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News:Rewired - How a Sky News reporter uses her mobile phone to ‘go live’ in 90 seconds

Posted March 21, 2016

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At the recent news:rewired event held in London, UK, one of the big topics of discussion was Live Streaming. Live streaming has disrupted the traditional broadcast model and taken away the monopoly on live broadcasting from traditional media outlets.

One of our former students, François Kermoal, sent us an article from Journalism.co.uk from news:rewired on how Harriet Hadfield, a reporter at Sky News, prepares in 90 seconds to go live on her iPhone.

Thalia Fairweather writes:

With some stories happening so quickly they need to be covered before a team get there, or happening at a time when few resources are available, turning to mobile journalism is becoming the increasingly common response.

Harriet Hadfield, a reporter at Sky News, spoke to news:rewired about using a mobile phone for live broadcasts. Sky prides itself in being able to “go live” in only 90 seconds, so equipped with her toolkit on stage, she talked us through her essentials.

Harriet’s toolkit

Microphone with iPhone cable
Lightweight head-height tripod
Case/holder to attach to tripod
Second phone and earpiece
Gorilla mini tripod
Attachable light
iPhone Lapel mic
External battery charger
iPhone 6+ with Dejero installed
MiFi to boost signal

Hadfield explained how she has two phones – one for the live recording and one to actually use, whether this be to contact the Sky team, to find more signal or even just to make a simple call. Most importantly, however, is how this second phone helps with her earpiece, allowing those at Sky HQ to speak to her when she is live on air.

The tripod must be head-height, she insisted, and so many tripods on the market simply are not tall enough to do the job. For smaller-scale jobs, a Gorilla tripod would be fine, however for live broadcasting involving her voice, her head needs to be in frame.

The Dejero+ app, installed on her first iPhone, is Sky’s preference when it comes to capturing the live stream. Although Hadfield admitted to “not being the most technical person”, she mentioned how the app is considered better than the alternatives by the team at Sky. With a simple and easy-to-use interface, the app ensures she can make live recordings, edit any non-live pieces and upload the files to the servers at Sky with ease.

As for going live in only 90 seconds, it evidently requires practice and skill. After arriving at the location, the first thing she does is to check for signal and data. Without these, there is no broadcast. Next she has to open the Dejero+ app, and shortly after calls the Sky team to make sure the link is working. She then sets up her kit, assembling the tripod and making any attachments that need to be made. The sound team are called next, ensuring her earpiece works. After doing a speedy sound and framing check, Hadfield is then ready to go live.

Needless to say, this toolkit has helped Hadfield broadcast remotely on a number of occasions. When the Ethiopian Airlines flight 702 to Milan was hijacked in February 2014, instead landing in Geneva, Hadfield, who was based there at the time, was the first on the scene and broadcasting for two hours before any competitors. However she adds: