Buffalo TV station WGRZ was able to get the first images of the crash of Flight 3407 --with help from Skype.

Skype increasingly is being used in newsgathering, from the studio or even live in the field.

NBC 26 in Augusta, Ga. started to use Skype in the field.

The station explained this week how it had used Skype for the first time:

"26 News' Dustin Blanchard covered Augusta Day at the State Capitol using Skype technology on Tuesday.

"Skype is technology that only requires a camera, a computer and an Internet connection to broadcast a live report. News stations normally use microwave, satellite or fiber connections for live reports which require a reporter and photojournalist in the field and someone at the station to locate the live signal.

"Satellite connections also require an extra person to operate the satellite truck and communicate with the station.

"A live shot through Skype requires just one person to set up."

Last March, CNN, which bills itself as "The Most Trusted Name in News," added Skype into the mix for the first time. When CNN techies couldn't get a live feed to a reporter vacationing in Maui, they turned to Skype.

At the journalism website, Poynter Online, Amy Gahran makes the case "Skype: Why Every Journo Should Use it."