What Periscope Means For Journalism In The 21st Century

Tornados and shootings and press conferences! Oh my!

Anthony Quintano / Via Flickr: quintanomedia

I spent the day on Periscope—an app that allows users to view and stream live video from their smartphones—in an effort to understand how journalists have taken to the new technology.

Newspapers, magazines, and local news teams from Topeka to Tucson have already put the app to good use, streaming broadcasts from behind-the-scenes and offering valuable insights into stories as they develop.

From the quiet of my apartment in Los Angeles, I watched with a growing sense of expectation as the day’s headlines took shape, appearing before me just as ominous cloud funnels had formed before a number of amateur and professional storm chasers on Periscope.

The app, which was launched by Twitter last month, could use a few tweaks—modifications to simplify the user experience—but by and large, Periscope seems to have made a good impression on media organizations.

Here’s a recap of news coverage, as seen on Periscope, from Thursday, April 9.

"That right there is spinning."

Mike Bettes / Via Periscope

The Weather Channel led the social media charge last week, with several broadcasts streaming throughout the day as dangerous storm cells raged across rural parts of the Midwest.

Emmy Award-winning meteorologist Mike Bettes used Periscope to update followers from the road, discussing cloud formations and projected paths from inside one of the half-dozen or so service vans running feeds Thursday evening.

As far south as Fort Worth, reporters and amateur tornado chasers from local news stations also tracked "rotations" overhead. Corespondents at NBC 5 followed a team of professionals through the heavy rain and wind of North Central Texas—their first time, according to one passenger—and hundreds tuned in to watch.

"This is intense," one viewer commented as the vans closed in on a nearby tornado. "Yeah, Captain Ely," the reporter replied. "It is intense."

Nerissa Knight / Via Periscope

Christina Pascucci teased a "@KTLA exclusive" on Periscope, streaming live video from the crime scene of an apparent shooting in the Los Angeles community of Eagle Rock.

She detailed breaking news developments to an audience of less than 50. But for those viewers, myself included, the access was unique and appealing. We asked questions: Who? What? Where? She answered many of them.

Knight aimed her iPhone at the chipped windows of a car, at the defaced wall of a nearby residence. There were indents where bullets—at least 18 of them, by her count—had strayed early Thursday morning.

The smartphone stream ended when the television broadcast began.

North Charleston City Council / Via Periscope

Periscope gives users unprecedented access to press conferences, town hall meetings, and other public forums that have been traditionally attended by journalists.

Law enforcement officials and community leaders in South Carolina addressed concerns related to Walter Scott, the unarmed black man shot dead by a North Charleston police officer who was later charged with murder, in an official livestream.

I watched press conferences held at police headquarters in San Antonio and Los Angeles—on accounts managed by staff in the communications department as well as local reporters—and I saw feeds from impromptu media sessions outside North Charleston city hall, too.

They might not be the most exciting events on the app's global network, but these broadcasts can be an invaluable resource for media organizations that want coverage but can't be there in person.

"There’s no doubt that the ubiquity of smartphones and the the easy ability to tweet, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube have already changed the modern campaign."

Bobby Jindal / Via Periscope

"Apps like Periscope and Meerkat, which take away the delay of packaging and uploading a clip, only up the ante."

I saw Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal speak at community "leadership" events around the country in real-time. I'm not sure what they talked about, but seeing two politicians (especially prospective candidates for the GOP presidential nominee) broadcast events on Periscope, I was reminded of something Alexis Sobel Fitts wrote in a recent article for the Columbia Journalism Review:

"[As] smartphones get fancier, this feed will only get more frenetic, and candidates will have to adapt," Fitts says, synthesizing the cost-benefits analysis of livestreams in politics. "When your bartender can end your campaign with a cellphone video, a zone of privacy is impossible. And it’s better to be periscoping yourself then waiting for someone else to use it against you."

Dave Stroup / Via Periscope

Just as I was about ready to put the app away for the night, Dave Stroup's stream appeared on my global feed. "DC police chase situation," the digital strategist posted flatly.

I waited for the video to load and then, suddenly, a blur of red and blue light as the user ran toward a street sectioned off with yellow tape. Less than a minute ago, Stroup had seen "20 to 25" police cruisers speed by—so he started a broadcast and followed the sirens, which seemed to have stopped up ahead.

Not a journalist per se, Stroup still serves as an example of how media could change in the Livestream Age. Periscope offers immediacy and access, news coverage that can be utterly independent of industry conventions. By that same token, however, video doesn't always have the answers.

I wrote to the user, who was catching his breath near the police line, and advised him to interview someone to learn more. Stroup didn't know what was going on; he had only seen a car chase and thought to record. That's was the end of his role, it seemed.

Minutes later, I got an update from the Associated Press: "Man shoots Census Bureau guard, leads police on chase."

Anthony Quintano / Via Flickr: quintanomedia

It isn't about replacing the press or marginalizing the need for firsthand reporting. It's about bolstering the reach of journalists and media organizations through interactive social media networks.

That's what Periscope has to offer. Now it's up to users to see where the app goes.