Eric Durban
It is amazing how much emotion you can capture in a picture. I really enjoyed the street photography of David Snider and would love to do that for a living. I found it very interesting that his parents are blind and his profession is photography. It would be interesting to know if their situation influenced his passions. David LaBelle presented a great guide to photography. Many of his tips were obvious things, however, other tips gave me a new perspective. I have a lot of curiosity when it comes to taking photos, but I've only ever done point-and-shoot with my basic digital camera.
The subject of blending really stuck out for me. Whenever I have covered stories in the past for a newspaper, people almost automatically recognize you when you walk into a room. Your recorder and notebook always give you away. Blending in seems to be one of the greatest obstacles for a photographer. People's feelings and actions can instantly change when they see you pull out the camera.
The other appealing aspect of photography is the possibility of travel. LaBelle advises in his tips to have clothes and food ready on the off chance you'll have to go somewhere quick. Photography seems to be one of the few professions that can really take you to the edges of the world. Realistically, very few photographers get those experiences, but the possiblity is intriguing. I liked how Snider described his work, "record the river of life." I can't think of many jobs more fascinating than that.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Photojournalism Readings
Lindsey Foat
Snider’s photos and LaBelle’s “hunting tips” are inspiring. As someone who is guilty of boring, point-and-shoot photos, I learned a lot about how to improve. Reading LaBelle’s suggestions I even started to generate my own ideas on the best ways to approach our photojournalism assignment. I was also struck by LaBelle’s highly accessible, yet colorful writing style, and I found myself wishing I could have him as a teacher. Many of his suggestions for hunting down features photos, would have come in handy while I was trying to generate my three story ideas.
I also really related to both photojournalists’ passions for documenting life and community. One reason I’m a convergence journalism major is that I want to be able to report stories using multiple media. Studying Snider and LaBelle’s photos it’s easy to see why photojournalism is potentially one of the most striking ways of record an event.
Snider’s photos and LaBelle’s “hunting tips” are inspiring. As someone who is guilty of boring, point-and-shoot photos, I learned a lot about how to improve. Reading LaBelle’s suggestions I even started to generate my own ideas on the best ways to approach our photojournalism assignment. I was also struck by LaBelle’s highly accessible, yet colorful writing style, and I found myself wishing I could have him as a teacher. Many of his suggestions for hunting down features photos, would have come in handy while I was trying to generate my three story ideas.
I also really related to both photojournalists’ passions for documenting life and community. One reason I’m a convergence journalism major is that I want to be able to report stories using multiple media. Studying Snider and LaBelle’s photos it’s easy to see why photojournalism is potentially one of the most striking ways of record an event.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Photo J
Sarah Orscheln
After reading these two guys' accounts of how photojournalism has inspired them I have come to the conclusion that nearly every photojournalist I've come in contact with is passionate about what they do. Without heart, they fall flat. Both Labelle and Snider were/are successful at what they do because they deeply care about every aspect of the subject/object they capture with their photography.
My favorite photo in Snider's slideshow is the last one. It's of his parents in Washington, D.C. They are both holding on to one another and grasping a white cane in the other hand. I assume by the photo that both of his parents are blind. While his intro was touching and it told us about his life and experiences with photography, this last picture tells us a lot more. Imagine growing up being insanely successful at something neither of your parents could begin to wrap their minds around. Try explaining the capturing of light to someone who has never experienced light. While I can't be sure about any of these assumptions, I think this photo captures the essence of what photography can be.
After reading these two guys' accounts of how photojournalism has inspired them I have come to the conclusion that nearly every photojournalist I've come in contact with is passionate about what they do. Without heart, they fall flat. Both Labelle and Snider were/are successful at what they do because they deeply care about every aspect of the subject/object they capture with their photography.
My favorite photo in Snider's slideshow is the last one. It's of his parents in Washington, D.C. They are both holding on to one another and grasping a white cane in the other hand. I assume by the photo that both of his parents are blind. While his intro was touching and it told us about his life and experiences with photography, this last picture tells us a lot more. Imagine growing up being insanely successful at something neither of your parents could begin to wrap their minds around. Try explaining the capturing of light to someone who has never experienced light. While I can't be sure about any of these assumptions, I think this photo captures the essence of what photography can be.
LaBelle and Snider
I really enjoy what David LaBelle wrote about hunting for photographs. His tips shed a lot of light on photojournalism on me. They are clear, concise and simple. This guy is a very good teacher.
Photojournalism so far is for me something quite elusive. Even though I often have to take pictures myself for my stories, I always view photojournalists with both envy and admiration. How come they can capture so well such emotions, actions and moments, as if they had magic in their eyes and their hands? LaBelle’s manual helped to demystify this for me, as he explained very clearly the process of preparation and taking pictures, and I felt inspired by the feeling that I might be able to do all that he said. I must also say that in my country, it is not usual for photojournalists to share their “trade secrets” with other people.
As for David Snider’s photos of street life, there are some pictures that I enjoyed like the boy and the buble, a Jewish man looking straight at the camera in the middle of a crowd, a man sleeping with an open mouth on a bench, or the little boy running in the rain. He captured life as it is, full of spontaneity. But other than that, I do not find him outstanding as a photographer. Such photos could have been taken by anyone. Or maybe, I am not discerning enough to analyze his techniques.
Photojournalism so far is for me something quite elusive. Even though I often have to take pictures myself for my stories, I always view photojournalists with both envy and admiration. How come they can capture so well such emotions, actions and moments, as if they had magic in their eyes and their hands? LaBelle’s manual helped to demystify this for me, as he explained very clearly the process of preparation and taking pictures, and I felt inspired by the feeling that I might be able to do all that he said. I must also say that in my country, it is not usual for photojournalists to share their “trade secrets” with other people.
As for David Snider’s photos of street life, there are some pictures that I enjoyed like the boy and the buble, a Jewish man looking straight at the camera in the middle of a crowd, a man sleeping with an open mouth on a bench, or the little boy running in the rain. He captured life as it is, full of spontaneity. But other than that, I do not find him outstanding as a photographer. Such photos could have been taken by anyone. Or maybe, I am not discerning enough to analyze his techniques.
Photojournalism Readings
Suekyoung Kim
I found both readings very interesting. The great picture hunt was 44 pages long but it was very informative and amusing so I really enjoyed reading it. What LaBelle basically said in his writing might have been something I already know, however, those elements of being a good photojournalist came to me in a different way that it brought me a compelling desire of hunting feature pictures. Those subjects in his photos seemed to be alive and their facial expressions, body language, and the spatial atmosphere made me feel something more than when I look at just ordinary photos. While I was reading his writing I could realize how photos can be taken as picturesque, artistic, yet journalistic. It’s great pleasure to read a piece of writing that is as powerful as to make its reader wish to go hunting feature pictures like his. Snider’s street picture story was also quite compelling. How both Davids created their world of photographs has left a deep aftertaste of passion to me. Work may be tough, but as long as one appreciates what s/he is doing, life is a lot happier. I visited Snider’s website and his works were awesome. Not only his distinctive skill of taking photos was special but also the photographer’s belief was great enough. Someday, when I become a novice at work I want my mental attitude toward my job to be as confident and affectionate as possible and to go all the way along with my constant mind.
I found both readings very interesting. The great picture hunt was 44 pages long but it was very informative and amusing so I really enjoyed reading it. What LaBelle basically said in his writing might have been something I already know, however, those elements of being a good photojournalist came to me in a different way that it brought me a compelling desire of hunting feature pictures. Those subjects in his photos seemed to be alive and their facial expressions, body language, and the spatial atmosphere made me feel something more than when I look at just ordinary photos. While I was reading his writing I could realize how photos can be taken as picturesque, artistic, yet journalistic. It’s great pleasure to read a piece of writing that is as powerful as to make its reader wish to go hunting feature pictures like his. Snider’s street picture story was also quite compelling. How both Davids created their world of photographs has left a deep aftertaste of passion to me. Work may be tough, but as long as one appreciates what s/he is doing, life is a lot happier. I visited Snider’s website and his works were awesome. Not only his distinctive skill of taking photos was special but also the photographer’s belief was great enough. Someday, when I become a novice at work I want my mental attitude toward my job to be as confident and affectionate as possible and to go all the way along with my constant mind.
Photojournalism Readings
Jessica Malnik
I thought that Snider made many informative and interesting points. Snider stated, “I began making pictures that I felt were the ultimate realization of photography's power to record the river of life that flowed all around me.” From this quote, I realized that good photography is a more visual way of seeing the world. He, also, admitted that he had to confront his biggest fear, which was having “an unpleasant response to . . . "taking" someone's photo without their permission. “ I can relate to him, because I have that same fear.
I thought that Snider’s photography was amazing. All of his photos managed to convey an emotional response. The level of detail in his photos truly impressed me. While all his photos are incredible, my favorite photo was of the woman standing on the stairs in Cannes, France. The photo captures every single detail, and also manages to be quite moving.
I thought that Snider made many informative and interesting points. Snider stated, “I began making pictures that I felt were the ultimate realization of photography's power to record the river of life that flowed all around me.” From this quote, I realized that good photography is a more visual way of seeing the world. He, also, admitted that he had to confront his biggest fear, which was having “an unpleasant response to . . . "taking" someone's photo without their permission. “ I can relate to him, because I have that same fear.
I thought that Snider’s photography was amazing. All of his photos managed to convey an emotional response. The level of detail in his photos truly impressed me. While all his photos are incredible, my favorite photo was of the woman standing on the stairs in Cannes, France. The photo captures every single detail, and also manages to be quite moving.
A Photojournalism Safari
I really enjoyed reading David LaBelle's piece about hunting for photographs. Reading this was more like attending a lecture taught by a fun professor, except I don't know if I would have enough room in my car for all that he prescribes to have on hand just in case. This piece really showed me how much work photojournalism is, in terms of really seeking out the heart of a subject. I don't really consider myself an expert photographer, so it was very reassuring to find a professional hear that even he doesn't always take the best pictures. The hunting comparison, which I thought was very humorous at first, really was very accurate. A photojournalist is constantly on the hunt, per se. It's not just a one-two-three job; it's a process that I never really thought through. One has to wait for exactly the right moment to get the true essence.
Though it was A LOT of information, it was very helpful in gaining some tips on where to find the story and how to capture it once you have found it. The examples featured were great with variety and relevance to the particular topic at hand. My favorite for this piece was the kids in front of the pie contest, because, let's face it, who doesn't get excited about pie??
I also really enjoyed browsing David Snider's "Street Pictures". It was all everyday life that no one would really think to take pictures of. I am all for giving a new twist on the basic. My favorite of these photographs was the boy and the sprinkler. The pure joy on his face is what makes the photo come alive. I hope that I will be able to do the same when I take photos.
Though it was A LOT of information, it was very helpful in gaining some tips on where to find the story and how to capture it once you have found it. The examples featured were great with variety and relevance to the particular topic at hand. My favorite for this piece was the kids in front of the pie contest, because, let's face it, who doesn't get excited about pie??
I also really enjoyed browsing David Snider's "Street Pictures". It was all everyday life that no one would really think to take pictures of. I am all for giving a new twist on the basic. My favorite of these photographs was the boy and the sprinkler. The pure joy on his face is what makes the photo come alive. I hope that I will be able to do the same when I take photos.
The Power of Simple
Eric Thibault
As much as a well-written, descriptive article can portray the feelings of an event or moment, I can equally appreciate a single picture. Personally, I'm not great with a camera - I have no idea how to properly frame a shot or get the right lighting. I've always enjoyed taking pictures, but I fit the definition of the word amateur.
What I found interesting about David Snider's photos was that I found myself taking a deep look at images that I would only glance at in normal life. As a result, I ended up wondering about the various subjects, like the men on the street in Marseilles. There's no way to know their life stories through the picture, but I feel like I can understand their mood. Honestly, the photo is extraordinary in its simplicity - it provides an accurate glimpse of daily life.
As for the "Photo Hunting" story - I can't see myself doing that job nearly as well as David LaBelle does, but I can certainly take some things away from his work. Most importantly, his patience, preparation, and attention to detail stand out - it's no different than finding out everything possible about a source for an article.
Whether I can channel my inner photographer remains to be seen, but if nothing else, I hope I can apply some of photography's principles to my writing.
As much as a well-written, descriptive article can portray the feelings of an event or moment, I can equally appreciate a single picture. Personally, I'm not great with a camera - I have no idea how to properly frame a shot or get the right lighting. I've always enjoyed taking pictures, but I fit the definition of the word amateur.
What I found interesting about David Snider's photos was that I found myself taking a deep look at images that I would only glance at in normal life. As a result, I ended up wondering about the various subjects, like the men on the street in Marseilles. There's no way to know their life stories through the picture, but I feel like I can understand their mood. Honestly, the photo is extraordinary in its simplicity - it provides an accurate glimpse of daily life.
