Tom Brady busted up his Audi this morning in a crash in Boston’s Back Bay. It was of course a huge deal for a few hours today as every site from ESPN to TMZ to Cars.com reported on the non-event.

Anyhow, all of the photos (which are mediocre) of the actual accident while Brady is still there were taken by bystanders with their cell phones. As you go deeper into the photos on the Boston Globe’s site, you start seeing AP, Reuters, etc., but none of their photos are of the actual accident — Brady and the cars are already gone. The professionals’ photos just consist of nicely composed shots of car pieces on the ground with a cop in the background.

This an interesting example showing how journalism has changed, especially regarding citizen journalism (a phrase I can’t stand because the Constitution doesn’t distinguish between credentialed journalists and non-credentialed journalists). So, unless the Globe paid these “photographers” a licensing fee, the news and traditional media are now getting their images for free, which seems like a great deal for them.

Article from Boston Globe