Moblogging The Oscars (briefly)

A journalist took advantage of her press access to stars on the Oscars night to quickly moblog the event with her mobile phone. moblog the event with her mobile phone. She was pretty quickly asked to stop, but not before getting some great candids from the occasion that make a refreshing change for our visual palates, so dulled by endless rounds of PR-approved images.

The journalist discovered that uses of mobile phone or PDA cameras were banned at the event. I find the excuses on offer interesting, as they mostly rely on the security issue: “don’t take pics as it might help terrorists”. I’d love to hear them explain that statement, just to see their expressions as they desperately struggle for a coherent rationale.

“Uh, they could, uh, beam the pictures to, uh, Afghanistan where, uh, um, Osama Bin Laden could say somthing rude, errr, morale sapping about Nicole Kidman’s dress…”

It’s probably inevitable that people who are involved in security that they regard any new communication technology as an inherent risk. However, in one of the most televised events in the world, banning the use of mobile phone cameras amongst a carefully controlled press pack just seems disingenuous.