Reporting to fame..

The recent Virginia Tech shootout had left people the world over a witness to some of the most gruesome scenes ever in an education campus. And predictably the media fell on top of each other to get 'exclusive' coverage of the incident. One thing that got my attention was the i-Report feature in CNN.
People who happen to be a witness to any unfolding 'news item' can send their descriptions, videos or photos of the 'developing story' to this section, and CNN will 'prominently' showcase this on their web page and depending upon the commercial value, will also allot time slots in their news channel as well. Needless to say, people in their quest for a few minutes of fame, will be vying for a recording of all events which they deem are fit to be featured on a news channel.

CNN has struck a goldmine with this. They cannot possibly be in all places where a news 'breaks out'. But with i-Report, people who had a ring side view of events can send in their reports in exchange for their share of an ephemeral fame. So every time there is a hurricane, flood, or a raging lunatic with gun, people instead of scurrying for cover get more closer to the danger to record it on their cam. Jon Stewart had a dig at this some time back. If anyone gets caught up in an enthusiasm for 'covering the event' and something untoward happens, CNN (or any news channels for that matter) is not going to compensate them for sure. It was the person's risk and he/she paid for it. I wonder how many people have lost their lives, or have met with some accident in their eagerness...