light and shade

JOURN 4802 - my thoughts on the backpack journalist

With the massive development of Internet as a source for news, backpack journalism is hard to ignore. Whether we like it or not, this is our future.

While it is easy to focus on the pros of a “jack of all trades” journalist (economically speaking), there are obvious flaws. Martha Stone argues that backpack journalism fosters mediocrity and results in poor quality images, audio and video pieces. It’s almost impossible for someone to excel at everything so what may be seen as a way to promote efficiency could end up resulting in below-par journalism.

For backpack journalism to be a positive and exciting development, news organizations need to realize that journalism doesn’t follow some one-size-fits-all rule of reporting. Different situations require different approaches, and sometimes backpack journalism will work, as highlighted by Preston Mendonhall.

In other cases, producer-driven reporting may be a more efficient use of time. Yes, you may have more reporters on a single story, you may need to invest more into it, but you will end up with a story that plays to the strengths of each contributor – one that’s more in-depth and arguably of a higher quality.

what you think you want

People who have curly hair want straight hair. Those who are short wish they could be a little bit taller. Fair people wish they could tan with out looking like a beetroot. It always works like that – you always want something you don’t have.

In the weeks leading up to my departure from New Zealand I was yearning for some sunshine. I remember one day in particular. I was walking from campus down Wellesley St and the rain was absolutely hammering down – the water had soaked through my boots, my feet and socks were drenched and I smelt like a wet dog. During my walk down Wellesley there was only one thought running through my mind that whole time.

Two more weeks. You only have two more weeks.

Now I’m in Columbia, Missouri and it seems I’ve gone from one extreme to another. Sure – there’s no fog, no cold and no dark nights. But that has all been replaced by blistering heat and humidity so high it would ruin any GHD perfected hair do.

Midwestern weather is crazy, unpredictable and extreme. In the 5 days I’ve been here I’ve had winds so strong I’ve nearly been blown over, hail stones the size of 50c pieces, rain so heavy and thick I haven’t been able to see 2ft in front of me, and of course the heat.

Oh, the heat.

I don’t think I can explain how hot it is here – with temperatures at between 35-40 degrees on any given day it certainly has been a shock to the system and I’ve still got at least two months of this.

Then there are the thunderstorms – another thing the Midwest is known for, along with their tornados. While I am yet to feature in any upcoming reality TV shows on extreme weather, I did experience my first Midwestern summer squall.

I was completely oblivious to the approaching bad weather. I had gone out for ice cream with a friend, when we left, there was nothing to suggest we were about to be attacked by Columbia’s bipolar climate – the skies were blue, the sun was out and the air was still. By the time we walked out of the ice cream parlour, the sky was full of ominous black clouds and the winds were so strong I had to fight my way to the car. About two minutes after that the rain came, pummelling us. Two minutes after that came the storm.

By the time I arrived home, I was drenched head to toe and I smelt like wet dog – just like I had been walking down Wellesley. I had quite literally come full circle from where I’d been a few weeks ago. It seems wherever I go, no matter how hard I try; I’m not going to escape what I think I’m leaving behind.