As for the "Photo Hunting" story - I can't see myself doing that job nearly as well as David LaBelle does, but I can certainly take some things away from his work. Most importantly, his patience, preparation, and attention to detail stand out - it's no different than finding out everything possible about a source for an article.
Whether I can channel my inner photographer remains to be seen, but if nothing else, I hope I can apply some of photography's principles to my writing.
Photojournalism Readings
David LaBelle's advice on how to be a good photographer was definitely much needed and very much helpful. He brought up a lot of good points that I never would have thought about- for example, that a photographer should try to blend into his or her environment so as not to disrupt society. Even more useful was his list of items that a photographer should always have on hand in case of emergencies. Additionally, I found myself thinking about similarities among the photographs that I have seen and loved, something I probably wouldn't have done if I hadn't read the "Interaction" portion of the reading.
My favorite photo out of David Snider's gallery is the photo of a child and a giant bubble blower. After viewing all the photos in the gallery, that photo left the greatest impression because something about it- maybe the subject matter, maybe the black-and-white contrast- made it so striking.There is almost a dreamlike quality to it because of the way the photo is split into two halves, with the bubble on the left and the child on the right, and I think that that is what makes it such an interesting photo.
My favorite photo out of David Snider's gallery is the photo of a child and a giant bubble blower. After viewing all the photos in the gallery, that photo left the greatest impression because something about it- maybe the subject matter, maybe the black-and-white contrast- made it so striking.There is almost a dreamlike quality to it because of the way the photo is split into two halves, with the bubble on the left and the child on the right, and I think that that is what makes it such an interesting photo.
Advice I'll take
I’m having computer issues. Thanyarat Doksone was nice enough to post on my behalf – Mark Lewis
I’m thrilled that we’re delving into photography, specifically composition, so soon after the start of the semester. We all know that strong visual elements, photography chief among them, are the cornerstone of superior storytelling. David LaBelle, in his inspiring essay on photojournalism, made that point explicit. My only complaint: the fax-quality ERes pages didn’t resolve the sample work. What a disappointment.
It’s hard to say what I liked best about his piece. I suppose it would be the overarching metaphor that the best photojournalists are like hunters. They’re on safari, stalking through the wilderness of a crowded city plaza, eyes alert for the trophy animal – a candid moment of life. That’s a damn good job to have. I also like LaBelle’s insistence on the practical matters of photography. He goes so far as to recommend what items you may want to keep in your glove compartment. That’s a level of detail you don’t often find in instructive essays.
I’m thrilled that we’re delving into photography, specifically composition, so soon after the start of the semester. We all know that strong visual elements, photography chief among them, are the cornerstone of superior storytelling. David LaBelle, in his inspiring essay on photojournalism, made that point explicit. My only complaint: the fax-quality ERes pages didn’t resolve the sample work. What a disappointment.
It’s hard to say what I liked best about his piece. I suppose it would be the overarching metaphor that the best photojournalists are like hunters. They’re on safari, stalking through the wilderness of a crowded city plaza, eyes alert for the trophy animal – a candid moment of life. That’s a damn good job to have. I also like LaBelle’s insistence on the practical matters of photography. He goes so far as to recommend what items you may want to keep in your glove compartment. That’s a level of detail you don’t often find in instructive essays.
Picture Hunting
Tyson Sprick
It's interesting how photographers (or photojournalists, rather) are portrayed as hunters, patiently searching for the perfect shot. And that is why I think photography will be tough for me. I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as "patient," and wandering around for hours to find the perfect picture sounds like less than fun. I don't think I'm very creative either; give me an assignment and I'll do it. Tell me to come up with my own assignment and I feel lost. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous about this task, but I did enjoy some of the pointers in "The Great Picture Hunt." I like how photojournalism isn't about you, but about what you see. Very rarely do readers see who the photographer is. Like the reading said, photographers blend into the surroundings and capture what is going on around them to share with the world. Occasionally, if the photographer comes across a good angle, the right time, and a little luck, he can produce breath-taking images and share them with people who would normally never have a chance to see them. If I can take one person somewhere they haven't been before with this assignment, I'd be pretty fulfilled.
It's interesting how photographers (or photojournalists, rather) are portrayed as hunters, patiently searching for the perfect shot. And that is why I think photography will be tough for me. I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as "patient," and wandering around for hours to find the perfect picture sounds like less than fun. I don't think I'm very creative either; give me an assignment and I'll do it. Tell me to come up with my own assignment and I feel lost. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous about this task, but I did enjoy some of the pointers in "The Great Picture Hunt." I like how photojournalism isn't about you, but about what you see. Very rarely do readers see who the photographer is. Like the reading said, photographers blend into the surroundings and capture what is going on around them to share with the world. Occasionally, if the photographer comes across a good angle, the right time, and a little luck, he can produce breath-taking images and share them with people who would normally never have a chance to see them. If I can take one person somewhere they haven't been before with this assignment, I'd be pretty fulfilled.
How to be a good photojournalist
Among the photojournalist qualities, in my opinion, the most important one is curiosity. “Good photojournalists are not in love with photography, they are in love with people and life.” I totally agree with it. I think the other qualities, such as blend with the environment, always be prepared, be patient, can be acquired after some training and practice, but love of life and people is the inner power which drives a person to observe life, hunter interesting moments and share the stories with others.
Photographs are not lifeless pictures, they are emotional moments captured by photographers. The most important element to make a good feature photograph is emotion, which is not only the emotion of the people in the picture, but also the emotion of the photographer behind the picture. While taking a picture, photographers put their emotion in their works.
The biggest problem for me to take feature pictures is, just like David Sinder's, to conquer my fear of taking someone's photo without their permission.
Photographs are not lifeless pictures, they are emotional moments captured by photographers. The most important element to make a good feature photograph is emotion, which is not only the emotion of the people in the picture, but also the emotion of the photographer behind the picture. While taking a picture, photographers put their emotion in their works.
The biggest problem for me to take feature pictures is, just like David Sinder's, to conquer my fear of taking someone's photo without their permission.
Photo Readings
As I looked through David Snider’s photos, I found photos captured moments that could not have been captured from shooting across the street.In the second photo in Snider’s collection, Sonny’s Rosary Beads, New York City. This photo is filled with detail and emotion that tells me a bit about the person's life. The rough hands make me think that Sonny is a man who is a part of the American working class. The wrinkles tell me that Sonny is an older man at that. The beads show, to me, that this man is religious. This picture is simple but has more complexity to it than meets the eye. David LaBelle’s article, “The Great Picture Hunt”, stressed the importance of keeping a photo clear from extraneous detail and clutter. If you have to many things going on in a picture, it can take your eye away from what the focus of the picture is supposed to be.
Photography
- Erick Ward
When our class was looking at the cameras and going over the basics of photography on Tuesday I felt that this would be a very difficult assignment for me. I just thought that I didn't have the eye for a good picture. I didn't understand composition, the rule of thirds, etc. What I found interesting in the reading, and it gave me a little bit of hope was that David LaBelle felt that a lot of the ideas of photography could be acquired. He said all it takes is experience, patience, being prepared, and a few other things to be a good photographer. The only thing that photographers need that can be difficult to get is curiosity. Reading this in LaBelle’s article gave me some confidence, that with some work I can become at least a decent photographer.
When our class was looking at the cameras and going over the basics of photography on Tuesday I felt that this would be a very difficult assignment for me. I just thought that I didn't have the eye for a good picture. I didn't understand composition, the rule of thirds, etc. What I found interesting in the reading, and it gave me a little bit of hope was that David LaBelle felt that a lot of the ideas of photography could be acquired. He said all it takes is experience, patience, being prepared, and a few other things to be a good photographer. The only thing that photographers need that can be difficult to get is curiosity. Reading this in LaBelle’s article gave me some confidence, that with some work I can become at least a decent photographer.
I felt a little overwhelmed as Dave LeBelle Explained all the ways to "hunt" down a good feature photo. I am definetly not a photographer yet, although I do love going out with the camera (the whole two times I have actually been lucky enough to take photos for journalism). But I did find something LaBelle said very useful and true. "I have weakenesss. I am an average sports shooter, a decent breaking news photographer and weak studio photographer...I am an idea person, with more picture ideas to shoot than time to shoot them."
The idea behind the photo drives the photo in journalism. We aren't just slapping a pretty picture of a tree on the front page of the Missourian because it looks nice. If there's a tree on the front page, it better be 200 years old, and the founding tree of Columbia and in danger of being cut down. Through your photo you are explaining the story, and it can be incredibly hard to convey the bigger picture in one or two photos.
If I had been sent on an assignment to cover a city hall meeting and get photos for the paper, I would be completely lost. I'm out of my element there, but yesterday while I was following the golfers around the back nine at Eagle Null, I somehow had a bit of a clue as to what I was doing. Shooting what you know is important. And if you can't shoot what you know right off the bat, you darn well better learn about what you don't know quickly. But how do you find that one photo that represents your entire story?
LaBelle's section on being patient made me smile, as following the golfers around the back nine took almost four hours, but it was all good practice.
The idea behind the photo drives the photo in journalism. We aren't just slapping a pretty picture of a tree on the front page of the Missourian because it looks nice. If there's a tree on the front page, it better be 200 years old, and the founding tree of Columbia and in danger of being cut down. Through your photo you are explaining the story, and it can be incredibly hard to convey the bigger picture in one or two photos.
If I had been sent on an assignment to cover a city hall meeting and get photos for the paper, I would be completely lost. I'm out of my element there, but yesterday while I was following the golfers around the back nine at Eagle Null, I somehow had a bit of a clue as to what I was doing. Shooting what you know is important. And if you can't shoot what you know right off the bat, you darn well better learn about what you don't know quickly. But how do you find that one photo that represents your entire story?
LaBelle's section on being patient made me smile, as following the golfers around the back nine took almost four hours, but it was all good practice.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
photojournalism on the streets
Andrell Bower
David Snider differentiates between street photographers and photojournalists, but I think the kind of photography he is talking about is the same kind of photography David LaBelle is talking about, yet LaBelle refers to his work as photojournalism. I mean, mannequin legs sticking out of a tractor tire?
Either way, both create photos that impact readers although the photos might have little hard news value. After reading LaBelle’s guide to finding and shooting good feature photos, I’m pretty convinced that despite the apparently little hard news value, he obviously works hard to get out into his community and document life, which is an important aspect of journalism along with keeping an eye on those in power.
Feature photos were often the only photos on the front page of the small paper at which I recently worked, so I understand their value first-hand. However, I wonder how practical LaBelle’s advice will be to our assignments, which are tied to a news story.
My favorite of Snider’s photos is probably the first on the list in Rockefeller square because of the composition. I was disappointed at the quality of the photos in the electronic reserve reading because they weren’t readable half the time and probably would have added to the lesson.
David Snider differentiates between street photographers and photojournalists, but I think the kind of photography he is talking about is the same kind of photography David LaBelle is talking about, yet LaBelle refers to his work as photojournalism. I mean, mannequin legs sticking out of a tractor tire?
Either way, both create photos that impact readers although the photos might have little hard news value. After reading LaBelle’s guide to finding and shooting good feature photos, I’m pretty convinced that despite the apparently little hard news value, he obviously works hard to get out into his community and document life, which is an important aspect of journalism along with keeping an eye on those in power.
Feature photos were often the only photos on the front page of the small paper at which I recently worked, so I understand their value first-hand. However, I wonder how practical LaBelle’s advice will be to our assignments, which are tied to a news story.
My favorite of Snider’s photos is probably the first on the list in Rockefeller square because of the composition. I was disappointed at the quality of the photos in the electronic reserve reading because they weren’t readable half the time and probably would have added to the lesson.
Photography is like hunting but without the blaze orange jumpsuits.
While I don’t hunt, I do fish. Does that mean I’ll be a good photographer too? I can wait for the fish to bite, but I also know how, where, and what to use to increase my chances of snagging that trophy winner. Not to mention, if I see a big fish in front of me, I go for it. I could see applying those traits to photography; maybe David LaBelle is on to something.
David Snyder certainly must be a good hunter or fisherman. His photos captured everyday life in a way that made them not so everyday. I think photos like his can tell as much about society as any news story, which I imagine was his goal. Taking pictures without someone’s consent is something I already know I’ll have to work on.
David Snyder certainly must be a good hunter or fisherman. His photos captured everyday life in a way that made them not so everyday. I think photos like his can tell as much about society as any news story, which I imagine was his goal. Taking pictures without someone’s consent is something I already know I’ll have to work on.
Convergence 4804-the beginning...
This week has been very hectic- BUT even though I am overwhelmed with things to do and it is only the second week, I feel confident I will get through- Traveling to a 150 year old Theater was amazing and knowing that it is only 15-20 miles away from Columbia is also such. I am a little aprehensive about what the next month will bring, because I want to do good work, not only in the field of journalism, but in my core classes- I think with my story I did good work, found a good angle, and got alot of good sources to back the information up which made it appealing to others.
