As more and more of us become owners of the latest camera phones and are able to capture information at a touch of a button, a new trend is being set in the world of journalism.

To set the scene, let's imagine you are walking down the road when you spot a couple of A-List celebrities getting off the back of their car. You get your cam phone out of your pocket and start to snap your encounter so that you can share this moment with your friends, when out of no where a man begins an argument with the celebrities which quickly scales to a full-blown fight.

By the time the press are informed of the attack, the event is all but over, leaving journalists with the difficult task of having to collect information from eye witnesses at the scene and in some cases with few or no images to support the report.

Your pictures which are now a 'first-at-the-scene' account of the event, are collected by the journalist, often for little or no compensation, and used to produce an exclusive report. The images are then sold at exuberant fees to other members of the media industry, increasing their profits even further.

Scoopt, a new service designed to help and protect the information you capture on your phone or your digital camera has recently been launched and can be found at www.scoopt.com. Scoopt will act as an agency between you and a wide network of media contacts, ensuring that as well as being recognised for your material, you are also financially compensated.

About The Author Marco Barra is part of the Digital Phone Company team, a leading independent provider of mobile phones serving over 30,000 customers across East Anglia through a network of 11 retail outlets and a team of dedicated Business to Business consultants. www.digital-phone.co.uk

This article was posted on November 05, 2005