The long and winding road…

No less than 23 Reuters staff have rotated through Hong Kong since the latest eruption in protests last June. Together they have produced more than 1000 live edits– which have been used across the globe.

Facing the constant demands of the protests, Joseph Campbell discussed the daily realities of Baton charges, tear gas and water cannons: describing the tear gas, he said it’s bearable “as long as you have your mask on, but if you have a mask malfunction, you’re left with a water bottle and a towel.”

While it’s easy to take the coverage of this phenomenon for granted, it is the daily grind behind the scenes that keeps news bulletins full. Our talented journalists have provided unrivaled coverage of the protests throughout their duration. Including the assault on Hong Kong airport, an exclusive audio recording with the embattled Hong Kong Chief executive Carrie Lam, and personal humane coverage of the people behind the protests.

Explosive Footage

Our journalists captured the spectacular explosion on a South Korean tanker on Monday. The medium? A rear-viewing dashcam on a car that narrowly escaped being engulfed in the fireball.

Such was the power of the explosion, “at first sight it looks like SFX from a Hollywood film,” says Hazel Baker, our global head of UGC newsgathering.

Turkey-Syria Offensive

The Turkish incursion into northern Syria threatens yet more pain for the war-torn country and its millions of displaced people. Through professional diligence, careful planning and logistic creativity, Reuters were able to provide reliable and impartial reporting on events as they unfolded. 

An international news tv network praised the coverage:

“We really appreciated the fact that there was video from all over,” an intake editor said. “The aftermath (of the bombing) wasn’t available anywhere else.”

In an age of ultra-rapid news cycles, Reuters hit the ground running to ensure that our clients were able to access the first stories coming from Syria.  Reuters journalists were positioned across several strategic locations, including Incirlik airbase in Turkey, from where we provided live video of warplanes taking off and landing.

A roof with a view

Istanbul video journalist Mert Ozkan recorded live video from the intensive shelling of northern Syria by Turkish forces. His tough calls include deciding how close to get to the action, without being part of the action. “For sure, the closer you get, the louder it becomes,” he comments wryly. 

All our staff who cover conflict areas receive special hostile environments training, learning everything from first aid to how to work your way out of a minefield. Their safety is supervised and coordinated by general managers who assess the risk round the clock and a safety adviser is often nearby.

Live from dawn ‘til dusk

In the wake of the tragedy at the Jewish synagogue in Halle Germany, Reuters journalists rallied, and provided coverage to our clients within 15 minutes. Over the past weeks, our clients have really valued our live footage, using our live streams in real time. Reuters Live, is a six-stream premium service which offers comprehensive coverage of live events as they unfold around the clock.