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Cash For Catastrophes?

Capturing news events on your smartphone - accidents, crashes, even death - can make serious money if they go viral. But is it right to profit if you’re a witness to tragedy?

Meet Kim O’Connor, the woman who filmed a boy fall into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo – moments before the animal was shot dead. Kim had no intention of making a profit at the time, but three months later she has made tens of thousands of dollars by licensing the clip to a specialist agency.

We delve into the world of viral video trading, speaking to the people who acquire and sell viral footage – some of it entertaining, some of it tragic – as well as the news organisations (the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ included) that buy it.

Photo caption: Aftermath of the Shoreham Airshow Crash / Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid, Getty.

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18 minutes

Last on

Sun 28 Aug 2016 09:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 27 Aug 2016 19:32GMT
  • Sat 27 Aug 2016 21:32GMT
  • Sun 28 Aug 2016 09:32GMT

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