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.
