By Abigail Kwok and Trufi Murdiani
RECORD audio and video, shoot the stills, and then edit them on screen to create sophisticated video. That‘s how journalists equipped with only mobile phones report breaking news.
Those duties are easier, nowadays, with new technology. For example, OWLE bubo helps produce steady videos for journalists working with an i-Phone.
Inexpensive software downloads such as Qik, Kyte and Shozu transform a mobile phone, Dr. Stephen Quinn of Deakin University in Australia to the 5th Annual Forum of Emerging Leaders in Asian Journalism, on Monday in Manila.
“We can register by text message to download the software, then allocate the buttons and start reporting easily,” he said.
Mojo’s software can also found at Livestream.com of Canada, Bambuser.com of Sweden and Flixwagon.com of Israel. Dr. Quinn said the new technology makes it easier for the mobile journalist (mojo) to file quickly at the scene of braking news.
Multimedia
Dr. David Clark of the China Daily website said that multimedia storytelling –integrating text, photos, and videos– can produce a more engaging story than the traditional text and photo-type of story.
But multimedia, he stressed, is not just about capturing or delivering “feeling messages,” but producing a story that is relevant and will inspire “positive involvement” from the community.
Clark cited his ACFJ/China Daily website project on climate change reporting. In most reporting on climate change, media have used the image of polar bears to deliver the problem, instead of the people.
“This only seemed to hide the issue of climate change and made it more distant,” Clark said.
Instead, he said the ACFJ/China Daily multimedia feature on climate change focuses on “people not polar bears.”
The aim of multimedia, Clark said, is to capture the “complexity” of the issue using various platforms, which may not be done through text or photos alone.
In response to a concern about the immediacy of mobile journalism, Dr. Quinn said that every mobile journalist or mojo needs to be well equipped and trained in the principles of journalism.
“You can’t do [new media] unless you have a thorough founding of [traditional media] and understanding its legal and ethical framework,” he said.
