I. History of the development of drones and the current situation of their use in TV news

A drone is an aircraft that is managed (including remotely maneuvered or autonomously flown) by a control station, also known as a remotely piloted aircraft

(i) History of the development of drones

In November 1917, the first UAV in the United States was successfully flown at the Long Beach Island test site in New York [2]. This is also recognized as the first drone in the world, and since then, the research of drones around the world has begun. 1966 December China's earliest drone, "Changkong No. 1" (CK-1), made its maiden flight successfully, and as a technology with high scientific and technological level, drones have been the exclusive right of the militaries of various countries to serve their own military and national security, coupled with the strict control of airspace in various countries, drones have been the first to be used by the military of various countries. As a technology with a high level of science and technology, since its inception, research related to UAVs has been the exclusive right of the militaries of various countries to serve their own militaries and national security. Entering the 21st century, driven by market economic interests, the civilian UAV industry has developed rapidly, with China's DJI as the representative of the aerial photography UAV becoming the leader of civilian UAV enterprises.

(ii) Aerial drone photography emerges in news coverage

Most of the common civilian aerial drones on the market today have realized the integration of photo and video functions. Aerial photography, as it is referred to in the news dissemination industry, is a process in which a drone flyer manipulates a drone with photographic functions through radio to complete the process of image collection in the air, which can be either a dynamic video or a static picture.

(iii) The unstoppable trend of aerial drone journalism

The practice of using drones to take aerial news photos and news videos in the Tianjin Port explosion demonstrated the convenience of drones in news reporting, and showed TV news organizations the feasibility and urgency of applying this new technology to production practice. In this technological practice, CCTV has taken the lead, followed by provincial and municipal TV stations. Taking Ningxia as an example, as of August 2017, two provincial TV stations and five municipal TV stations (news media groups) in Ningxia have purchased a total of 34 drones, with an average of 4.9 drones per TV station; in addition, TV news units at the prefecture level in Qingtong, Lingwu, and Helan counties have also purchased drones and have used them extensively in their news practice [3]. With the continuous deepening of drone news practice, the use of drones in the news scene interviews, recording material, connecting live has become a norm, the trend is unstoppable.