Backpack Journalism Brings Flexibility To The Newsroom

Today’s technology enables broadcast reporters to cover news stories independently and publish them instantly.

Mobile multimedia journalists, armed with cameras and Internet-connected laptops, have the ability to shoot their own video, edit it, and upload the content, without having to leave the scene and return to the newsroom. 

Backpack journalism, as it’s called, is not the go-to option for most stories, but having that capability comes in handy, news station managers say.

“We like to have as many people on-scene as possible for breaking news, but if need-be any reporter can go out and shoot their own video,” said Greg Shepperd, news director for 40/29 News, which airs on ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG-TV, Channels 40/29.

“It gives us fluidity and flexibility to be able to cover as many stories as we need to,” he added.

And that flexibility can be beneficial to media outlets, at a time when their audience is not as willing as before to wait around for a 5 o’clock broadcast for their news.

“There’s been a paradigm shift in broadcast media,” said Amanda Ashley, Web content manager for KNWA, which airs on NBC affiliate KNWA-TV/KFTA. “TV people can’t just do TV anymore. We are expected to be timely with news on the Internet as well.

“People don’t want to wait anymore,” she said. “We can’t really use the Internet to tease news that will be on our broadcasts, because people say, ‘Excuse me; if you know something, tell me now.’”

And reporters have embraced this, she added. Most KNWA journalists have their own Facebook and Twitter accounts they use to give instant updates, and the stations will retweet and share them.

In one recent instance, a reporter was live tweeting an event and taking photos, and the news team was able to pull the photos and put together a story and publish it on the Web before the reporter returned to the newsroom, Ashley said.

This sort of up-to-the-minute reporting has become more prevalent as news stations feel pressure from audiences. Recent insights show if news stations don’t deliver online, audiences are less likely to tune into their TV broadcasts, Ashley said.

But there is an upside, she added. Being able to publish hard news on the Web throughout the day means there can be dynamic content with more in-depth pieces on the broadcast.

In turn, the TV broadcast can point audiences to the website for added information, including written content, photos and extended video, on the stories that aired, creating a richer experience for the viewer, said Lisa Kelsey, general manager of KNWA.

Although the rise of the Internet spawned the use of the term multimedia journalism, that concept is falling off a bit, as most journalists are required to have an understanding of multiple mediums these days.

“If you ask anyone in here, I think they’d say they were a multimedia journalist,” Shepperd said.

And the data indicate local stations are on the right track in devoting a large percentage of time and resources to online journalism.

The vast majority of Americans, 82 percent, now receive at least some of their news from a digital format, according to a 2013 study from Nielson Media Research.

A separate 2013 study, conducted by the Pew Research Center, showed 50 percent of people cite the Internet as their main source for news, and that number jumps to 71 percent for adults under 30.

At some point, the term “multimedia journalism” will become obsolete, Ashley said. “It’s redundant. All journalism is multimedia now.”