Landmark ruling on mobile phone footage

Link: BBC NEWS | Scotland | Glasgow and West | Landmark ruling on phone footage

The BBC are reporting that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) have issued a landmark ruling on the use of video material shot on a mobile phone.

The Hamilton Advertiser used mobile phone footage of an unruly classroom, which had been filmed by a pupil. The PCC agreed that the story was a matter of public interest – but said the paper should have taken steps to obscure the pupils’ identities.

The Hamilton Advertiser reported in March that a 16-year-old student at a school in the town had filmed her unruly mathematics class on her mobile phone in order to explain poor results to her parents.

With more and more user-generated content hitting the mass-media, broadcasters and newspapers around the UK will be looking closer at their usage of footage shot on mobile phones.