Abstract

The use of drones to capture images for journalistic purposes is in its infancy. Consequently, there exists a demand for skilled professionals to manage these devices. In this article we provide a snapshot of drone pilots in Spain and also analyze the type of drone content used in journalism. A qualitative methodology is used with 14 in-depth interviews with heads of documentation and production in TV newsrooms and drone pilots. We also obtained a sample of 43 images broadcast during a 10 month period, thanks to departments of documentation within newsrooms. We conclude that drone pilots work on a project basis to maximize profitability, i.e, the pilots are working project-by-project, rather than working full-time for one media outlet or news program. Natural disasters are among the images most commonly used, representing 72% of the drone images in broadcast news.