=SSliker#21
=SSliker#21
Picture Hunting
Quite honestly, I am terrified by the technical aspect of taking pictures. Unlike drawing or painting or sculpting, photography requires a knowledge of the camera that I must learn to work up to and a patience to capture the rare moments of art within life. Most art forms are born completely by the artist's skill and imagination, but journalistic photography is also dependent on the subject.
Even though I feel a little over my head, looking at the work of accomplished photographers like David Snider has been very inspiring. For the first time, I am looking at photos from many different perspectives: figuring out whether the photo is a portrait or a scene setter, analyzing the use of light, and looking at the angle the photo was taken. And then there are more subjective ways of looking.Why did the photographer choose to take this picture? What does it say about its subject? What does it make the viewer think and feel?
Even though I feel a little over my head, looking at the work of accomplished photographers like David Snider has been very inspiring. For the first time, I am looking at photos from many different perspectives: figuring out whether the photo is a portrait or a scene setter, analyzing the use of light, and looking at the angle the photo was taken. And then there are more subjective ways of looking.Why did the photographer choose to take this picture? What does it say about its subject? What does it make the viewer think and feel?
Street Snap
Shooting on street must be a challenging yet fascinating experience. It's challenging because the photographer needs to cope with many kinds of people, to get their permit and avoid from offending them. On the other hand, streets are places where everything might happen at anytime, so photographer have to be prepared at any moment. Meanwhile, that's also why street snap is fascinating. Thousands of people pass by a street every day, and there must be a number of interesting and attractive scenes, as well as trivial stories.
I love many pictures by David Snider, while I dislike some of them. Many of his works do not conform to the rule of thirds, and perhaps not in the best composition and light, but, they are natural. They bring me visual enjoyment, even spiritual shock. In these pictures, I prefer the Vaison la Romaine, and Outside a Train Station in Tours, which were shot in France, since they are extremely natural. The sleeping man, the boys' innocent smile, with their background, really attract my eyes.
However, I can see a few artificial traces in some other works, such as the Rockefeller Plaza. It's beautiful, but not natural. Admittedly, artificially shooting does not necessarily means less worth. In many cases, it can better express the photographer's opinion, or bring more visual enjoyment for readers. But it loses the most precious feature of street snap, the natural feature, in my own opinion.
I love many pictures by David Snider, while I dislike some of them. Many of his works do not conform to the rule of thirds, and perhaps not in the best composition and light, but, they are natural. They bring me visual enjoyment, even spiritual shock. In these pictures, I prefer the Vaison la Romaine, and Outside a Train Station in Tours, which were shot in France, since they are extremely natural. The sleeping man, the boys' innocent smile, with their background, really attract my eyes.
However, I can see a few artificial traces in some other works, such as the Rockefeller Plaza. It's beautiful, but not natural. Admittedly, artificially shooting does not necessarily means less worth. In many cases, it can better express the photographer's opinion, or bring more visual enjoyment for readers. But it loses the most precious feature of street snap, the natural feature, in my own opinion.
Learning How to Be a Photographer
Walking the fine line between imposition and anonymity is what I found to be the essence of David Snyder's advice in "Street Pictures." A photographer should be close enough to the action to capture it, yet far enough away not to affect or disturb the scene with his/her presence. As a burgeoning journalist, this theory is both the most exciting and most intimidating part of the profession.
He repeats this throughout the article, when he writes about the qualities of good photographers, and again when he writes about the methodology involved in taking good photographs. Walking instead of driving, talking to other photographers and journalists, networking, following up, and eavsdropping all suggest infiltrating the community to be photographed. He even goes so far to request the help of the community, when he writes, "I had asked him to call me, day or night, if he ever saw something he thought might make a good picture."
Nonetheless, he is careful to clarify that photographers should also blend in with the enviornment and be prepared. My personal take-away message from the piece is that perseverance and assertiveness, within reason, are essential for producing good photos. Judging from the photography, this philosophy has certainly worked for Snyder.
Andrea Stark
He repeats this throughout the article, when he writes about the qualities of good photographers, and again when he writes about the methodology involved in taking good photographs. Walking instead of driving, talking to other photographers and journalists, networking, following up, and eavsdropping all suggest infiltrating the community to be photographed. He even goes so far to request the help of the community, when he writes, "I had asked him to call me, day or night, if he ever saw something he thought might make a good picture."
Nonetheless, he is careful to clarify that photographers should also blend in with the enviornment and be prepared. My personal take-away message from the piece is that perseverance and assertiveness, within reason, are essential for producing good photos. Judging from the photography, this philosophy has certainly worked for Snyder.
Andrea Stark
Street Success
I thoroughly enjoyed David Sniders ‘Street Pictures’ and I thought his words were to the useful and succinct.
The number one fear, for many people, and myself is that whole step forward into street journalism. Finding a balance between capturing reality and the invasion of privacy is extremely difficult. The reason many of David’s photographs are so effective is his ability to make the viewer feel like he has literally just stuck his hand out and grabbed a moment in time. All of the people, young and old, in his pictures seem very comfortable in his presence and you really feel like your part of the photograph.
The choice of black and white is soft and graceful and the tone on each of his pictures is beautiful and even. On many of his photographs your eye is drawn around the entire frame due to his choice of composition. He has shown us different parts of the world in a sensitive and effective manner.
The number one fear, for many people, and myself is that whole step forward into street journalism. Finding a balance between capturing reality and the invasion of privacy is extremely difficult. The reason many of David’s photographs are so effective is his ability to make the viewer feel like he has literally just stuck his hand out and grabbed a moment in time. All of the people, young and old, in his pictures seem very comfortable in his presence and you really feel like your part of the photograph.
The choice of black and white is soft and graceful and the tone on each of his pictures is beautiful and even. On many of his photographs your eye is drawn around the entire frame due to his choice of composition. He has shown us different parts of the world in a sensitive and effective manner.
Snider's "Bubble Blower"
by Mu Li
David Snider's "Bubble Blower" is astonishing.
New to photojournalism, I cannot help wondering how he was able to capture lighting to show such subtle black-and-white contrast in his creation of a semi-magical world. He positioned his camera somewhere on the same level of the window, an excellent angle to take in both the dark room and light room. And his camera exactly caught the moving silhouette of the bubble blowing boy in a striped shirt. Apart from the wonderful angle of camera, the curve of "bubble" gives a surreal feel to the picture.
The beauty of the photo lies in the symmetry of lighting, a eye-catching character, and a interesting movement. But most importantly, it brings to viewer the fun and the ease of childhood, the human interest element that makes the photo memorable.
Street Pictures
After reading David Snider’s introduction section on his website, there was a quote that really stood out to me, “it’s not the heat, it’s the timidity.” What I took away from this quote is that you cannot let your nerves or shyness get in the way from getting the right shots. You have to confront and overcome your fears so that you feel comfortable putting a camera in someone’s face or taking a photo without someone’s permission.
As I looked through David Snider’s collection, his photos captured precious moments that could not have been captured from shooting across the street. Look at the second photo in Snider’s collection, Sonny’s Rosary Beads, New York City. This photo is filled with detail and emotion that tells me a story about this person’s life. The rough hands make me think that Sonny is a male who is part of working class American. The wrinkles tell me that Sonny is an older gentleman. The rosary beads indicate that he is religious. This picture is simple but has a since of complexity to it. David LaBelle’s article, “The Great Picture Hunt”, stressed the importance of keeping a photo clear from extraneous detail and clutter. If you have to many things going on in a picture, it can take your eye away from what the focus of the picture is supposed to be.
As I looked through David Snider’s collection, his photos captured precious moments that could not have been captured from shooting across the street. Look at the second photo in Snider’s collection, Sonny’s Rosary Beads, New York City. This photo is filled with detail and emotion that tells me a story about this person’s life. The rough hands make me think that Sonny is a male who is part of working class American. The wrinkles tell me that Sonny is an older gentleman. The rosary beads indicate that he is religious. This picture is simple but has a since of complexity to it. David LaBelle’s article, “The Great Picture Hunt”, stressed the importance of keeping a photo clear from extraneous detail and clutter. If you have to many things going on in a picture, it can take your eye away from what the focus of the picture is supposed to be.
Backpack Journalism: Our Bright Future
by Bu Fan
Sorry I know that I'm late for this topic. Because I didn't know we should write blog about the reading after our first class.
Ok, let's come to the world of backpack journalism. After reading these articles, it seems that the backpack journalism will be our bright future. As multimedia-savvy reporters in the future, we can rush into the spot where breaking news is happening with lightweight digital equipment, and leave those conventional reporters carrying a steadicam far behind. It sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?
With a laptop, a digital camera, a cell phone, and perhaps a GPS, backpack journalists can independently produce multimedia outlets through a serial of softwares, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Premiere, and so forth. They can write news stories, shoot video, edit video clips, do radio on the side-all of those work. They will be the pioneers of journalism in the twenty-first century.
However, my question is-how can they(probably "we" in the future) meet the requirement of market-oriented media? As everyone knows, different media match the taste of different audiences. For example, political interested citizens will prefer newspaper of traditional or advocacy journalism, like the New York Times, Washington Post, Nation, etc., while some other consumers may be fond of news in a "infortainment" style, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. But how can a single journalist report news from many different angles and different styles to cater different audiences' taste?
I am looking forward to answers from you, and I will keep pondering on it. :)
Sorry I know that I'm late for this topic. Because I didn't know we should write blog about the reading after our first class.
Ok, let's come to the world of backpack journalism. After reading these articles, it seems that the backpack journalism will be our bright future. As multimedia-savvy reporters in the future, we can rush into the spot where breaking news is happening with lightweight digital equipment, and leave those conventional reporters carrying a steadicam far behind. It sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?
With a laptop, a digital camera, a cell phone, and perhaps a GPS, backpack journalists can independently produce multimedia outlets through a serial of softwares, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Premiere, and so forth. They can write news stories, shoot video, edit video clips, do radio on the side-all of those work. They will be the pioneers of journalism in the twenty-first century.
However, my question is-how can they(probably "we" in the future) meet the requirement of market-oriented media? As everyone knows, different media match the taste of different audiences. For example, political interested citizens will prefer newspaper of traditional or advocacy journalism, like the New York Times, Washington Post, Nation, etc., while some other consumers may be fond of news in a "infortainment" style, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. But how can a single journalist report news from many different angles and different styles to cater different audiences' taste?
I am looking forward to answers from you, and I will keep pondering on it. :)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
BBC Readers' Perspectives of the World
The idea similar to “The world from your perspective” of the BBC has already been put into practice by many other websites for some time. I am not sure which one was the first big news organization taking advantage of “citizen photojournalism”, but the BBC is certainly, thanks to their popularity and reputation, one of the most successful. They have good pictures from people all over the world. They even organize photo contests for their readers-contributors.
The BBC is definitely not the website where one should go to find the best pictures. Even with their most beautiful photos, they only keep a low resolution, maybe to make sure that readers from parts of the world with a low speed of the Internet can download them. But because those pictures are so rich in variety, the photo section gives the feeling that the “Beeb” is truly international.
My online newspaper once tried doing the same thing, asking Vietnamese-speaking people from all over the world to send photos of what they saw in their places to us, but it was a failure. Few people did, and those who did had poorly-shot photos. So we changed the tactic, asking people to send photos of themselves, their children, their friends, etc and let our readers vote for the best pictures. This time, it was a big success.
"Street Pictures" show that the ordinary can be beautiful
Throughout his collection of “Street Pictures”, David Snider impeccably blends simplicity with tried and true photographic techniques in order to create an accessible, yet masterful collection of documentary photography. In reviewing the samples of work we were linked to for our class assignment, never did I feel that he was reaching too far. Instead, I believed that he wanted his photography to be relatable to ordinary people not just trained professionals.
I particularly was attracted to a photo of children taken in Madison Square Park in New York City. Being something of a New York fan, I recognized the setting, and relatability and finding familiarity with viewers is something I feel is incredibly important, both in documentary and artistic photography. The leading lines and self-imposed framing created by the chain links on the bridge are ideal, and Snider uses them to his advantage, rather than casting them aside as a distracting element. Shadows too seem sculpted as a part of the image, rather than as an accidental occurrence. I also really like the various tones and tints visible in the photo, particularly the stark white of the child’s shoes, as contrasted with the dirt on the clothing of the other children around him or her.
The photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris also fascinated me. Truly, the tower is magnificent in person, and in many landscape photographs taken of it. However, Snider came at the image head on, and really made a relationship between the man in the foreground an the tower. While I can’t claim to understand exactly what Snider was going for, it seems to me that the enormity of the tower is meant to emphasize the normalcy of the man. To put it another way, while he’s the subject of the photgraph and in focus, he simply can not get away from the enormity of the landmark that towers behind him.
Looking at Snider’s pictures makes it evident that documentary or artistic photography does not have to be “boring”. There are unique angles to every image, and it takes a skilled and dedicated journalist or artist to capture them.
