Stories by Judd Slivka

Judd Slivka

Director — Aerial Journalism

Judd Slivka is RJI’s first director of aerial journalism. He is also an assistant professor of convergence journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism.

The skies are changing: The FAA does a bunch of things to make the drone business grow up
March 5, 2019
The Federal Aviation Administration has been busy these last few weeks, promulgating a bunch of different rules that have some consequences — short-term and long-term — for drone journalists.
Look up to see the coming battle of privacy vs. access
January 15, 2019
How much airspace — and how much privacy — are you entitled to? This is important to us as drone journalists because it speaks to where we can fly and how we gather our visuals.
Can we drone without a phone? No. Here are some apps to make your drone journalism safer and better
January 2, 2019
Judd Slivka has noticed how dependent he's become on his phone for a lot of information regarding how to fly with drones. Here are some he uses every day.
Observations on how we teach drone journalism
September 6, 2018
The following are a series of observations written on sticky notes and in the margins of printed-out lecture PowerPoints over the last two years. They are, collectively, a series of things Judd Slivka has seen while learning and teaching drone journalism.
Are either of DJI’s new drones right for journalism?
August 23, 2018
DJI leads the market in consumer and prosumer drone sales. The company released two new versions of the Mavic Pro this afternoon, and there’s been a lot of buzz about both of them. But is it worth it for a news outlet to invest in?
A tussle over airspace. Could news drones be collateral damage?
July 12, 2018
New proposed regulations may chill the media’s use of drones for newsgathering purposes.
Five lessons learned about the drone part of drone journalism
June 25, 2018
The Missouri Drone Journalism Program has flown more than 450 sorties since December. Our drones have spent more than 38 hours in the air. We’ve had 32 different student pilots fly our drones, and they’ve flown our drones for more than 38 miles.
Covering meetings with mobile
June 2, 2016
Meetings are the bread and butter of print journalism. The paper-of-record mindset tends to assign reporters to every city council hearing, every committee meeting.
Apple sneezes and the mobile journalism industry catches a cold
May 27, 2016
What do you do when Apple announces that it’s changing the design of the iPhone in two months?
Five mobile journalism basics to remember
December 23, 2015
Let's go back to basics with a few mobile journalism tips to make your life easier, regardless of the equipment you’re using.