Backpack journalism

rdf:langString Backpack journalism

rdf:langString Backpack journalism, also a reporter called as backpack reporting, is an emerging form of journalism that requires a journalist to be a reporter, photographer, and videographer, as well as an editor and producer of stories. There is no set definition for this practice, but it is essentially "a method using ... journalism to create powerful, intimate stories that take people beyond the boundary of their own life experience and connect them with the currents, forces and situations reshaping our world on a daily basis." This method uses various media tools, such as lightweight laptops, satellite phones, inexpensive editing software and digital cameras to more fully engage both the audience's intellect and emotion. Backpack journalists file material to supply the Web, and occasionally television, from locations that would be otherwise inaccessible to large news teams (e.g. in war zones and as well as in areas hit by natural disasters). Although the term originated within the sphere of broadcast journalism, it has expanded to include all areas of the media world. An accomplished backpack journalist must be a master of new technologies, capable of fusing previously separated roles, such as writer and videographer, and able to produce a story that ensures accuracy, fairness and balance, shaped by high standards and solidified practices. According to pioneer backpack journalist Jane Stevens, backpack journalists must also "know the difference between when you're a lone wolf and when you're part of a greater whole." Backpack journalism is being used by print publication staffs to create visual journalism for websites, by broadcast operations to offer unique content, and by freelance journalists who recognize its value to tell stories and present evidence and testimony for media and non-media clients. News directors are finding this style of journalism beneficial to their organizations. Instead of requiring cameramen, reporters and editors to produce news stories, a larger group of employees who can do all of the above are available, which can double or even triple the number of stories that can be covered. The various platforms involved with this type of reporting also opens more doors for reaching a broader and more varied audience.