Repsonse to Chapter 5 of “Journalism Next”

Smart phones and apps and fast knowledge, oh my!

Mobile. It’s something that’s in everyone’s hands in today’s digital world. Whether it’s the topof the line smartphone or the most simple of phones, people have a way to communicate with each other in an easy and quick fashion.

Personally, I don’t own a smartphone, but I understand the importance of the devices 100%.

For a journalist, being able to create, send and upload content quickly and on-the-fly is essential for success. With the mobile platform though, you have many choices of how you can present your story to your reader.

“Mobile journalism”, as Mark Briggs describes it in chapter 6 of “Journalism Next”, is a “whole new field”. Mobile reporters can “write and updaet constantly, and take and transmit videos and photos directly to their audience. It no longer matters whether a reporter is working for a company whose primary focus is print, online, radio or TV.” They “can report in any medium, from anywhere, anytime”.

We experience this kind of journalism on a daily basis with things like Youtube videos from news scenes, photos from protests and other things that mobile journalism has documented.

Just as Briggs outlines in the chapter, you must make important choices when using mobile journalism. The questions you must ask yourself include “Will the audience benefit if we can take them here?” or “will the journalism be ebtter if it’s done on location and with urgency?”

While not tough decisions, these questions are important to ask yourself.

For me, mobile journalism is something I work with everyday. As the photo and video editor for Connect2Mason.com, I must carry my gear with me at all times, being able to catch news for the university on-the-fly. I’ve caught some of my best news while keeping a mobile mentality of urgency and speed.

With a cell phone in almost everyone’s hand, speed and urgency are a necessity to beat people to punch.