Recording troubles

So, according to an article published by the online publication Tech President, a BBC reporter in Uzbekistan caused a stirred after secretly recording an interview using her iPhone. Now, I am not about to get into the little tiny details of this story, but if that is what you are looking for feel free to take a gander, but instead I would want to focus on what has caused the entire ruckus in the first place.

Technology is constantly evolving, and more and more journalists are finding that it is an integral part of their work. I know, as an editor and reporter for The New Hampshire, that I utilize a wide variety of technology to do various aspects of my job. Part of that is recording, which I often use a voice recorder for the job. But recently I realized that I could download an application on my cell phone and use that instead.

This is all fine and dandy in my line of work, as you won’t ever see me be interviewing people who aren’t aware or would object to me recording them. But this recent incident is just another reason to remind journalists that they need to be wary about what they are doing out their in the field. Because in certain areas, you couldn’t get away with sneaking a recording, like New Hampshire for instance where you can get into some legal trouble if you record somebody without their consent.

This could cause some significant problems in a more professional setting as well, as I could imagine that certain publications would not take to kindly when a lawsuit comes there way.

Just something to be aware of, of course, as we wind down the semester here at the University of New Hampshire.