I particularly was attracted to a photo of children taken in Madison Square Park in New York City. Being something of a New York fan, I recognized the setting, and relatability and finding familiarity with viewers is something I feel is incredibly important, both in documentary and artistic photography. The leading lines and self-imposed framing created by the chain links on the bridge are ideal, and Snider uses them to his advantage, rather than casting them aside as a distracting element. Shadows too seem sculpted as a part of the image, rather than as an accidental occurrence. I also really like the various tones and tints visible in the photo, particularly the stark white of the child’s shoes, as contrasted with the dirt on the clothing of the other children around him or her.
The photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris also fascinated me. Truly, the tower is magnificent in person, and in many landscape photographs taken of it. However, Snider came at the image head on, and really made a relationship between the man in the foreground an the tower. While I can’t claim to understand exactly what Snider was going for, it seems to me that the enormity of the tower is meant to emphasize the normalcy of the man. To put it another way, while he’s the subject of the photgraph and in focus, he simply can not get away from the enormity of the landmark that towers behind him.
Looking at Snider’s pictures makes it evident that documentary or artistic photography does not have to be “boring”. There are unique angles to every image, and it takes a skilled and dedicated journalist or artist to capture them.
Survival skills in new age journalism
When I told my friends back at home that I would study the convergence module, they gaped, confused: “What on earth is convergence journalism?” I was probably one of the first people from
I believe that backpack journalism or convergence journalism, however you put it, in the future will be a survival skill of this career. Competitions mean that newsrooms must get more and more efficient and a reporter needs to be able to do many jobs.
This is especially true in my field: online journalism. One will need to write the story, take photos, produce a video and radio version for it, and then put it online. At present, my colleagues and I already have to write, edit and take pictures for our articles. However, my newspaper is already taking steps in developing the multimedia elements for the website. And we are not likely to afford a new bunch of people sitting in the lab just producing video and audio files. After all, that is what many citizen journalists are already doing, and most of them do other jobs to earn their living. It does not make sense that we professionals cannot play the same game, and we should be able to do so at a more advanced level.
As for the statement that “a jack of all trade is master of none” by Martha Stone, she discounted the fact that people were expected to be able to do more and more nowadays. Just several years ago, knowing English in my country is alone sufficent to find a well-paid job, but that is no longer true now. In fact, today, not knowing English means that it will be very, very difficult for you to find any white-collar employment. The same thing goes with multimedia skills. They are just part of the package a journalist needs to possess to be able to survive.
The guts to get a great photo
I found the photography guide extremely helpful and accessible to me, a student with little photojournalism experience. Finding myself admiring the photos of the year or photos of my peers, I have always wanted to learn the rules of composition and what sets the great photos apart from the ones that I take with my digital camera at home. I think the most helpful aspect in the photo guide is the need to be curious about people. Emotions are essential in feature as well as news photography and a curiosity about the world can certainly help with that. Another interesting aspect was the fact that photography is about action and reaction and the differences in approaching both of these issues.
I also found the ideas for where to go for pictures extremely interesting. For example, I would not have thought to search the want ads in a publication, but where else could you find the idea for a horse “dentist.” Another valuable insight was subscribing to newsletters to localize the news and find out what is going on in the community in which we report. I really like the idea of approaching photography by viewing the interaction among people and the relationships with one another.
David LaBelle captured this idea in his street photos, with which I was really impressed. I thought that he captured the emotions of his subjects very well. He also mentioned that he was timid when he started, which is my issue of photography. I do not want to step on people’s toes or annoy them when I take photos, but I have to get close. This is something that I need to work on. I will immensely more successful if I can get over my fear and do whatever I need to get a great photo.
I also found the ideas for where to go for pictures extremely interesting. For example, I would not have thought to search the want ads in a publication, but where else could you find the idea for a horse “dentist.” Another valuable insight was subscribing to newsletters to localize the news and find out what is going on in the community in which we report. I really like the idea of approaching photography by viewing the interaction among people and the relationships with one another.
David LaBelle captured this idea in his street photos, with which I was really impressed. I thought that he captured the emotions of his subjects very well. He also mentioned that he was timid when he started, which is my issue of photography. I do not want to step on people’s toes or annoy them when I take photos, but I have to get close. This is something that I need to work on. I will immensely more successful if I can get over my fear and do whatever I need to get a great photo.
The Street and Hunt
I was really drawn to Snider's street pictures. I am an avid photographer too but I admire Snider because he is much more daring than I am. He is willing to capture human emotion and isn't afraid to get in there and shoot. I am much more timid than he is.
He went out to live a dream in the Big Apple and dared and eventually admitted to being a street photographer. I like how he differentiates the term from photojournalist. I love shooting photos but Snider captures our world in a way most people don't see, 'a watcher of humanity' as he claims.
I also liked how LaBelle admitted right away that he wasn't perfect at every type of photography, that he had weaknesses and I would apply that to me in shooting as well. And he even admits that feature shooting is an 'acquired skill' and a practice that is never ends.
It is not easy when describing to someone how to shoot a perfect photograph. It is a combination of many elements and many people give me weird looks when I tell them that I shot 1,000 photos a day on my recent trip to Alaska. It's like LaBelle comments about the old needle and haystack saying for a perfect if not decent photo. LaBelle outlines (with helpful examples) on what a good feature photograph is and how to acheive one.
He went out to live a dream in the Big Apple and dared and eventually admitted to being a street photographer. I like how he differentiates the term from photojournalist. I love shooting photos but Snider captures our world in a way most people don't see, 'a watcher of humanity' as he claims.
I also liked how LaBelle admitted right away that he wasn't perfect at every type of photography, that he had weaknesses and I would apply that to me in shooting as well. And he even admits that feature shooting is an 'acquired skill' and a practice that is never ends.
It is not easy when describing to someone how to shoot a perfect photograph. It is a combination of many elements and many people give me weird looks when I tell them that I shot 1,000 photos a day on my recent trip to Alaska. It's like LaBelle comments about the old needle and haystack saying for a perfect if not decent photo. LaBelle outlines (with helpful examples) on what a good feature photograph is and how to acheive one.
Valuing simplicty in all mediums
As the author of the daily NBA column Taking it to the Rack, I have put much effort into simplifying my writing style. Just months ago, I was regularly churning out 2,000-plus word columns complete with several sentences coming close to hitting triple-digit word counts. What I found was that many of those who read me were either missing my point because they were getting bogged down in a mass of nonrestrictive clauses and parenthetical references, or that they weren’t even getting to the point because the columns were so long that they weren’t bothering to read to the end. Through a lot of trial and error over the past few months, I have been able to refine my style such that I feel like my work comes off as much more streamlined and far more understandable and appealing to the average reader.
It was this very lesson of the value of simplicity that hit me hardest from the works of David Snider and David LaBelle. LaBelle stresses the value of not letting a photograph become too cluttered with extraneous detail. As I read these words, it occurred to me that as a reader, I don’t want to have to do too much work to figure out what is going on in a picture. I want an image that jumps out at me and for the most part tells the story it needs to tell on its own without my assistance. This rang through strongly, as it reminded me of my readers’ desires not to have to fight through loads of ‘aside’ references in my columns to get to the crux of my work.
Meanwhile, many of Snider’s images perfectly illustrate LaBelle’s point about simplicity. He is quite willing to take a picture with few people and a lot of open space, so long as he can make the his focus – be it a person, an action or an emotion – undoubtedly clear to the viewer. Given the trials and tribulations I have gone through with my writing style, it is my intention to transfer the understanding I have gained about the value of simplicity from both my own experiences and from these two readings to my own photojournalism work right from the start.
It was this very lesson of the value of simplicity that hit me hardest from the works of David Snider and David LaBelle. LaBelle stresses the value of not letting a photograph become too cluttered with extraneous detail. As I read these words, it occurred to me that as a reader, I don’t want to have to do too much work to figure out what is going on in a picture. I want an image that jumps out at me and for the most part tells the story it needs to tell on its own without my assistance. This rang through strongly, as it reminded me of my readers’ desires not to have to fight through loads of ‘aside’ references in my columns to get to the crux of my work.
Meanwhile, many of Snider’s images perfectly illustrate LaBelle’s point about simplicity. He is quite willing to take a picture with few people and a lot of open space, so long as he can make the his focus – be it a person, an action or an emotion – undoubtedly clear to the viewer. Given the trials and tribulations I have gone through with my writing style, it is my intention to transfer the understanding I have gained about the value of simplicity from both my own experiences and from these two readings to my own photojournalism work right from the start.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Backpack Journalism
Tanya Sneddon
Both backpack journalism articles had their truths. I agree that multimedia, backpack journalists are not going to be the norm in tomorrow's newsrooms, at least not until the media industries establish training procedures and a program to properly delegate and maintain these extra-involved news packages. The "negative" article made a strong point that backpack journalists are going to be few and far between in newsrooms, and for the mean time, I think this is true.
Convergence journalism is a new field, and considering how few people have learned the programs and the discipline it requires to report across the mediums, it will be a while until the industry and the editors catch up to speed with this new innovative and self-starting breed of journalists. The news industry is currently facing an economic crisis as advertisers are pulling ads and tv and newspapers are sinking into the red.
For now, I think editors and owners are embracing multimedia journalists for the wrong reasons - just because it is much cheaper to send one, "jack of all trades" journalist to report a story does not necessarily mean that that is the best way for a particular story to be told. Not all news stories lend themselves to single person, multimedia reporting, as both articles admit.
Until editors and newsrooms can establish the power and the proper means to use this new convergence journalist to both his or her, the news company, and the reader's best ability and benefit, convergence reporters must step carefully into their first assignments and ensure that they are reporting across the mediums in the best interest of the STORY, not the BUDGET.
When this distinction can be made in the newsrooms and on the storyboards, convergence will reign in this new era of multimedia journalism.
Both backpack journalism articles had their truths. I agree that multimedia, backpack journalists are not going to be the norm in tomorrow's newsrooms, at least not until the media industries establish training procedures and a program to properly delegate and maintain these extra-involved news packages. The "negative" article made a strong point that backpack journalists are going to be few and far between in newsrooms, and for the mean time, I think this is true.
Convergence journalism is a new field, and considering how few people have learned the programs and the discipline it requires to report across the mediums, it will be a while until the industry and the editors catch up to speed with this new innovative and self-starting breed of journalists. The news industry is currently facing an economic crisis as advertisers are pulling ads and tv and newspapers are sinking into the red.
For now, I think editors and owners are embracing multimedia journalists for the wrong reasons - just because it is much cheaper to send one, "jack of all trades" journalist to report a story does not necessarily mean that that is the best way for a particular story to be told. Not all news stories lend themselves to single person, multimedia reporting, as both articles admit.
Until editors and newsrooms can establish the power and the proper means to use this new convergence journalist to both his or her, the news company, and the reader's best ability and benefit, convergence reporters must step carefully into their first assignments and ensure that they are reporting across the mediums in the best interest of the STORY, not the BUDGET.
When this distinction can be made in the newsrooms and on the storyboards, convergence will reign in this new era of multimedia journalism.
Friday, August 24, 2007
fan of convergence
The error I see in the argument against the "backpack journalism" is the fact that she is writing about today's media members. Almost everyone today was originally trained in one particular medium. They didn't grow up in an age where the media they are learning was used on an everyday basis. During their school years no one would have dreamed about half the things that are possible today in reporting news. There in lies the reason Convergence Journalism will work.
The market is now beginning to be filled by young people who have been immersed in this new technology for most of there short adult lives. They became acquainted with everything at an earlier age. For the most part the young people are all about change. They don't have an attitude that change is bad and we should continue the status quo on news reporting.
In her argument against "backpack journalism", Martha Stone presents great statistics showing why convergence journalism is needed. More and more people use the Internet and more and more people want to access their news in multiple ways. She argues that the well-rounded journalist will not be able to nuance their work for a story when they are faced with so many mediums. Why couldn't a news agency just send out two well-rounded journalists? Young people learning convergence journalism today are learning from the problems and mistakes of yesterday's news. The opportunities for learning are endless. The only reason Convergence Journalism won't grow is if it isn't given an opportunity. The market is out there, we just have to take advantage.
The market is now beginning to be filled by young people who have been immersed in this new technology for most of there short adult lives. They became acquainted with everything at an earlier age. For the most part the young people are all about change. They don't have an attitude that change is bad and we should continue the status quo on news reporting.
In her argument against "backpack journalism", Martha Stone presents great statistics showing why convergence journalism is needed. More and more people use the Internet and more and more people want to access their news in multiple ways. She argues that the well-rounded journalist will not be able to nuance their work for a story when they are faced with so many mediums. Why couldn't a news agency just send out two well-rounded journalists? Young people learning convergence journalism today are learning from the problems and mistakes of yesterday's news. The opportunities for learning are endless. The only reason Convergence Journalism won't grow is if it isn't given an opportunity. The market is out there, we just have to take advantage.
why backpack journalism?
