Group behaviour
Published on
Brussels - Stella Willborn 22:30 hrs. Time is rushing in the EU Council. But journalists keep on working: taking pictures, writing messages, chatting. For a long period nothing happens and suddenly – like a swarm of bees – a group is built. Usually one leading journalist starts an interview with somebody from „the other side“ letting out information.
Directly their colleagues arrive and build a huge circle around them while trying to get as close as possible.
On the one hand only one is doing the work as he used his contacts to get this interview while the others have nothing more to do than listening, stretching their recorders or pull out their pencils. On the other hand the listeners do not have the power of asking questions. The group is thus divided into two actors making the interview and an audience grasping the news pieces. The weird thing is that all of them are then reporting again to a larger audience. The chain of information has started...