Surely terrorists have better things to do than sit around watching telly?

Did the non-stop television coverage of the terror attack on Bombay reveal operational details of the commando operations, endanger the lives of hostages, intrude into the personal lives of victims and relatives, etc?

asks Sans Serif.

During the attacks there were unsubstantiated rumours that the Indian government had asked Twitter to turn off their updates as they believed that the terrorists were using them for access to information.

In today's Indian Express,the founder of India TV, Rajat Sharma writes that he invited a former army chief to address the staff “to understand, whether news channels went overboard in their coverage”, and what precautions, if any, producers, reporters and camerapersons should have taken while showing “live” action.

However

Frankly, I expected him to echo what some have been saying—how terrorists got valuable clues on the commando plan by watching our channels. But sample what he said: “Do you think that terrorists holed up in a hotel facing commando fire had time to watch TV?”

Implications for covering breaking news after Mumbai

Mindy McAdams gives a very brief synopsis of the repercussions for reporting on breaking news after the events in Mumbai last week

According to Mindy

1.Breaking news will be online before it’s on television.

2.Breaking news — especially disasters and attacks in the middle of a city — will be covered first by non-journalists.

3.The non-journalists will continue providing new information even after the trained journalists arrive on the scene.

4.Cell phones will be the primary reporting tool at first, and possibly for hours.

5.Cell phones that can use a wireless Internet connection in addition to a cellular phone network are a more versatile reporting tool than a phone alone.

6.Still photos, transmitted by citizens on the ground, will tell more than most videos.

7.The right video will get so many views, your servers might crash (I’m not aware of this happening with any videos from Mumbai).

8.Live streaming video becomes a user magnet during a crisis.

9.Your print reporters need to know how to dictate over the phone. If they can get a line to the newsroom, it might be necessary.

10.Your Web team must be prepared for this kind of crisis reporting.