I get the feeling that a lot of people who have been in the business for years feel threatened by backpack journalism. It’s new and people fear what they do not know. While there is legitimacy in some of the points concerning potential journalistic shoddiness, I think if we start teaching journalists first and foremost what it means to be a journalist, and then give them all of the tools they need, there shouldn’t be a whole lot of room for exaggerated multimedia.
We live in a world propelled by changing technology. I personally feel more prepared knowing that one day I will be able to confidently report on a story and produce it in a medium that will reach public audiences. It doesn't matter how good the journalism is if it never reaches an audience. I argue that it's possible to produce great journalism and be well trained in the field of convergence.
We live in a world propelled by changing technology. I personally feel more prepared knowing that one day I will be able to confidently report on a story and produce it in a medium that will reach public audiences. It doesn't matter how good the journalism is if it never reaches an audience. I argue that it's possible to produce great journalism and be well trained in the field of convergence.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Backpack Journalism: Still Young
by Mu Li
In a sense, everybody can become a backpack journalist in the digital age.
All it takes is a backpack of laptop, video camera, still camera and cell phone. Ordinary folks can report what he is seeing and hearing on their blogs wherever they are, thanks to the blessing of bluetooth technology. No million dollar equipment, just do it and share it on the web. This is the notion of citizen journalism, but also the bud of backpack journalism. Things are easier than they used to be.
Back in China, I was browsing Danwei.org, one of the blog-based website that runs daily translations of Chinese news and member-produced photos and videos about China. It's founder, Jeremy Goldcorn, is pretty much a Jack-of-all-trades. Of course, Danwei's work are not perfect in the professional sense. But guess what? A large English-reading crowd who are concerned about China visits the website. Even some of the professional western journalists seek their story ideas from those useful translations. Content matters.
But if journalists are to outlast any Jim or Jack on the street, they need to become expert on the subject, and wrap it up MUCH better. There is the question: Will there be more journalists end up becoming one of the "do-it-all" Preston Mendenhall or Smita Paul, who can get the real story in really good quality reporting?
Technology advance and industry upheavals means a lot more journalists will have the ability to perform across platforms, as Jane Stevens tells us, even when few could be the master of all arts today. Even when much of the multi-media journalism nowadays are criticized as "mush of mediocrity", backpack journalism is here to stay, as the inevitable trend goes.
Most people who have doubts about the trend seem to neglect the fact that in this information overload age, the phrase "backpack journalism" has only been around for about less than decade. Much as what newspaper, radio and TV reporters have experienced, a new generation of professional backpack journalists are still growing up. In the future, the most important stories will be told in a timely media package. That means media efficiency, and better public knowledge.
In a sense, everybody can become a backpack journalist in the digital age.
All it takes is a backpack of laptop, video camera, still camera and cell phone. Ordinary folks can report what he is seeing and hearing on their blogs wherever they are, thanks to the blessing of bluetooth technology. No million dollar equipment, just do it and share it on the web. This is the notion of citizen journalism, but also the bud of backpack journalism. Things are easier than they used to be.
Back in China, I was browsing Danwei.org, one of the blog-based website that runs daily translations of Chinese news and member-produced photos and videos about China. It's founder, Jeremy Goldcorn, is pretty much a Jack-of-all-trades. Of course, Danwei's work are not perfect in the professional sense. But guess what? A large English-reading crowd who are concerned about China visits the website. Even some of the professional western journalists seek their story ideas from those useful translations. Content matters.
But if journalists are to outlast any Jim or Jack on the street, they need to become expert on the subject, and wrap it up MUCH better. There is the question: Will there be more journalists end up becoming one of the "do-it-all" Preston Mendenhall or Smita Paul, who can get the real story in really good quality reporting?
Technology advance and industry upheavals means a lot more journalists will have the ability to perform across platforms, as Jane Stevens tells us, even when few could be the master of all arts today. Even when much of the multi-media journalism nowadays are criticized as "mush of mediocrity", backpack journalism is here to stay, as the inevitable trend goes.
Most people who have doubts about the trend seem to neglect the fact that in this information overload age, the phrase "backpack journalism" has only been around for about less than decade. Much as what newspaper, radio and TV reporters have experienced, a new generation of professional backpack journalists are still growing up. In the future, the most important stories will be told in a timely media package. That means media efficiency, and better public knowledge.
It's here to stay, but that's not the real question.
Eric Thibault
Honestly, I thought the two articles were arguing different points.
"Backpack Journalism is here to Stay" seemed to address the longevity of convergence journalism. At this point, I'd have to say that appears to be a given. With more and more universities and professional news sources using "backpack journalism," a complete trend reversal isn't in the cards. Certainly, this new field has its advantages - I wouldn't be taking this class if I though otherwise. Reporters who can work across medias give themselves a chance to adapt to any type of story, or to any type of presentation of a story. Ideally, they fit the jack-of-all-trades mode, and can really be effective with any type of media.
"Backpack Journalism is a Mush of Mediocrity" addresses the quality of convergence journalism - not whether or not it will have any staying power. The article brings up some valid points...namely that while it's great to use all types of media, it's not worth much if the production value is low.
The problem I have with the second article is that it fixes its viewpoint on the wrong topic. It's not convergence journalism that's responsible for spread-out, average-quality work. It's the journalist.
When TV first became popular as a news source, low-quality TV reporting didn't occur because TV was a poor media. There were simply not enough journalists who knew how to use it effectively. The same can be said for convergence journalism. The responsibility falls on individual journalists to raise the quality of their work, and to make sure, in the words of Martha Stone, that they don't become "A Jack of all trades, and master of none."
Honestly, I thought the two articles were arguing different points.
"Backpack Journalism is here to Stay" seemed to address the longevity of convergence journalism. At this point, I'd have to say that appears to be a given. With more and more universities and professional news sources using "backpack journalism," a complete trend reversal isn't in the cards. Certainly, this new field has its advantages - I wouldn't be taking this class if I though otherwise. Reporters who can work across medias give themselves a chance to adapt to any type of story, or to any type of presentation of a story. Ideally, they fit the jack-of-all-trades mode, and can really be effective with any type of media.
"Backpack Journalism is a Mush of Mediocrity" addresses the quality of convergence journalism - not whether or not it will have any staying power. The article brings up some valid points...namely that while it's great to use all types of media, it's not worth much if the production value is low.
The problem I have with the second article is that it fixes its viewpoint on the wrong topic. It's not convergence journalism that's responsible for spread-out, average-quality work. It's the journalist.
When TV first became popular as a news source, low-quality TV reporting didn't occur because TV was a poor media. There were simply not enough journalists who knew how to use it effectively. The same can be said for convergence journalism. The responsibility falls on individual journalists to raise the quality of their work, and to make sure, in the words of Martha Stone, that they don't become "A Jack of all trades, and master of none."
Backpack Journalism
Suekyoung Kim
After having read both articles, it seems to me that Stevens’ article is a carrot and Stone’s article is a stick to the convergence journalists. I liked both articles in a sense, Stevens’ standpoint boosted me to do what I want to do as my future career and Stone’s somewhat bitter perspective made me realize nothing is enough unless keep training ourselves. It may not be easy to get all the different jobs done perfectly by oneself, however, we as young and enthusiastic future journalists we should believe in nothing is impossible. Even though something seems impossible we should make it possible then we could finally remove the unwanted tags of ‘mediocre multitasker’ confidently.
By now, we all are undoubtedly aware of what future journalism may look like and what future journalists may face with. It’s the fact that reducing costs of producing journalism is inevitable and specializing in one thing is never enough for many people. The world becomes more sophisticated and so do people. In order to meet the demand of journalism consumers, journalists should make progress and be ready to do it all the time. As technological devices have become a part of daily life, we can only choose to get along with the current trend, never with the ancient notion that once worked out. Being a successful next runner truly depends on how well we are capable of doing so.
After having read both articles, it seems to me that Stevens’ article is a carrot and Stone’s article is a stick to the convergence journalists. I liked both articles in a sense, Stevens’ standpoint boosted me to do what I want to do as my future career and Stone’s somewhat bitter perspective made me realize nothing is enough unless keep training ourselves. It may not be easy to get all the different jobs done perfectly by oneself, however, we as young and enthusiastic future journalists we should believe in nothing is impossible. Even though something seems impossible we should make it possible then we could finally remove the unwanted tags of ‘mediocre multitasker’ confidently.
By now, we all are undoubtedly aware of what future journalism may look like and what future journalists may face with. It’s the fact that reducing costs of producing journalism is inevitable and specializing in one thing is never enough for many people. The world becomes more sophisticated and so do people. In order to meet the demand of journalism consumers, journalists should make progress and be ready to do it all the time. As technological devices have become a part of daily life, we can only choose to get along with the current trend, never with the ancient notion that once worked out. Being a successful next runner truly depends on how well we are capable of doing so.
Backpack Journalism
Jessica Malnik
I agree with Jane Stevens in “Backpack Journalism is here to stay.” She recognizes that newsrooms are in the midst of a transition, and in the future backpack/multimedia journalists will replace less technologically savvy journalists. In response to Stone, I do not think that this will weaken the quality of journalism. As backpack journalists gain more experience and new technology emerges, the quality of journalism will improve.
Newspapers and TV newscasts are great ways to tell the news on very straightforward issues, such as the weekly city commission meeting. However, I agree with Stevens that convergence journalism has the edge with more complicated issues. Convergence storytelling is more effective, because of its “context and continuity.” Being able to convey a story by combining several different mediums (such as photo, video, audio, graphics and print) will enable journalists to reach a broader audience. Converged news appeals to more people, because it has a little bit for everyone. While one person can grasp the story from video clips, another person might read the print story and graphics. In fact, I suspect that even more convergence journalists will emerge with the rise of citizen journalism. Convergence journalism promotes citizen feedback via blogs and message boards. Backpack journalism has many advantages, and is definitely here to stay.
I agree with Jane Stevens in “Backpack Journalism is here to stay.” She recognizes that newsrooms are in the midst of a transition, and in the future backpack/multimedia journalists will replace less technologically savvy journalists. In response to Stone, I do not think that this will weaken the quality of journalism. As backpack journalists gain more experience and new technology emerges, the quality of journalism will improve.
Newspapers and TV newscasts are great ways to tell the news on very straightforward issues, such as the weekly city commission meeting. However, I agree with Stevens that convergence journalism has the edge with more complicated issues. Convergence storytelling is more effective, because of its “context and continuity.” Being able to convey a story by combining several different mediums (such as photo, video, audio, graphics and print) will enable journalists to reach a broader audience. Converged news appeals to more people, because it has a little bit for everyone. While one person can grasp the story from video clips, another person might read the print story and graphics. In fact, I suspect that even more convergence journalists will emerge with the rise of citizen journalism. Convergence journalism promotes citizen feedback via blogs and message boards. Backpack journalism has many advantages, and is definitely here to stay.
Backpack Journalism
Lindsey Foat
Reading Martha Stone’s counterpoint to the Backpack Journalist, I started to question my own aspirations as a convergence major. On one hand, I don’t like thinking of multimedia reporting as a means to reduce the number of staff on an assignment or as a result of the profit-driven, public ownership that is killing many newspapers.
Instead, I like to think of convergence journalism, as a new approach that will allow us to become better storytellers, who meet and compete for citizens needs amidst other distractions. Realistically, newsrooms can’t always send multiple staff on one assignment. Mendenhall’s trip to Afghanistan is an ideal example. Not only is a small camera more discreet, but convincing and bribing warlords to pass through certain areas is obviously a lot easier when there’s only one person.
I certainly hope that I will master multiple types of media and not produce mediocre work. After all, of any generation thus far ours is certainly adept at multitasking and adopting new technologies.
Reading Martha Stone’s counterpoint to the Backpack Journalist, I started to question my own aspirations as a convergence major. On one hand, I don’t like thinking of multimedia reporting as a means to reduce the number of staff on an assignment or as a result of the profit-driven, public ownership that is killing many newspapers.
Instead, I like to think of convergence journalism, as a new approach that will allow us to become better storytellers, who meet and compete for citizens needs amidst other distractions. Realistically, newsrooms can’t always send multiple staff on one assignment. Mendenhall’s trip to Afghanistan is an ideal example. Not only is a small camera more discreet, but convincing and bribing warlords to pass through certain areas is obviously a lot easier when there’s only one person.
I certainly hope that I will master multiple types of media and not produce mediocre work. After all, of any generation thus far ours is certainly adept at multitasking and adopting new technologies.
Backpack Journalists
The piece I identified most with was Jane Stevens' "Backpack Journalism Is Here to Stay", due to the fact she realizes that a multimedia journalistic world is the future. In opposition, Martha Stone urges journalists to just use the backpack journalist sparingly instead of all the time in "Backpack Journalism Is a 'Mush of Mediocrity'."
As a backpack journalist herself, Stevens gives her opinions as one who has been to the other side and liked what she saw. This change brought Stevens to realize that backpack journalism is not a fad and is, in fact, the future, when she says that the convergence journalists will eventually rule. I think this is absolutely right. Times are changing and people aren't as interested in watching or reading news as much as they once were. Coming up with new ways in order to engage news consumers and provide them with the facts is exactly what the convegence movement seeks to do. It isn't taking away from the previously established media; it is merely a combination to make the news even more accessible and helpful to the public.
