Backpack Journalism

Carla Schaffer

As a student wanting to be a part of convergence, my opinions sided mostly with the first article, the positive look at the backpack journalist. But the second article was the one that caught my attention the most. Maybe it held my interest because it’s an article with opposing views, and we like to defend what we believe in. I love the idea of the backpack journalist, and I resented the phrase, “ Jack of all trades, and master of none”. By being skilled in so many different areas, the journalist is more valuable to the station or company that they’re employed at. The backpack journalist demonstrate a flexibility that is hard to find, and will continue to change and advance as our technology and programs change in the future.

Backpack Journalism

Reading the articles about experiences and criticisms of convergence journalism helped strengthen my belief in the idea.  I believe that it would benefit a company to send a single reporter to cover an event.  Then the company could cover a broader scope of stories, and give several different angles at them.  International coverage could be greatly expanded, take for example the situation in Afghanistan.  But like the criticisms said, convergence reporting is not for everyone.  However, I disagree with some of the criticisms because I feel that convergence is the future of journalism and should be planned for in the some time future.

Backpack Journalism

As a future convergence journalist, I enjoy the criticism the second article had to offer. If someone calls me mediocre, it's only normal that I work to exceed their highest expectations. I think the idea of a backpack journalist is thrilling, actually. Doing a story and making it completely mine by taking the pictures, shooting the video and creating its text only gives it more of an opportunity to be a whole, succinctly developed story. Yes, 2, 3 and 4 heads is better than 1... but sometimes I feel like that's writing an essay with 4 different inputs. You have a better chance of it flowing because of the one train of thought it's coming from. The post-editing though- still necessary. As a college student, I enjoy my independence- and I think I will continue to enjoy that as an adult... who wouldn't love that in your career? Heading off to another country solo to create your own masterpiece would encourage my creativity. But, like I learned in my previous Cross-Cultural class... the diverse newsroom is there for a reason...to utilize as a sounding board to catch things I might have missed. This resource, I wouldn't neglect to use.

So, bring on the foes and woes of future convergence journalists... but it's here to stay.

Backpack Journalism

For better or for worse, backpack journalism is here to stay. If it is possible for one person to do the job of four, then it would be nearly unthinkable to believe that the industry would not take advantage of this. Additionally, this type of journalism could be superior to the typical style when used effectively. The producer-driven method seems better because it gets more reporters in more places so as to get more perspectives on the situation. The coverage would be broader, with more reporters with more equipment in more places. 

Backpack Journalism (Hayley Kaplan)

As seen in these two articles, opinions about where journalism is headed in the future means many different things to different people. Journalism is a profession that will always constantly change because the world constantly changes, and I believe that this adjustment to convergence and backpack journalism is something that must be gradually integrated into newsrooms everywhere. Newsrooms are not going to instantly turn towards having all backpack journalists because the people who still specialize in one area of journalism are still vital in newsrooms. But I believe backpack journalists should be incorporated into newsrooms in an effort to make newsrooms more diverse and help complete the ultimate goal of accurate, important news getting out into the world somewhat quickly. Without individual special talents, the important stories will not get told, so in my opinion newsrooms need all types of people. Diversity is a key essential in newsrooms, even if that means people who are diverse in their knowledge of reporting. All these talents can and should be thrown together in order for all of us to succeed as journalists. 

backpack journalism

I like the idea of the backpack journalist. There is a very Indiana Jones feel to it, not so much the pariah (and a mediocre pariah at that) that Stone imagines. Seeing as I wish to do international reporting someday, could I at least be a super-talented Lone Ranger?

There is indeed the efficiency idea of this one trekker out in space. Financing bureaus in even one international location is always described as a migraine. Unlike Gary Kebbel (editorial director at American Online and quoted in Stone's article) though, I do not this this is a method to eliminate jobs. Even with only one backpacker in even half the countries in the world, that would still amount to a lot of journalists. I refuse to believe that American newspapers even begin to get at the news of any country besides our own, thus backpack journalists offer a method at covering more of the world events.

Backpacking IS Here to Stay

Kelsey Proud

After reading each perspective on the issue of backpack journalism, I tend to side with the ideology of Jane Stevens in "Backpacking Journalism is Here to Stay." I believe that although we will be trained on many different types of media, our concentrations will allow us to be an "expert" in a specific area. This will allow us to jump right into the role of a team member that can execute one element exceptionally well, or any needed element effectively. Moreover, unlike the older generation of professionals working in the industry today, we will already have much of the training that they are trying to acquire. Arguably, this could make our roles even more flexible and less costly to our employers.