It was Social Media Not the Main Stream News Media That Reported First on The Boston Marathon Bombing.

Boston, MA—Times are changing faster than even the news productions experts could imagine. Ordinary people are carrying smart phones and sophisticated cameras that can even upload instantly to sites like UStream.

Yesterday the bombing was covered from nearly every conceivable angle by hundreds of cameras shooting high-resolution images. These images undoubtedly captured the criminals responsible for this mad and cruel act.

There were numerous mainstream photojournalists on the scene shooting but for few if any live broadcast cameras their images were not broadcast or published until they were first transmitted to their electronic news gathering hubs for redistribution.

Some people were uploading still and video images to Internet sites as they were actually happening. One thing for sure the world will not have to guess what happened because of the massive presence of cameras. Courts and the jury will also see many of these images as critical evidence needed to bring justice to the offender/s.

Police will have to learn not to obstruct those with cameras capturing images, video and audio at live crime scenes. They are beginning to understand the value of the potential evidence. It would make much more sense for cops to allow those shooting cameras and to get their contact information for follow-up investigators. The old police habits of aggressively chasing photographers away needs rethinking.

The first celebrated citizen journalist of our time was the unlikely, Abraham Zapruder who by chance captured on color movie film the actual assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He had a new Super 8 movie camera. His stunning film was the centerpiece for news broadcasts and the massive investigation that followed. Imagine what an evidence and media bonanza there would be it that happened today. Many more questions about that crime would have been answered.

Arson investigators have long known that photographs showing bystanders at fire scenes very often reveal the suspects admiring their work in crowds of onlookers.

Oddly enough the first reports of yesterday’s bombing were posted on Twitter and Facebook! Television broadcasters took much longer to get live images to their viewers. Our sophisticated media giants are more concerned about copyright protection and the business aspects of their images than members of the public shooting pictures.

One L.A. TV reporter, Alycia Lane of KNBC-TV was off duty and in Boston close to the scene in a restaurant. She did not miss a beat and became a “Citizen Journalist” when the police came in evacuating them to the street. She had a companion shoot her in a broadcast standup with an iPhone as she walked in the street described what was going on. The bad news was the companion was not smart enough to hold the camera horizontal like our TV screens. The valuable video made air anyway.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

A 40 Caliber Nightmare Is Caught On Tape.

So you’re confident that that .40 caliber S&W service round will keep you safe. Maybe you’ll have second thoughts after you see this video. One hot summer night in 1994 Tempe and Mesa Arizona police were involved in a pursuit with this suspect who ran into a stranger’s apartment to hide after being shot TWICE in the chest. He was shirtless and you can see the blood pumping out of those two wounds. What’s really frightening is just how agile this fellow is as he struts to the ambulance. If he was not handcuffed and had a knife or a gun, ask yourself if he could still hurt you, your partner or a hostage? If your jurisdiction demands that officers carry either the 9MM or the .40 Caliber S&W it’s time to show this video to your bosses and lobby to have the .45 ACP round authorized. The switch may well reduce the screaming by self-appointed community activists about how many rounds police had to use on a suspect. The really talented and courageous video journalist, Karen Ke...

The origin of the feature film, COME FRIDAY…

CLick On the pictures to see full size versions. Long ago there was a young lady I had the hots for in a big way (Yes, I know that hots is not a word). She was pretty, incredibly bright, and had some real elegance about her. She had a love for children and basic kindness that you don’t often see in someone her age. I met her parents and could understand she came from a much more stable home than mine. I was raised by a single, welfare mom and suddenly found myself way out-classed. For whatever reasons things did not workout they way I had hoped. Sadly for me, we went on our separate ways. From time to time I’d run into this lady in various places where our job had taken us. Whenever this happened my heart would skip a beat or two. I left my hometown Chicago, and moved to Arizona where I founded my detective agency. As a private eye and soon a TV news producer too, my career took me to the highest profile criminal events in Arizona and throughout the country. There’s no question that ...

America Will See Its Worst Race Riot Yet This Summer

Star Prosecution Witness, Rachel Jeantel Sanford, FL —Yes, the George Zimmerman trial here has thousands of African-Americans getting ready for some serious bloodletting. I don’t want to make idle and dire predictions but this nation has never been so divided and racially sensitive. Our African-American President took sides on this case at the very beginning. That ratified a George Zimmerman guilty verdict in the minds of millions. There’s just one little problem, and that is the murder case should have never been filed. It was filed purely for political reasons despite the fact that it was a simple justifiable homicide. Zimmerman was on the block watch lookout program and followed a suspicious Trayvon Martin after he used an improper entrance to a gated community. Zimmerman was acting as the eyes and ears of the Sanford Police Department. Martin did not like being followed and knew that he could easily beat up the out-of-shape...

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