It gives us the upper hand and a lot of power. We're talking about cameramen being able to manipulate public opinion. He's no longer just the guy who carries the camera and gets told what to do. If he has a little initiative the cameraman can actually shape what the world is seeing. Of course to be a journalist you have to have broad knowledge about the world, but you have to have specific knowledge about the region you're covering.
American networks have maybe two people to cover the entire continent of Africa.
And when something happens they fly in someone who doesn't know the area and has to rely on the entourage of people around them and simply appear in front of the camera. It's already becoming obsolete as people are able to use small digital cameras, edit on their computers, use a live wire, get a smaller version of the Inmarsat B phone. The face of agency business, of getting pictures out of these areas, is probably going to change once again as the technology keeps changing. The real threat agencies and organizations are facing is that of local stringers everywhere with digital cameras and laptop computers and the ability, as technology advances, to send images over the Internet. It will revolutionize the way people watch the news.