Reporter Annotations are meant to get to the how and why behind Newsource’s reporting through in-depth conversations with the reporters themselves. Read the conversation below, led by graduate student Alex Perri, for how spring 2026 Grady Newsource reporters Andrew Otten and Sonja Sutcavage followed the proliferation of controversial Flock surveillance cameras in Northeast Georgia throughout the semester.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Alex Perri: Before we talk about the Flock camera project, can you tell me about your journalism experience before joining Newsource?
Andrew Otten: For me, I was mostly a reporting student. I’d taken a video journalism class, and I’m also a design and media minor, so I’d taken some creative classes through Lamar Dodd. But when it came to getting out in the field, Newsource really ramped things up. It felt much closer to a real-world newsroom.
The Flock project was especially different because it wasn’t a one-and-done assignment. We worked on it for a large chunk of the semester. It felt like all of those previous classes culminated in a project like this.
Sonja Sutcavage: I came into Newsource with a much stronger writing background. I’d taken Intro to Video and done a little editing, but I really didn’t know much about broadcast journalism going in. Newsource gave me more field experience and let me learn a little bit of everything in the newsroom, which feels like a much more accurate reflection of how real newsrooms work.
Perri: You followed this story throughout the semester. How did the Flock camera story begin? What did you know about the cameras when you started, and how did that evolve over time?
Sutcavage: Honestly, nothing. I didn’t know what a Flock camera was. I thought it might have something to do with speed detection. And we found that a lot of other people felt the same way. We’d stop students on campus and ask if they knew what the cameras were, and many didn’t.
The story really started when I did a piece in January on Athens’ Real Time Crime Center. We learned about the surveillance technology being used there and realized many of those cameras were Flock cameras. We didn’t know much about them at first, but then we started finding stories about police departments misusing the technology, concerns about data sharing, and debates over privacy. That’s when we realized how relevant these cameras were and why cities were expanding their programs.
Otten: Once you learn about them, you can’t really ignore them anymore. Dr. (Karin) Assmann had heard about some issues surrounding Flock cameras and wanted us to look into them. Then, while reporting on the Real Time Crime Center, we realized they were already using Flock cameras.
After that, we started seeing them everywhere. I’d be driving around and suddenly notice them all over the place. We just kept digging deeper and deeper into the technology, how it worked, and how widespread it really was.
Perri: What were some of the different stories you produced as the reporting evolved?
Sutcavage: Our first story was basically, “What is a Flock camera?” Since we didn’t know what they were ourselves, we wanted to educate our audience.
Then after spring break, we came back and noticed a lot more cameras had appeared around campus. There were cameras near Bolton, along Lumpkin Street, on East Campus. They seemed to be everywhere. We wanted to bring attention to that expansion.
We also started talking to cybersecurity experts about how secure these systems are and what kinds of safeguards are in place.
Otten: We spoke with a really wide variety of sources. We started with law enforcement officials and people running crime centers. Then we talked to students and community members to see whether they even knew what the cameras were.
After that, we interviewed cybersecurity students in the UGA Hack Pack. Across multiple stories, explainers, and social media posts, we built a pretty broad understanding of the issue.
Perri: What were some of the most surprising things you learned?
Otten: I was surprised by how widespread the cameras are. They’re not just in Georgia, they’re all over the East Coast.
I was also surprised by how much data is shared between agencies. We spoke with law enforcement officials who explained who they do and don’t share information with, but once you start looking into the larger network, you realize how much information moves around.
The privacy side of it was probably the biggest surprise for me. The cameras are becoming more common, and that raises a lot of questions about who has access to the information and how secure it really is.
Sutcavage: Everything Andrew said. I had no idea how common these cameras were before this project. It was eye-opening to discover something so widespread that I knew almost nothing about before we started reporting. Now, it’s something I notice everywhere.
Otten: It started as professional curiosity and became personal curiosity as a citizen.
Perri: What kind of response did you get from the community?
Sutcavage: It was really cool to see actual community engagement. Sometimes in Newsource, we all support each other’s work, but these stories started generating comments from people outside our program.
Some people were saying the cameras were concerning. Others felt they were useful for solving crimes. It was interesting to see such strong opinions from both sides and to know the stories were sparking discussion.
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Otten: Some of those comments actually helped generate new reporting ideas. There was one comment referencing a shooting in downtown Athens and suggesting Flock cameras may have helped identify suspects. That became something we wanted to look into further.
The comments weren’t just interaction — they helped us think about where the story could go next.
Perri: What was it like knowing your reporting was reaching a wide audience?
Sutcavage: It was really rewarding. Before Newsource, a lot of assignments ended once you turned them in. Sometimes they weren’t even published.
This was different because we knew people were actually seeing the work. It also came with responsibility. You want to be a reliable source of information and give people the facts they need to form their own opinions.
Otten: Journalism is about getting information to the public. Seeing people engage with our reporting and discuss it was inspiring.
I’ve never done a follow-up story before this semester, so getting to continue reporting and seeing people care about the issue gave us extra motivation to keep going.
Perri: What was it like becoming the newsroom’s “Flock people”?
Otten: We definitely became known as the Flock people. Every week there seemed to be another update or angle to pursue.
It was a unique experience because we got to spend enough time with a topic to really understand it. By the end, I felt like I could answer just about any question someone had about these cameras.
Sutcavage: It was cool to become the Flock people.
The project also introduced me to topics I didn’t think I’d be interested in before, like data privacy and cybersecurity. Next semester I’m taking a data privacy class, and honestly, I don’t think I would have gravitated toward that if I hadn’t spent so much time reporting on this story.
Perri: How do you plan to carry these experiences forward?
Otten: I may not end up working in journalism, but the biggest thing I’ve taken away is learning how to connect with people.
Every story I loved this semester had a strong human element. The Flock stories were fascinating, but the thing that sticks with me is learning how to talk to people, understand their experiences, and tell their stories.
Sutcavage: I definitely want to go into journalism, and I learned a lot from both our professors and our classmates.
One thing that surprised me was how collaborative journalism is. Before Newsource, I imagined reporters working mostly on their own. Instead, I learned how much stronger stories become when everyone contributes different skills.
Andrew could edit and produce stories in ways I never could on my own. Learning how to work as part of a newsroom team has been incredibly valuable, and that’s something I’ll carry into my future career.
Alex Perri is a graduate student in the journalism program at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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