Knight Foundation grant to help UNL study use of drones in news gathering

            A project to explore using drones to do reporting got a boost this month when the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's drone journalism lab received a prototype grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

            Matt Waite, a professor of practice at UNL's College of Journalism and Mass Communications, will lead the project. Waite and three undergraduate student assistants will study unmanned vehicles, or drones, as potential tools for news and public data collection. The university will conduct live experiments and research the ethical and legal issues of drone usage in the civilian sector.

            "Because drone journalism is nonexistent, we can help news managers make a decision: Is journalism a proper use of drones?" Waite said. "We can help the journalism industry to determine what are good uses and what are bad uses, so when the time for decisions comes around, it's not based on ignorance; it's based on our findings and research."

            Gary Kebbel, dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, said the lab is a needed resource in the journalist's toolbox.

            "This is the kind of project that will appeal to the college's students with a sense of adventure, yet let them come away with valuable skills," Kebbel said. "The grant will help Waite experiment with what is essentially a new tool that could be used in gathering news."

            Michael Maness, Knight's vice president for journalism and innovation, said the Prototype Fund is a way for Knight to provide quick money for news and information projects. UNL received one of only two of the $50,000 grants, along with the Jefferson Institute in Washington, D.C.

            "Knight wants to be able to invest in a project regardless of whether it's coming out of a nonprofit or an established company," Maness announced at the MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. "And it wants to do so quickly, inspired by agile development and moving frequently to learn what works and what doesn't."

            UNL's Drone Journalism Lab was established in November as part of a broad digital journalism and innovation strategy. Waite started the lab to explore ways drones can be used for reporting. He said journalism is evolving rapidly, and journalism education must evolve with it, teaching new tools and storytelling strategies while remaining true to the core principles and ethics of journalism.

            The Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950 the foundation has granted more than $300 million dollars to advance journalism quality and freedom of expression. Knight Foundation focuses on ideas and projects that create transformational change. To learn more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

Writer: Marilyn Hahn, Communications Specialist, Journalism and Mass Communications, 402-472-0876