The Medium is the Message

I recognize that backpack journalism has its shortcomings, and that in many cases, specialization by many reporters is better than the “mush” of one. But I think that the skills of the backpack journalist are some that should be common in newsrooms across the country. The ability to see and create the “big picture” with multi-media is what is going to be important in the future. I agree with Adrian Phillips in “Mush of Mediocrity” that it is necessary to have reporters who think in the multi-media fashion. This doesn’t mean that every journalist needs to be a backpack journalist, but reporters, editors and designers need to see their stories as multi-faceted. Once newsrooms have a shared vision and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of multi-media, they can best use its capabilities to serve the public.
Emiy Coppel