The Windy City may not have gotten its moniker from its notoriously gusty winter weather — though such cold-air gusts can get pretty fierce this time of year.
Many believe the origin of the bluster in Chicago’s popular nickname comes from politics — and the town’s historically blow-hard politicians.
But the weather itself still packs a mighty punch in Chicago, and drone journalism could be a great way to see the effect the elements have on its landscape, its lakefront and its residents.
The sticking point in employing drone journalism is the law — the city has enacted restrictive regulations on who can fly drones where. A report by the Daily Southtown suburban newspaper early this year said local drone regulations “prohibit flights over any property not owned by the drone operator, without the property owner’s consent, and drones can’t be flown ‘over any person who is not involved in the operation’ of the drone without that person’s consent.”
The Southtown report also said penalties from breaking the city’s drone ordinances can be quite steep. “Chicago’s fines start at $500 and shoot up as high as $5,000,” according to the newspaper.
So lakefront weather flights might be a no-go.
But there may be a way to capture the weather’s impact on private property from the sky — and those images could tell and sell the story about Chitown’s fearsome wind in a way that mere photos of its aftermath can only attempt to do.
It could revolutionize storytelling in a town where weather routinely makes news. And drone footage could show the world that the Windy City more than lives up to its name.
CMSU Reflections 