liability for material once they decide to publish it.

However, they can't do that without knowing who the material has come from, and all details about its creation.

So, any costs they may have saved by using material that is being given to them free of charge are immediately incurred by administration, and keeping records of who has submitted what and when.

As Carter Ruck solicitors have shown in taking action against the Daily Mirror, misusing photographs can be expensive.

Many news editors and picture desks can tell similar, if less costly, stories.

Whether or not material is paid for, publishers and broadcasters cannot ignore the need for detailed record-keeping as a start.

Whatever benefits appear to come from using witness contributions, once the practical implications have been thought through as fully as they should be by any managers, they may no longer seem the cheap option that some have suggested.

Speaking at a debate on citizen journalism hosted by the NUJ and The Guardian, in January 2006, Vicky Taylor, editor of BBC Interactive, revealed that the Corporation was about increase the number of staff verifying material at its ‘user-generated content hub’ was about to increase from from three to six.

While the BBC may be taking the provenance of its material more seriously, and Kyle MacRae at Scoopt is also taking the provenance of material very seriously indeed, other publishers have yet to show publicly that their credibility is not at risk because they are trying to cut too many costs too hurriedly.

Professional and experienced journalists work hard to make sure that material submitted for publication is as accurate as it can be and that it is offered in good faith.

Scoopt works hard to carry out such checks before offering photographs to picture desks.

"We're always looking out for 'Photoshop jobs', founder Kyle McRae told a Guardian roundtable discussion in January 2006, and we don't think we've let anything through - yet."