2020 was a difficult year for most of us. COVID-19 has affected everyday life, freedom of travel, and put an emotional and financial strain on almost everyone. Despite all of these difficulties and trade shows being canceled, our industry still ticked along, and 2020 saw a lot of new products being announced.
Here at Newsshooter we published almost 900 articles and close to 90 in-depth reviews. Most importantly we produced original content. Newsshooter prides itself on the fact that we have almost 100% original content. We very rarely repost other peoples’ articles which goes against the norm nowadays (and when we do, we’re always mindful to seek their permission as we believe that’s important). We don’t do sponsored editorial from any manufacturer. Our independence is our brand and our identity and provides us the freedom to give you our honest opinions.
Newsshooter has been around since September 2009 and it is still going strong today. DSLR Newsshooter as it was known back then was created by Dan Chung. I started contributing regularly in January 2010, and the rest is history. Newsshooter was at the forefront of the DSLR revolution and was one of the few sites that were showing how this new breed of cameras could be used by professionals. Since that time, we have grown and evolved, but our basic philosophy and principles have remained the same.
Newsshooter has ZERO full-time staff. Everyone who contributes to this site does it in their spare time as they are working professionals in the industry. This gives us real-world insight when it comes to reviewing and talking about the gear and the craft of filmmaking. Erik and I are both multi-award winning DPs who have more than 60 years of combined experience working in the industry.
Keeping you up to date with the latest news, covering major trade shows and reviewing equipment is a very time-consuming process. An article or a review you may read in 15 minutes may have taken us weeks to do. The team behind Newsshooter provides this website to you, our readers, because we love what we do, and we want to make sure you are informed about all the new gear and how it can be used. We are not about clicks or page views. This site was established by people who love what they do and that still stands true today.
With just three people doing this on a regular basis you can imagine how much work goes on behind the scenes. Not only does it take a large amount of time to run this website, but also resources and money to do so. We are grateful for the support we’ve had from our sponsors and advertisers which keeps the website operational, free of charge, and allows us to attend all the major trade shows around the world.
Most importantly, we don’t do any sponsored content from manufacturers (despite how common the practice is). Every review and article is done independently and while we usually work closely with the brands to ensure we can bring you the complete story, there is no influence from any manufacturer or sponsor on what we produce. Every product is reviewed or discussed based on its merits regardless of where or who it came from. The caveat to the way we operate is that we may not get the earliest access to new equipment because we only produce open and honest reviews.
As I mentioned before, Newsshooter’s strength has always been its independence and its ability to provide, honest and open feedback about the products we cover. We have a reputation as being tough critics because we believe that you need to know all the facts. Erik and I call it as we see it, and our opinions and reviews are based on real-world use and experience.
We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for the loyal readers who come to our site to get the latest information. On behalf of everyone at Newsshooter, we want to thank you, our readers, for your continual support, and we hope to see you in 2021. Just remember, your family and friends and keeping safe and healthy should be your priority. Gear is just gear and while it is great to discuss and debate about it there are a lot more important things in life.
