On the Edge is a sporadic feature that hardly ever deals in the truth
By The Disassociated Press
Rose Law Group Reporter will have posted more than 4,000 articles in 2013 when the year comes to an end. But the volume of news is not what drew the attention of an international awards committee.
The Pewluster Prize Committee on Dec. 23 announced its 2013 Pewluster for Journalism has been awarded to Rose Law Group Reporter of Scottsdale, Ariz. for innovation in news-gathering. The Reporter employs the use of drones to fly the state and nation in search of news other media ignoresd or doesn’t understand.
The drones were designed and manufactured at a Mesa plant abandoned in 2012 by a company that produced ring tones for iPhoneys.
Here’s how it works: At 4 o’clock each morning, a former National Security Administration agent launches the robots from a hidden bunker near Bisbee, Ariz.
After targeting a source of news—often people sitting on park benches feeding the birds—the drones send a completed story back to the Reporter’s main newsroom, where it’s edited and posted on wwwroselawgroup.com.
“We’re saving gas, gumshoe and phone expenses,” said Phil “ Frisky” Riske, who heads up the program. He refused to reveal how much has been invested in the drones, or whether any have been shot down.
The Reporter earlier this year won praise from the American Civil Liberties Union for gathering news without violating anyone’s civil rights.
