Video killed the radio star - but it's changed the face of the modern day journalist

TWO weeks' leave is coming to an end and I return to work on Monday knowing that I have a month left working for Sussex Newspapers before heading on to pastures new and an exciting venture.

Technology was meant to make working life easier. In fact, I am writing this blog on my laptop, connected to a wi-fi signal which is being sent from a fancy mobile phone which can also take web quality video and pin sharp pictures. It is the ultimate in remote working - when you can get a signal, that is!

The downside, of course, is that it means you have constant access to work emails where no-one really takes any notice of your holiday alert notice. So while you try to ignore checking up on work emails during vacation, it is hard not too.

Was it ever thus in the days before the internet? I remember starting with a clean slate on returning to work after holidays since any extra work had been absorbed by other members of staff. But I guess those were the days when we had staff and a degree of slack and flexibility.

Technology is an amazing thing, however, and a visit to PC World this week left me goggle-eyed and totally Googled at how fast the market is changing.

I found myself referring to old school features - I don't want gaming options, I don't want bells and whistles, I just want a laptop which is reliable, is wi-fi enabled, can allow me to use Skype and which I can work from without too much hassle.

Being served by sales people younger in age that my eldest son, people who would never remember the clunky days of Compuserve, the two tone sound of an dial-up internet connection and those snail-like first computers with memories the size of a gnat, was a little unnerving. They didn't have to suffer the technological disappointment we endured during those prehistoric technology days!

For work, we have all been issued with HTC mobile phones which are absolutely brilliant. This is the fresh face of the 2015 journalist where journalists won't necessarily work from offices but instead they will be out in the field using their laptops and mobile phones to write words, send images and produce video.

Last month I was looking out of the flat towards the pier when I saw an Air Ambulance helicopter land on the beach. The arrival coincided with a noisy collection of emergency sirens to an incident which didn't seem to be far away.

So ever the journalist, I hopped on my bike and didn't have to venture far to witness a phalanx of emergency vehicles strewn along the road, sealed off by police tape, where a car with three people inside had crashed into the wall of a building.

You could hear firefighters using cutters to break open the car, the horrible sound of metal tearing as the jaws of life cut through the wreckage in a bid to free the passengers with ambulance crews on standby.

All the while, I had manoeuvred myself to the front of the police tape where, using my phone, I began shooting video and taking photos. I wasn't alone either. Passers-by were also capturing images for the family album at Christmas.

Fortunately, there were no major injuries from the accident (yes, accidents do happen despite this mad, mad world of suing anyone and anything for what was a blatant accident) as all three people walked free from the wreckage.

I high-tailed it to the office on my bike, put in a couple of calls to the fire brigade and ambulance to get some details of what had happened, started editing the video on my laptop, and within half an hour a story had been written with an accompanying picture and a short 30 second video uploaded - not Spielberg exactly, but it did the trick.

That was technology working well and working to its best ability. The article was the best read story published on the website that weekend. www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/car-crashes-into-building-on-eastbourne-seafront-1-5328157

Now all that is needed is a program which can automatically answer and deal with those holiday emails!