The Reporter's Evolving Use of Technology

"An activist reached by Skype ..." is now a common refrain in news coverage about the Arab Spring and opposition movements in general. In countries where reporters cannot report in person, either because it is too dangerous or they are banned by the host government, foreign correspondents are increasingly using Skype and other new technology to contact their sources.

The technology allows reporters to reach eyewitnesses, confirm details of events on the ground and compare these accounts to official regime statements in state controlled media. According to Lucie Morillon, Head of New Media Desk for Reporters without Borders, journalists rely on Skype because it is easy to use and they believe it is "safe enough."

Journalists’ excitement about this technology is tempered by its security risks. Just as reporters take precautions to protect their sources who report via email, the media has learned that protecting their Skype account is essential.

As far back as 2008, Tsering Woeser employed Skype for her reporting. In May of that year, a hacker broke into her Skype account, endangering her sources. "As far as I can tell, the hacker is already in communication with some of my contacts, which puts them in a situation as dangerous as mine" she is quoted as saying in a report by Reporters Without Borders.

In the runup to the 2008 Olympic Games in China, Reporters Without Borders issued a recommendation that journalists install the international version of Skype because they suspected that the Chinese version was insecure.

In April 2010, senior police officials in Belarus were given permission to access the Skype accounts of independent journalists reporting a story headlined "Relatives of arrested policemen complaining about dictatorship." Reporters Without Borders condemned the government's search as an attack on the confidentiality of journalists' sources.

But protecting Skype account passwords may not be enough for journalists. Morillon says that journalists who call activists after they've been arrested may do enough to seal their fate. Morillon says that Reporters Without Borders is attempting to coordinate with journalists so they do not accidentally reach out to jailed sources whose accounts are under government control.

Skype isn't the only technology that reporters are using to reach eyewitnesses. Bambuser, a video broadcasting software produced by Bambuser AB of Sweden, has been used during the Arab Spring to report on opposition activity. The Syrian government blocked access to Bambuser in February 2012 because they saw it as a "serious threat", according to Bambuser chairman Hans Eriksson. Eriksson went on to say that, "[s]ome regimes and dictators just don't like our service". The software has been used by "all major media in the world" and the Associated Press just signed an agreement with Bambuser that will allow users to opt-in and automatically share their videos with the AP's "more than 700 broadcast networks."

Reporters Without Borders is itself looking at other technologies. Morillon's desk has applied for funding through the Knight News Challenge to deploy Mumble, a system for secure VoIP, to replace Skype in the journalist's toolchest. They are also training reporters to use a secure form of instant messaging known as Off The Record that integrates with Pidgin, the popular open source, multi protocol chat client.   

In the rapidly evolving world of communications technology, new tools like Skype and Bambuser may not last forever in the reporter’s kit. However soon these new communications technology may fall from vogue, their adoption has taught reporters long-term lessons. No matter what new technology may come along to help reporters reach their sources, it must be used responsibly and securely.