Covering an immigration protest as a blogger
Arizona has become a rallying point in the immigration debate. That means news. Do not be afraid of the news. It’s here to help.
But my new job at the paper has me away from this particular news story.
So I decided to go check on the protests on my free time, as a blogger. Here are some things I noticed from that perspective. And, of course, here are some videos and photos I took. I’ll have a separate post on streaming video.
These are basic things that all journalist should be doing with cellphones. Just saying.
Let’s get to the multimedia first.
I went out twice, over a period of two days. I took the iPhone 4, Droid X, and HTC EVO with me. But I realized very quickly that the iPhone is the best for taking quick shots in a situation where you don’t have much time to focus the camera and take a shot.
The iPhone 4 does all that much faster than the rest. So I stuck with it exclusively for taking pictures.
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- This was part of a protest press conference outside a county jail.
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- It’s just the crowd.
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- These guys were arguing over civil rights movements.
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- This guy talked about climbing a crane to protest.
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- The national media was everywhere in downtown Phoenix.
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- They marched several city blocks.
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- Can’t have a protest without a bullhorn. It’s science.
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- A national group came to town to help organize stuff. The were outside the federal courthouse on Thursday.
The video
I went back the second day specifically to get video. I ended up taking some of the photos in the gallery, but I realized that I needed actual video to compliment the streaming video I did on the first day.
So here it is.
I have spaced on this guy’s name. But he’s known in the immigration activism world. There was a protest/press conference outside a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office facility. (Recorded with the iPhone 4)
The same guy speaks in Spanish. He said it’s all Obama’s fault. - iPhone 4.
A different guy talks. Spanish is included. This was recorded with the Droid X.
Overall thoughts
Attending this type of news event without waving my media badge around was an odd feeling. It took away some of the courage I would normally have because I wasn’t there officially for the paper. Saying “Arizona Republic” opens more doors than “My blog.”
So I found myself being a little more careful about where I stood, how I got my footage, and how I approached people. I also gave up spots to working photogs.
As a result, it was a stress free experience. I had absolutely no responsibility in coverage. There weren’t editors bothering me for updates; photographers to coordinate with; twitter feeds to keep happy; or a sense of deadline reporting.
It was boring.
I much prefer to cover things with the weight of the world on my shoulders. It’s just more satisfying when you pull it off.
Still, taking pictures and recording video for my personal blog was exciting in a new way.
There is something nice about asking “Can I interview you for my blog?” It comes with a heightened sense of joy when they agree knowing that it won’t be in some major publication and will probably only get read by a handful of people. That’s you, by the way.
It was a more personal experience for me. I can dig why citizen journalists like it. It’s just cool.
I'm me. You are you. It's a pretty cool deal. 
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