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Alex Crawford reporting from Tripoli Screengrab via YouTube

A MacBook and a cigarette lighter socket: how the fall of Tripoli was reported live

Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford has earned widespread praise for her astonishing reporting on the road to Tripoli last night.

A SKY NEWS reporter has been hailed for her dramatic reporting from Tripoli as rebels stormed the Libyan capital late last night.

Alex Crawford was trending worldwide on Twitter last night as she reported live from the frontlines of the rebels’ advance on the fragile stronghold of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Sky News was the only known television channel to carry live reporting from inside Tripoli with Crawford, an award-winning special correspondent for the rolling news channel, sat amongst the rebels as they cheered and let off live rounds in celebration at the demise of Gaddafi.

In her bullet proof flak jacket and helmet, this was her astonishing live report on Sky News last night:

The Daily Telegraph reports that quite amazingly, her report and the footage from Tripoli was broadcast using an Apple Mac Pro laptop connected to a mini-satellite dish charged by a car cigarette lighter.

Her cameraman Garwen Mclukie was celebrating his birthday yesterday as he filmed the extraordinary footage.

Crawford is a three-time winner of the Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year Award.

The 48-year-old is married with four children and her biography on the Sky News website informs us she “has been arrested, detained, interrogated by south Asian regimes and faced live bullets, tear-gassing, rubber bullets, IED’S, mortar shells, molotov cocktails, water cannon and lathi (bamboo) whipping.”

She has been tweeting intermittently from Libya, this morning she described the conditions in Tripoli as “horrendous” with the city’s only working hospital “seriously stretched”.

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13 Comments
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    Mute Aonghus Collins
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 11:33 AM

    Now that’s fucking Journalism.

    118
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    Mute Antóin O Cinnéde
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 11:41 AM

    Respect

    55
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    Mute sure2bsure
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 11:35 AM

    Meanwhile Gadaffi is wondering how many pairs of underpants he should pack.

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    Mute Finola Mulcahy
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 12:12 PM

    I watched her reporting live last night. An amazing lady.

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    Mute @aidoroch
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 12:24 PM

    gonzo journalism. hunter s thompson would be proud

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    Mute Tom Kavanagh
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 2:06 PM

    I wonder where Charlie Bird would have reported from?

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    Mute Conor J Ryan
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 2:27 PM

    Antarctica

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    Mute mojitio joe
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 2:58 PM

    Fair play to Alex Crawford fantastic journalism she is one ballsy lady

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    Mute Dvonne
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 4:25 PM

    Hugh O Connell wouldn’t have the stones that kind of stuff anyway.

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    Mute Dvonne
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 12:41 PM

    The gulf in quality between that journalism and that seen on TheJournal.ie is stark.

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    Mute David Higgins
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 12:58 PM

    Apple’s dominance continues. Macbook savesthe day :D

    I hope all that footage was recorded in HD, not the pixelated feed we saw live.

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    Mute Trevor Byrne
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 6:39 PM

    How did this turn into another free advert for apple ?

    She was using a BGAN to broadcast, the computer (Mac or otherwise) was irrelevant, the only productive part of the computer being used for broadcasting was it’s webcam (or keyboard for tweeting I suppose).

    In fact, if one is experienced enough, a computer is not even needed at all to use with the BGAN to broadcast.

    Anyway, story is misleading. She broadcast using a BGAN, probably a Thrane&Thrane model, then used her laptop to type and probably it’s it’s webcam.

    Doesn’t sounds as amazing sure but Apple have enough money at their disposal without free advertising thrown into the mix, unless it was paid for sneaky advertising, in which case the journal should be ashamed.

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    Mute Trevor Byrne
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    Aug 22nd 2011, 6:49 PM

    The above comment not meant to take away from her and her crews brave coup at getting in there with the right equipment and stringing it all together to work on the go while following the rebel convoy. While the technology makes it both possible and easier than it ever was, it still takes guts to get in there and do it, so respect is due for sure.

    I just wouldn’t have used an Apple laptop though, so many reasons why but sure there ye go. I’m sure her crew told her to use a PC but journo’s and their love for expensive apple doorstops are hard to tear apart from each other.

    7
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