I didn't like how unreceptive Stone was to the idea of the convergence movement, though she does cede a little throughout the article. She essentially said "Why mess with a good thing?" when talking about media. "We've done well with newspapers and radio and TV, so why change?" Things have been changing, and the convergence movement is at the forefront.
While traditional media will still continue to exist, there will be a new player which I am assuming will outstrip them all. This makes me more like Stevens in our shared view that Convergence is the way to go. It would be interesting to rule over all of journalism...
As a backpack journalist herself, Stevens gives her opinions as one who has been to the other side and liked what she saw. This change brought Stevens to realize that backpack journalism is not a fad and is, in fact, the future, when she says that the convergence journalists will eventually rule. I think this is absolutely right. Times are changing and people aren't as interested in watching or reading news as much as they once were. Coming up with new ways in order to engage news consumers and provide them with the facts is exactly what the convegence movement seeks to do. It isn't taking away from the previously established media; it is merely a combination to make the news even more accessible and helpful to the public.
I didn't like how unreceptive Stone was to the idea of the convergence movement, though she does cede a little throughout the article. She essentially said "Why mess with a good thing?" when talking about media. "We've done well with newspapers and radio and TV, so why change?" Things have been changing, and the convergence movement is at the forefront.
While traditional media will still continue to exist, there will be a new player which I am assuming will outstrip them all. This makes me more like Stevens in our shared view that Convergence is the way to go. It would be interesting to rule over all of journalism...
Can nylon even turn into mush?
Jashin Lin
So Article #1 is exceedingly optimistic and supportive of backpack/multimedia/convergence journalism and claims that the future of news media will be all but owned by the multimedia journalist, even sniping back at the Martha Stewart quip present in Article #2.
Well...Jane Stevens is a backpack journalist and she's not exactly going to declare herself defunct or misguided.
Article #2 has kind of a misleading headline. "Mush of mediocrity" made a snappy quote (alliteration!) but Martha Stone didn't really argue firmly from that position - at least, she didn't dismiss multimedia journalism outright. Less "backpack journalism will be mediocre" and more "backpack journalism is probably going to produce mediocre content, the way it's going now." She focused on its disadvantages and the difficulties, circa 2002, in implementing the new breed of journalist without sacrificing production quality.
A stray humorous remark in Article #1 - Pendenhall failing to notice a smudge in his camera lens during his coverage of Afghanistan - acknowledged some of these inherent concerns, but implied that journalists with more training and a few more years' experience would be able to avoid these problem easily. Article #2 took the same example and used it as a base for arguing that very few backpack journalists would truly be able to handle juggling and delivering high-quality content in several different mediums all at once, by themselves. It may be more expensive to send in a four-man team of specialists, but there won't be dirty lenses or dropped audio, not to mention all four would be able to look for ideal situations and moments for their individual mediums without having to worry about taking in content in all four of them.
Article #1 counters this with several points:
1. Backpack journalists tend to travel light & portable - a side effect is that the equipment they carry is smaller and more unobtrusive. Instead of huge, over-the-shoulder cameras, the backpack journalist can be less obvious with a handheld.
2. Not all endeavors will be a single journalist. The newsroom can have a producer putting together content filed by different journalists in different mediums into a single package. Other projects will have one or two reporters working on it long time.
On an instinctual level, I understand Stone's position. It should be difficult for one person to film, interview, record and take pictures at the same time.
On the hand, both articles cite statistics that people are increasingly accessing their news via the Internet, where they expect multimedia coverage to be the norm. And it would indeed be less expensive to send one journalist trained to think in multimedia terms and use multimedia tools.
After all, I am studying to be a backpack journalist - I can't exactly declare myself defunct or misguided.
So Article #1 is exceedingly optimistic and supportive of backpack/multimedia/convergence journalism and claims that the future of news media will be all but owned by the multimedia journalist, even sniping back at the Martha Stewart quip present in Article #2.
Well...Jane Stevens is a backpack journalist and she's not exactly going to declare herself defunct or misguided.
Article #2 has kind of a misleading headline. "Mush of mediocrity" made a snappy quote (alliteration!) but Martha Stone didn't really argue firmly from that position - at least, she didn't dismiss multimedia journalism outright. Less "backpack journalism will be mediocre" and more "backpack journalism is probably going to produce mediocre content, the way it's going now." She focused on its disadvantages and the difficulties, circa 2002, in implementing the new breed of journalist without sacrificing production quality.
A stray humorous remark in Article #1 - Pendenhall failing to notice a smudge in his camera lens during his coverage of Afghanistan - acknowledged some of these inherent concerns, but implied that journalists with more training and a few more years' experience would be able to avoid these problem easily. Article #2 took the same example and used it as a base for arguing that very few backpack journalists would truly be able to handle juggling and delivering high-quality content in several different mediums all at once, by themselves. It may be more expensive to send in a four-man team of specialists, but there won't be dirty lenses or dropped audio, not to mention all four would be able to look for ideal situations and moments for their individual mediums without having to worry about taking in content in all four of them.
Article #1 counters this with several points:
1. Backpack journalists tend to travel light & portable - a side effect is that the equipment they carry is smaller and more unobtrusive. Instead of huge, over-the-shoulder cameras, the backpack journalist can be less obvious with a handheld.
2. Not all endeavors will be a single journalist. The newsroom can have a producer putting together content filed by different journalists in different mediums into a single package. Other projects will have one or two reporters working on it long time.
On an instinctual level, I understand Stone's position. It should be difficult for one person to film, interview, record and take pictures at the same time.
On the hand, both articles cite statistics that people are increasingly accessing their news via the Internet, where they expect multimedia coverage to be the norm. And it would indeed be less expensive to send one journalist trained to think in multimedia terms and use multimedia tools.
After all, I am studying to be a backpack journalist - I can't exactly declare myself defunct or misguided.
Backpack Journalism
Xenia Shih
I disagree with Martha Stone's opinion that multimedia journalism compromises quality for efficiency and economy. True, multimedia journalists may not be able to execute stories as flawlessly as multi-journalist crews, but multimedia journalism is still in its early phases, and it will continue to improve.
As more campuses begin to offer multimedia journalism training, the demand for backpack journalists who are not only capable of working across a variety of mediums, but who are also masters of such a variety, will increase. Additionally, constantly improving technology will help backpack journalists compensate for their shortcomings since few journalists individually possess the wide range of skills that multi-journalist crews do.
In time, I think that backpack journalists may even surpass specialist journalists as the majority. Though this is not likely to happen in the near future, the face of journalism is changing, and multimedia journalism definitely has a place in its future.
I disagree with Martha Stone's opinion that multimedia journalism compromises quality for efficiency and economy. True, multimedia journalists may not be able to execute stories as flawlessly as multi-journalist crews, but multimedia journalism is still in its early phases, and it will continue to improve.
As more campuses begin to offer multimedia journalism training, the demand for backpack journalists who are not only capable of working across a variety of mediums, but who are also masters of such a variety, will increase. Additionally, constantly improving technology will help backpack journalists compensate for their shortcomings since few journalists individually possess the wide range of skills that multi-journalist crews do.
In time, I think that backpack journalists may even surpass specialist journalists as the majority. Though this is not likely to happen in the near future, the face of journalism is changing, and multimedia journalism definitely has a place in its future.
The future of journalism
Backpack journalism is more than a half-baked fad. I’d stake my career on it. In “Here to Stay,” Jane Stevens writes of its flexibility and continuity. That those two modifiers describe backpack journalism is beyond debate, I think. The only valid argument Martha Stone offers in “Mush” is that a reporter trying to do it all may not excel in any one discipline. I would argue that complete coverage and broad appeal are more important than virtuosity. Writing or photographing well is a plus, but cogent storytelling is requisite.
The fatal flaw in “Mush” is that all the cringe-worthy numbers and statistics Stone lists are six years old, which in our ever-evolving field makes them irrelevant. Take as examples of change the fine work currently featured on Web sites such as washingtonpost.com and newyorktimes.com.
Perhaps most importantly, Stone ignores community news outlets. Most American journalists work at publications with circulations of less than 25,000, and are in an ideal position to be backpack journalists. They’re on a shoestring budget with minimal staff, and they’re reporting local events with familiar faces, neighbor-to-neighbor. Using video and other multimedia tools, they can provide a more tangible, albeit simple, reflection of daily life.
Consider it in practical terms. A reporter recording an interview can later edit clips onto a Web site. Or, a reporter can videotape an interview (being careful to let the source do 99 percent of the talking), which, when properly edited, makes a compelling multimedia addition. It doesn't have to be complicated.
The fatal flaw in “Mush” is that all the cringe-worthy numbers and statistics Stone lists are six years old, which in our ever-evolving field makes them irrelevant. Take as examples of change the fine work currently featured on Web sites such as washingtonpost.com and newyorktimes.com.
Perhaps most importantly, Stone ignores community news outlets. Most American journalists work at publications with circulations of less than 25,000, and are in an ideal position to be backpack journalists. They’re on a shoestring budget with minimal staff, and they’re reporting local events with familiar faces, neighbor-to-neighbor. Using video and other multimedia tools, they can provide a more tangible, albeit simple, reflection of daily life.
Consider it in practical terms. A reporter recording an interview can later edit clips onto a Web site. Or, a reporter can videotape an interview (being careful to let the source do 99 percent of the talking), which, when properly edited, makes a compelling multimedia addition. It doesn't have to be complicated.
"Backpacking it" is our only option
I believe Jane Stevens is right when announcing “In a few years, backpack journalists will not only be the rule, they'll rule.” At least, to a certain extent. Personally, I’m glad I am not going into newsprint journalism right now; I’m scared about its future. And talk about low job security! I do think that there will continue to be a separation of these mediums for some time though. We will still have nightly news, specialty magazines, and radio shows for a long time. It’s not like every medium will be consumed by the WWW Monster. I see it as producing deeper stories and providing the public with more information, which is what the media is (should be) all about, right?
At the same time, Martha Stone makes a good point in saying that three-men teams can usually produce better quality results, and this is where I don’t know what to think. Yes, that’s probably true, but that isn’t taking into account the ferocious business side of the media. More and more newsroom jobs are disappearing to make budget cuts and increase profitability, and I’m not sure that is going to change. So instead of having fewer people and trying to stretch the crews out to cover the same amount of stories, why don’t we rely on these backpack journalists? It may not be as high-quality as it could have been, but there simply aren’t enough people to go around anymore. Therefore, this seems like a viable adjustment. Am I missing something here? It just seems like the media’s business side won’t allow our old ways to continue.
At the same time, Martha Stone makes a good point in saying that three-men teams can usually produce better quality results, and this is where I don’t know what to think. Yes, that’s probably true, but that isn’t taking into account the ferocious business side of the media. More and more newsroom jobs are disappearing to make budget cuts and increase profitability, and I’m not sure that is going to change. So instead of having fewer people and trying to stretch the crews out to cover the same amount of stories, why don’t we rely on these backpack journalists? It may not be as high-quality as it could have been, but there simply aren’t enough people to go around anymore. Therefore, this seems like a viable adjustment. Am I missing something here? It just seems like the media’s business side won’t allow our old ways to continue.
Backpacking Journalism
When it comes to the future of media, in this case, news broadcasting, I believe the key is versatility and spontaneity. After reading both Stone and Steven’s notions on the very same topic, I felt that Steven’s had a more practical and flexible idea of what we need to propel media into the next generation.
With technology constantly advancing and with society becoming more open to this process, I feel the only way to deal with the changes are to embrace them. Steven’s recognises the common misunderstanding that the new age reporter has become a ‘jack of all trades’. Whilst it is important that the modern reporter has the understanding of all the technological facets of reporting, it is not necessary for one to be sound in all areas. Rather the best of the best is selected from a team of persons on the site, and then accumulated to create a piece worth listening to.
Stone uses Gary Kebbel’s comment “I think they are simply trying to eliminate jobs” to suggest that the idea of a backpacker journalist is purely a cheap excuse to cut down the jobs and thus the budget. This concept loses its value when you look at the money spent to train and co-ordinate these teams in order to send them out to make a story.
In today’s society people demand to know what is happening minute-to-minute, instead of day-to-day or even hour-to-hour. With the technology there is no excuse for us to be behind in our news. The backing journalist (in a team or individual) makes this possible, bringing us stories from places we’ve never even heard of. Preston Mendenhall’s is a great example of this because he was able to cross into a foreign country by himself in circumstances that did not allow for a crew, he had all the equipment he needed and was able to bring us a story we otherwise never would have had.
I think that Stone needs to be more open to what is inevitable, and rather then making up excuses and trying to control the situation she should embrace it and realise the possibilities open to us in the future.
