Alex Crawford delivers Sky News breathtaking Tripoli coverage
Pioneering technology, ingenuity and brave journalism combine on the streets of the Libyan capital
In an age of 24-hour rolling news, there are few television reports that still make the hairs stand up on the back of this jaded hack's neck, but last night, as Gaddafi's Tripoli "crumbled", Sky News delivered the goods.
While other news organisations relied largely on "latest images" clearly shot hours earlier in daylight, Sky's special correspondent, Alex Crawford, was broadcasting live from the back of a pick-up truck as the rebel convoy rolled in through the darkness to the heart of Tripoli.
Protected only by a flak jacket and a helmet, the three times Royal Television Society (RTS) journalist of the year bravely delivered real time video coverage from the streets of the Libyan capital with bullets raining down as a volatile situation unfolded. The pictures were primarily shot by cameraman Garwen Mclukie. Another
cameraman, Jim Foster, and producer Andy Marsh were also part of the
operation.
Seemingly the only western reporter in the very heart of Tripoli as
rebels congregated in Green Square, the 48-year-old married mother-of-four's name began to trend on Twitter worldwide as Crawford continued to
bring dramatic scenes to the airwaves late into the night.
Indeed, such was the positive online response that Sky News began streaming their rolling news coverage on their website to allow a larger audience access to the pictures.
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According to Sky sources, the technology behind the exclusive coverage involved a MacBook Pro, a Broadband Area Global Network (BGAN) mini satellite dish... and a car cigarette lighter for power, making the live feed as much of a success for pioneering technology and ingenuity as it was for journalism.
Here's a sample of last night's dramatic broadcast:
