Cash For Catastrophes?
Capturing news events on your smartphone - accidents, crashes, even death - can make serious money if they go viral. But is it right to profit if you’re a witness to tragedy?
Meet Kim O’Connor, the woman who filmed a boy fall into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo – moments before the animal was shot dead. Kim had no intention of making a profit at the time, but three months later she has made tens of thousands of dollars by licensing the clip to a specialist agency.
We delve into the world of viral video trading, speaking to the people who acquire and sell viral footage – some of it entertaining, some of it tragic – as well as the news organisations (the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ included) that buy it.
Photo caption: Aftermath of the Shoreham Airshow Crash / Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid, Getty.
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- Sat 27 Aug 2016 19:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Sat 27 Aug 2016 21:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 28 Aug 2016 09:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except News Internet
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