Chapter five was about the importance of adapting and using mobile devices as a journalist. I immediately connected with the chapter since it started with a sports example. It was about soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo and an automobile accident he had this time last year. The reporter on scene was able to take a picture with her cell phone and the photo and story spread like wildfire throughout England.
Cell phones have been both great and devastating to journalism. The positive aspect is that they allow an instantaneous method for publishing effectively. The negative to me is that it seems privacy goes out the window. Celebrities, athletes, and people of power are no longer allowed to be themselves anymore. If the slightest off color remark or joke is made to a friend, a recording cell phone picks it up and it leads to a public image nightmare.
I am not condoning these people make off color remarks like it is their job, but they have to be allowed to be themselves somewhat, they are people after all. We would not appreciate a complete stranger recording a conversation with a friend while walking behind us.
I felt the stories we use mobile devices were legitimate. However, I thought the description of court cases was too vague. Most judges do not tolerate cameras in their courtroom. This is why we see the sketches of the scene on the nightly news. I felt Briggs could have elaborated on this and say perhaps outside the courthouse after a proceeding or verdict.