NICCI MEEK
With technology constantly advancing and with society becoming more open to this process, I feel the only way to deal with the changes are to embrace them. Steven’s recognises the common misunderstanding that the new age reporter has become a ‘jack of all trades’. Whilst it is important that the modern reporter has the understanding of all the technological facets of reporting, it is not necessary for one to be sound in all areas. Rather the best of the best is selected from a team of persons on the site, and then accumulated to create a piece worth listening to.
Stone uses Gary Kebbel’s comment “I think they are simply trying to eliminate jobs” to suggest that the idea of a backpacker journalist is purely a cheap excuse to cut down the jobs and thus the budget. This concept loses its value when you look at the money spent to train and co-ordinate these teams in order to send them out to make a story.
In today’s society people demand to know what is happening minute-to-minute, instead of day-to-day or even hour-to-hour. With the technology there is no excuse for us to be behind in our news. The backing journalist (in a team or individual) makes this possible, bringing us stories from places we’ve never even heard of. Preston Mendenhall’s is a great example of this because he was able to cross into a foreign country by himself in circumstances that did not allow for a crew, he had all the equipment he needed and was able to bring us a story we otherwise never would have had.
I think that Stone needs to be more open to what is inevitable, and rather then making up excuses and trying to control the situation she should embrace it and realise the possibilities open to us in the future.
NICCI MEEK
About Backpack Journalism
Jane Stevens gives me a clear idea about what is backpack journalism, the difference between traditional media and multimedia and how to integrate texts, videos, audios and graphics to tell stories, while Martha Stone points out the potential problems backpack journalists would have-Being Jacks of all trades, master of none, backpack journalists can just produce mediocre shortcuts but not top-quality products.
I don’t know if it is true that over the next 20 years, the content of the newspaper and the television news shows are likely to be delivered principally over the internet, as Stevens predicts optimistically in 2002, it seems too fast to realize, but I agree that convergent journalism is real and growing apace, not only in America but also in many developing countries. Backpack journalism is a necessary and effective option when it is impossible to send a group of people with respective expertise to cover one story. Preston Mendenhall’s work was a good example.
A backpack journalist can specialize in one medium and slide across media. Finding the most effective way to tell a story should be the criteria to judge a backpack journalist’s work. It is unfair to require one person to be specialist in every aspect.
About that backpack journalism...
I identified most with Martha Stone’s article, which described the new backpack journalism phenomena and its followers as “a Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” While I clearly support versatility in journalism, as well as reporters for any medium to include skills that cross genres, I often feel that backpack journalism’s attitude leaves much to be desired. Writing skills seem to be sacrificed with no real regard, in exchange for several bells and whistles. As a media consumer, I’d rather have a well informed, articulated reporter than one able to present me with Flash graphics.
Perhaps as a journalism student, I’m naïve. That could certainly be the case. But I believe that it’s possible to meet a happy medium, and that this generation of backpack journalists, by virtue of being the first of a growing breed, have simply missed what’s important. Backpack journalists can and should be skilled communicators, both in their verbal and non verbal communication skills, and should not only strive to learn a hodge podge of skills, honing none of them fully.
But after recognizing these flaws in the current state of backpack journalism and the converged media world, I am also cognizant that this is not just a passing phenomena – backpack journalism is certainly here to say, and has its benefits in the way it relates to consumers. Jane Stevens wrote, “Editors must know what's possible, what's impossible, and how to integrate that into a minute-by-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, and long-term flow of news, information and storytelling without shouting, cursing, tripping, stumbling, falling or curling up into a fetal position.” And I think this is truly the epitome of our situation. We must learn how to use backpack journalism to our benefit, and not let it tear apart our newsroom and ruin the age-old traditions of how we see and feel about news.
Perhaps as a journalism student, I’m naïve. That could certainly be the case. But I believe that it’s possible to meet a happy medium, and that this generation of backpack journalists, by virtue of being the first of a growing breed, have simply missed what’s important. Backpack journalists can and should be skilled communicators, both in their verbal and non verbal communication skills, and should not only strive to learn a hodge podge of skills, honing none of them fully.
But after recognizing these flaws in the current state of backpack journalism and the converged media world, I am also cognizant that this is not just a passing phenomena – backpack journalism is certainly here to say, and has its benefits in the way it relates to consumers. Jane Stevens wrote, “Editors must know what's possible, what's impossible, and how to integrate that into a minute-by-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, and long-term flow of news, information and storytelling without shouting, cursing, tripping, stumbling, falling or curling up into a fetal position.” And I think this is truly the epitome of our situation. We must learn how to use backpack journalism to our benefit, and not let it tear apart our newsroom and ruin the age-old traditions of how we see and feel about news.
Backpack Journalism: Carry It with You!
Valerie Insinna
Both "Mush" and "Here to Stay" described many ways that backpack journalism is succeeding, but I did think "Mush" brought valid concerns to the table.
Can one person really master all different forms of media? Would cutting corners lead to an inferior product? Isn't it better to have more than one person's work telling the story?
But to assume that all backpack journalists are a "jack of all trades, master of none" is also foolish. In my opinion, backpack journalism does not imply that a person is not a master in a certain craft, it means that he or she can ease into other media when the situation calls for it. I think the willingness and ability to tell stories with different media is essential in today's world, when people are reading less news. If a person is able to tell a story with print, video, and audio, it could be consumed by many different kinds of people and the story could be told from different angles. I don't think backpack journalism should become the rule, but if the stories are told well and if the different media add richness to what is being said, why not?
Both "Mush" and "Here to Stay" described many ways that backpack journalism is succeeding, but I did think "Mush" brought valid concerns to the table.
Can one person really master all different forms of media? Would cutting corners lead to an inferior product? Isn't it better to have more than one person's work telling the story?
But to assume that all backpack journalists are a "jack of all trades, master of none" is also foolish. In my opinion, backpack journalism does not imply that a person is not a master in a certain craft, it means that he or she can ease into other media when the situation calls for it. I think the willingness and ability to tell stories with different media is essential in today's world, when people are reading less news. If a person is able to tell a story with print, video, and audio, it could be consumed by many different kinds of people and the story could be told from different angles. I don't think backpack journalism should become the rule, but if the stories are told well and if the different media add richness to what is being said, why not?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Backpack Journalism
Thanyarat Doksone
Through reading the two articles, I came to realize more about the significance of backpack journalism and the challenges it is facing in the ever-evolving media industry.
Multitasking and versatility are skills that cannot be achieved easily in a perfect manner. They, therefore, are among significant features required in journalists, particularly when the giant wave of multimedia convergence continues to wash ashore on the land of conventional media.
As Martha Stone cited in several survey results about proliferation of news-oriented Internet users, the demand for online news sphere keeps expanding and, in my point of view, so does that for backpack journalists. Nonetheless, the skyrocketing increase should not cut them some slack. I still believe the craft of journalism should be highly valued and pursued by reporters from all types of media.
Definitely, while Internet surfers expect to experience, like Jane Stevens said in her blog entry, context and continuity in multimedia; they also wish to observe the perfection in reports of different forms. This must add strenuous burdens to the stand-alone backpack journalists, but who dares to say it can be left out?
Five years after the two articles were published on the Internet, I am convinced that drastic improvements have been made to the world of convergence reporting, whether it is mounting financial resources or the cutting-edge technology used in reporting. This might be mainly because most backpack journalists, either novices or veterans, have proven that they did rule and they are here to stay … for a long time.
Through reading the two articles, I came to realize more about the significance of backpack journalism and the challenges it is facing in the ever-evolving media industry.
Multitasking and versatility are skills that cannot be achieved easily in a perfect manner. They, therefore, are among significant features required in journalists, particularly when the giant wave of multimedia convergence continues to wash ashore on the land of conventional media.
As Martha Stone cited in several survey results about proliferation of news-oriented Internet users, the demand for online news sphere keeps expanding and, in my point of view, so does that for backpack journalists. Nonetheless, the skyrocketing increase should not cut them some slack. I still believe the craft of journalism should be highly valued and pursued by reporters from all types of media.
Definitely, while Internet surfers expect to experience, like Jane Stevens said in her blog entry, context and continuity in multimedia; they also wish to observe the perfection in reports of different forms. This must add strenuous burdens to the stand-alone backpack journalists, but who dares to say it can be left out?
Five years after the two articles were published on the Internet, I am convinced that drastic improvements have been made to the world of convergence reporting, whether it is mounting financial resources or the cutting-edge technology used in reporting. This might be mainly because most backpack journalists, either novices or veterans, have proven that they did rule and they are here to stay … for a long time.
Backpack journalism
Andrell Bower
The debate between these authors isn't about theory as much as practice. They agree newsrooms must pay attention to increased popularity of multimedia stories online, and the way news organizations meet this demand requires some kind of top-down reorganization.
Whether the reorganization results in a staff that can work across platforms or a staff of specialists who work together better, the point is still to find the best way to report and communicate the story. I think it makes sense for people to have knowledge of several areas simply because it helps them identify story-telling opportunities in all platforms. I also understand Martha Stone's concerns, especially in the area of breaking news coverage, but I can see how Jane Stevens' idea of producer-driven stories could work as well.
I would be interested to find out how many more newsrooms are developing or hiring multimedia journalists.
The debate between these authors isn't about theory as much as practice. They agree newsrooms must pay attention to increased popularity of multimedia stories online, and the way news organizations meet this demand requires some kind of top-down reorganization.
Whether the reorganization results in a staff that can work across platforms or a staff of specialists who work together better, the point is still to find the best way to report and communicate the story. I think it makes sense for people to have knowledge of several areas simply because it helps them identify story-telling opportunities in all platforms. I also understand Martha Stone's concerns, especially in the area of breaking news coverage, but I can see how Jane Stevens' idea of producer-driven stories could work as well.
I would be interested to find out how many more newsrooms are developing or hiring multimedia journalists.
Backpack Journalism - Coming to the Media Near You
Whether or not media companies have an honest motive behind it, whether or not it's the best for the public, whether or not we like it, backpack journalism has broken open traditional reporting and it's not going anywhere.
Jane Stevens gives a number of valid reasons for this, and even Martha Stone can't help but give examples of companies already using backpack journalists.
Stone does, however, list the problems with it, but they won't stop companies from joining the bandwagon. It's where journalism is going and no media group wants to be left behind. More than that, in order to compete, they can't afford to be left behind.
And just like some newspapers are better than others, some backpack journalists will be better than others. But they’ll be there, and the public will take advantage of its benefits.
Don’t get me wrong. I like reading large, difficult to manage, thin sheets of paper that leave my hands inky after I’m finished. And who doesn’t love going as deep into a television story as a child goes into a baby pool? But with backpack journalism, for whatever reason, I think we’ll be able to do bigger and better things.
Jane Stevens gives a number of valid reasons for this, and even Martha Stone can't help but give examples of companies already using backpack journalists.
Stone does, however, list the problems with it, but they won't stop companies from joining the bandwagon. It's where journalism is going and no media group wants to be left behind. More than that, in order to compete, they can't afford to be left behind.
And just like some newspapers are better than others, some backpack journalists will be better than others. But they’ll be there, and the public will take advantage of its benefits.
Don’t get me wrong. I like reading large, difficult to manage, thin sheets of paper that leave my hands inky after I’m finished. And who doesn’t love going as deep into a television story as a child goes into a baby pool? But with backpack journalism, for whatever reason, I think we’ll be able to do bigger and better things.
Backpack Journalism
- Erick Ward
It was very interesting to see that both of these articles were written five year ago, because even though both had different thoughts I think that they both were fairly accurate on backpack journalism today. I feel that backpack journalism is here to stay, but I feel the main reason why it has staying power is because there are so many ways that it can be improved. Right now, I think Martha Stone is correct in describing backpack journalism as a "mush of mediocrity."
There is no reason to believe that backpack journalism won't improve drastically over the next few years or so. More classes like the one we all are in now and with journalists working out the kinks of backpack journalism, why can't backpack journalism become the future of journalism. It is a great idea. Being able to go to one website and view all different types of media, interact with the reporter, and other readers is a great way to get news.
Backpack journalism still has a lot of improving to do though. I feel that the biggest negative that backpack journalism has, is that it can be difficult to report on breaking news type stories in a backpack journalism style. It can be very difficult to get a multimedia package on the web with the speed and accuracy that consumers demand today. But there is no reason to believe that jouralism can't eventually get there.
It was very interesting to see that both of these articles were written five year ago, because even though both had different thoughts I think that they both were fairly accurate on backpack journalism today. I feel that backpack journalism is here to stay, but I feel the main reason why it has staying power is because there are so many ways that it can be improved. Right now, I think Martha Stone is correct in describing backpack journalism as a "mush of mediocrity."
There is no reason to believe that backpack journalism won't improve drastically over the next few years or so. More classes like the one we all are in now and with journalists working out the kinks of backpack journalism, why can't backpack journalism become the future of journalism. It is a great idea. Being able to go to one website and view all different types of media, interact with the reporter, and other readers is a great way to get news.
