Citizen Journalist

Running along the Hoboken waterfront, I was one of many photographers chasing US Airways Flight 1549 as it floated down the Hudson River. Framed against the Manhattan skyline painted with the setting sun, the scene was surreal to say the least. The entire city seemed to stand still as the plight of the flight unfolded. All traffic came to a stop along the river so people could get a glimpse of the plane in the icy water. Much as we slow to down to look at a car crash, everyone seemed fixated to the could-be-catastrophe. I got my first shot of the plane from atop a firetruck stopped in the middle Park Ave. I ran up to the firefighters frantically asking if they had a view, and they let me stand with them on top of their hoses and ladders.

The shot was through thick trees and too far away for my meager equipment, but it was a start to an interesting spot news phenomena.

While I was happy with some of images I collected, I noticed something about the wealth of photos that surfaced from the incident. I raced back to the office to file a few frames for an online gallery, as The Jersey Journal published some of the very first shots of the plane in the Hudson. But as material came in from the wire, the most engaging images came from the general public shooting from camera phones. There were even photos taken from people aboard the ferry boat that was first to the plane. I was amazed the general public felt the need to document the event, eventually composing a great well of material of the whole ordeal on the Internet. The citizen journalist truly shined that day.

And I for one am thankful. Spot news takes so much dumb luck, it often feels impossible to cover these events that are over within minutes. Spot news might best be left to using the citizen with his or her iPhone, having the brilliant stroke of foresight to record these moments of history through photography. The journalist will always be there to verify and dig deeper within a story. Our focus is between the apparent action and catastrophe, examining the intricacies of the whole story.

Amongst the madness of that day, my friend and fellow Journal photographer Byron Smith photographed a student taking pictures of the plane from the Hoboken waterfront. Byron discovered the kid was actually suppose to be on that flight to Charlotte, NC, but cancelled three days prior. Now that's a journalist at work.

To read Byron Smith and Tom Shortell's story click here.
To view a slideshow of The Jersey Journal's fine photo staff's coverage click here.