Backpack journalism still has a lot of improving to do though. I feel that the biggest negative that backpack journalism has, is that it can be difficult to report on breaking news type stories in a backpack journalism style. It can be very difficult to get a multimedia package on the web with the speed and accuracy that consumers demand today. But there is no reason to believe that jouralism can't eventually get there.
For better or worse, they're here to stay....
As a newcomer to this scary, fantastic beast that is journalism, I am both bewildered and inspired by the debate about the quality of work done by "backpack journalists." And honestly, I find myself nodding in agreement to both articles as I read them. When it comes down to it, I simply don't know enough to agree entirely with one side of the coin. I do know, as a basic consumer of media, that things are changing, of course, and will continue to do so as technololgy and demand drive multimedia--and therefore we as journalists need to embrace this change. The backpack journalist is an inevitable progression, so I think newsrooms should accept the fact and begin the necessary steps to support them and ensure that mediocrity is not an issue, at least in the longterm. To resist it is only to pospone the better, more complex, journalism that multimedia has to offer.
I agree that in theory, quality can be compromised when a journalist can do everything, yet can master nothing. Still, the seond piece said that 51 percent of convergence journalists are doing a good job. Futher, Jane Stevens, author of the first piece, clarifys that she and most of her colleagues do actually specialize in one area of the field.
Both articles, in the end, advocate extensive training for backpack jounalists, thus eliminating any chance of compromising the quality of the work. Even though she is skeptical, at the end of her piece, I feel like Martha is in agreement that maybe backpack journalists can produce quality work, as long as news organizations are willing to put in the time and the effort to continuously train them.
I agree that in theory, quality can be compromised when a journalist can do everything, yet can master nothing. Still, the seond piece said that 51 percent of convergence journalists are doing a good job. Futher, Jane Stevens, author of the first piece, clarifys that she and most of her colleagues do actually specialize in one area of the field.
Both articles, in the end, advocate extensive training for backpack jounalists, thus eliminating any chance of compromising the quality of the work. Even though she is skeptical, at the end of her piece, I feel like Martha is in agreement that maybe backpack journalists can produce quality work, as long as news organizations are willing to put in the time and the effort to continuously train them.
Backpack Journalism
Jacqueline Lampert
Jane Stevens has many positive and valid points of why backpack journalism “is here to stay.” The demand for new ways to present the news to audiences is increasing at an accelerated pace. Think back to elementary school and try to remember how you got the news. If you were like me, you got your news from either the newspaper, radio, or TV. With the constant change in technology, we are now able to access the news in a plethora of ways other than newspapers, radio, or TV. “So, in a few years, backpack journalists – or at least those who are familiar with backpack and converged journalism – will not only be the rule, they’ll rule. And rock.” I have realized that to succeed in the journalism field, you now need to understand how to do some form of multimedia. Stevens said “convergence and multimedia will change the face, heart, and guts of newsrooms over the next 20 years.” I can see that being even sooner. When I was interviewing for different internships at media companies, I was continually told that they are looking for people who understand multimedia and can produced something at an efficient rate.
Jane Stevens has many positive and valid points of why backpack journalism “is here to stay.” The demand for new ways to present the news to audiences is increasing at an accelerated pace. Think back to elementary school and try to remember how you got the news. If you were like me, you got your news from either the newspaper, radio, or TV. With the constant change in technology, we are now able to access the news in a plethora of ways other than newspapers, radio, or TV. “So, in a few years, backpack journalists – or at least those who are familiar with backpack and converged journalism – will not only be the rule, they’ll rule. And rock.” I have realized that to succeed in the journalism field, you now need to understand how to do some form of multimedia. Stevens said “convergence and multimedia will change the face, heart, and guts of newsrooms over the next 20 years.” I can see that being even sooner. When I was interviewing for different internships at media companies, I was continually told that they are looking for people who understand multimedia and can produced something at an efficient rate.
Backpack Journalism is here to stay... for a while
In reading both of these articles, two things stuck out. The first was that this "backpack journalism" has been an inevitable step in the evolution of journalism since its conception. The second was that it is most certainly a step and not a conclusion. Journalism, throughout its history, has moved forward along its evolutionary track when the means of production became more and more readily available. When democracies were developed, the means of production of newspapers and mass media were given to the public, and were no longer owned by the government, which was one of the first evolutionary steps for journalism. At first only large companies were able to afford the machinery and systems involved in media production, but as the technology improved, smaller companies and more companies were able to access the means of production and the number of voices were increased. This was another evolutionary step in journalism. With the introduction of the Internet and further improvements in the technology of computers, cameras and other recording devices, yet another step was made with the empowerment of individuals to make their own news stories and spread it around the world. The backpack journalist is just another step in this process. The technology has improved to the point that one person can do the job of an entire team with less equipment and less money. Whether the quality is comparable is debatable, and it is debatable also whether audio/video quality should be such an issue in some journalism. All we can know for sure is that this is not the end; the time it takes to create a multimedia story will get shorter, its production costs will dwindle, and the number of people it can reach will grow. Now journalism must face the same issue every other industry faces: how to control dilution.
Convergence journalism isn't a debate, it's a reality
After reading both articles, I found myself thinking about Convergence Journalism in ways I never have before. Jane made some great points about "backpack journalism" in an article written in 2002. It's 2007 and a lot of the things that she predicted are now in full swing, with almost all news outlets today having some form of a multimedia website.
Since most of the content in Jane's article paralleled my thinking on the subject, Martha's article got me thinking more about backpack journalism. As all who've read these articles probably know, Martha doesn't see convergence journalism as a positive thing. Martha believes that this type of journalism will only create more mediocrity because of the multitasking involved. For a minute, I thought she made a good point. So I started to think about how this problem of "mediocrity" could be avoided. The answer I found, lies in the current convergence journalism curriculum at Mizzou. By making the student choose a sub-concentration within the Convergence school, it eliminates the problem of "jack of all trades, master of nothing." With the current layout, students can be proficient in most trades, and be a master of one.
Backpack is Here to Stay
After reading the two extremes on views of backpack journalism I agreed with Jane's positive view the most. Martha makes a valid point that a backpack journalist will be a jack of all trades and not a master of any area of journalism. But I believe journalists not managers will make the change toward a converged news world.
We need backpack journalists to help keep giving the people what they want: not just stories but stories with multimedia. Jane also refutes Martha's arguement and believes (and even better explains) that journalists will be able to specialize in a certain area dispite being converged. She assures the reader that two different types of reporters will exist and the reader can find his/her place in it all.
All journalists need to wake up and realize that we are moving to a converged news world for better or worse and we need to prepare and train ourselves for it. I'm a magazine major but I really wanted to take a basic convergence class to be well-rounded in journalism. I think this class should be a requirement for journalism students.
We need backpack journalists to help keep giving the people what they want: not just stories but stories with multimedia. Jane also refutes Martha's arguement and believes (and even better explains) that journalists will be able to specialize in a certain area dispite being converged. She assures the reader that two different types of reporters will exist and the reader can find his/her place in it all.
All journalists need to wake up and realize that we are moving to a converged news world for better or worse and we need to prepare and train ourselves for it. I'm a magazine major but I really wanted to take a basic convergence class to be well-rounded in journalism. I think this class should be a requirement for journalism students.
Backpack Optimism
If, as Martha Stone suggests, top-level media management does indeed pursue a more supportive approach to multimedia journalism in the years to come, there is virtually no doubt that backpack journalism will not fall in to the ‘mush of mediocrity’ that many fear it will.
“The problem is, whipping up a satisfying meal of professionally prepared multimedia journalism with a little video, audio, text, photo album, Flash, and with chat moderation a la mode, is a feast few journalists can serve up,” writes Stone.
True enough, but there is a reason – and a remedy – for this. Convergence journalism is a concept that remains in relative infancy and is still in its earliest stages of being molded by its pioneers. As such, we have barely hit the tip of the iceberg for the education and training of multimedia journalists. Once multimedia becomes the focus of journalistic training around the country – as it will have to, given the decreasing reliance on more traditional forms of journalism – journalists around the globe will be reared right from the start to be experts in every area of their field, and they will exceed any and all expectations of mediocrity.
The constant advent of new ideas and advanced technology has enabled human beings to accomplish more than we ever imagined we could. There is no reason to believe that with some innovation and hard work that the same won’t be possible with backpack journalism.
“The problem is, whipping up a satisfying meal of professionally prepared multimedia journalism with a little video, audio, text, photo album, Flash, and with chat moderation a la mode, is a feast few journalists can serve up,” writes Stone.
True enough, but there is a reason – and a remedy – for this. Convergence journalism is a concept that remains in relative infancy and is still in its earliest stages of being molded by its pioneers. As such, we have barely hit the tip of the iceberg for the education and training of multimedia journalists. Once multimedia becomes the focus of journalistic training around the country – as it will have to, given the decreasing reliance on more traditional forms of journalism – journalists around the globe will be reared right from the start to be experts in every area of their field, and they will exceed any and all expectations of mediocrity.
The constant advent of new ideas and advanced technology has enabled human beings to accomplish more than we ever imagined we could. There is no reason to believe that with some innovation and hard work that the same won’t be possible with backpack journalism.
Backpack Journalism
After reading both articles, it appears that one is written by a journalist on the forefront of change and therefore fully endorsing it, and another who does not necessarily accept the need for change and therefore scoffs at it. However, the fear of backpack journalism becoming a fog of mediocrity is a well-founded one. Knowing a little about everything is beneficial to a point, but sooner or later, it is a hindrance. You cant know everything about something if you spend time trying to learn something about everything. For this reason, experts of a craft will always be needed. Because of this, good writers, great editors and producers, and those with gifts in photography will always be sought after. However, there is an undeniable undercurrent that is growing in news organizations nation-wide. That is: that conventional journalism is failing. Newspapers cross-country are losing money and circulation. Magazines and papers are too slow to handle the pace of news generation. Television can keep up, but the depth of the story telling is lacking, leaving the consumer wanting more.
The answer, as expressed and accepted by both writers, is the web. With the possibilities offered by the web, this next generation (our own) can re-define and perhaps reestablish the
profession. We should be cautioned, however, that rushing headlong into this endeavor will result in the mush of average, uninspired storytelling that those opposed to backpack journalism fear. What needs to happen is the literal physical convergence of skills that make a story unfold. A great reporter puts the reader there. A gifted photographer can capture the emotion of a place with only one split-second image. A good tv personality captures your attention and delivers the information quickly and efficiently. With the web and the capabilities it gives modern journalists, I think the future is not one reporter who can do it all at a 70% level. I believe the future will be teams of journalists who are capable of everything but masters of one. It is unlikely that one reporter will be able to produce, edit, and present every aspect of a news story at the expected quality, but a team of three, each with strengths, could easily put out products of great quality faster and more efficiently than the old way of an entire television crew or print team.
The answer, as expressed and accepted by both writers, is the web. With the possibilities offered by the web, this next generation (our own) can re-define and perhaps reestablish the
profession. We should be cautioned, however, that rushing headlong into this endeavor will result in the mush of average, uninspired storytelling that those opposed to backpack journalism fear. What needs to happen is the literal physical convergence of skills that make a story unfold. A great reporter puts the reader there. A gifted photographer can capture the emotion of a place with only one split-second image. A good tv personality captures your attention and delivers the information quickly and efficiently. With the web and the capabilities it gives modern journalists, I think the future is not one reporter who can do it all at a 70% level. I believe the future will be teams of journalists who are capable of everything but masters of one. It is unlikely that one reporter will be able to produce, edit, and present every aspect of a news story at the expected quality, but a team of three, each with strengths, could easily put out products of great quality faster and more efficiently than the old way of an entire television crew or print team.
Backpack journalists
I thought that both sides had good points, but the fact that needs to be realized is that we are in a converging world. The population wants their information, but does not necessarily have enough time to view all of the forms of media separately. And each form of media together (broadcast, internet, print and photography) provides opportunities to tell a story accurately and fully. The first article mentioned that the differences were that print and television tell stories in a linear fashion, but convergence provides a two-way method of providing information including the feedback and input of those that are impacted.
I think that this is not practical for all journalists to become “backpack journalists” and I think that it is true that newsrooms still look for good writers above anything. I do not think that this should change. However, I do feel like this should be available for the readers since according to the second article, 51 percent of multimedia journalists are working well. This is very impressive considering newsrooms are not doing so well overall. Becoming trained in all forms provides more for the reader to fully understand the story. Rather than in a linear fashion, the story transforms into something that is more 3-D.
Laura Parkinson
I think that this is not practical for all journalists to become “backpack journalists” and I think that it is true that newsrooms still look for good writers above anything. I do not think that this should change. However, I do feel like this should be available for the readers since according to the second article, 51 percent of multimedia journalists are working well. This is very impressive considering newsrooms are not doing so well overall. Becoming trained in all forms provides more for the reader to fully understand the story. Rather than in a linear fashion, the story transforms into something that is more 3-D.
Laura Parkinson
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