learn and explore 57

Learn & Explore Series Episode 57

"Helping to Improve Your Understanding of Backpack Journalism"

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Did You Know?

Backpack journalism can be very beneficial to non-profit organizations, as it reduces costs and allows a single journalist to become closer to the staff and those people the organization serves.


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Did You Know?

Backpack journalism has resulted in more employed reporters working from home and spending less time in a newsroom setting, which has provided significant savings for newspapers and other media outlets.


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Did You Know?

Backpack journalism has also promoted citizen journalists. They are not paid professionals, but have the equipment, skills and motivation to report on community stories and make them available to local media outlets or for social media distribution.

Special Thanks to
Industry Expert: Gregg Brekke
SixView Studios
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Questions covered in the above interview:

  1. What is backpack journalism?
  2. Does backpack journalism preclude an assistant? Must the journalist be able to work solely alone?
  3. Why must today’s journalists have the skills to work in multiple media to report a story?
  4. In which multiple media must a journalist become proficient?
  5. What is the minimum equipment a journalist needs to be a self-contained news producer?
  6. Has the cost of equipment and technology decreased enough, so smaller news outlets and freelance journalists are able to work in multiple platforms?
  7. What level of computer and video editing systems are required to produce news in the field?
  8. What features in a backpack are necessary for a journalist to carry all the required equipment?
  9. Should a backpack journalist always be prepared to carry equipment to an assignment or can he or she expect vehicular transportation?
  10. Is it better for a backpack journalist to bring all the equipment he or she needs for an assignment or are there advantages of renting or acquiring it in the location country?
  11. What safety factors or concerns are involved with backpack journalism?
  12. Are there different or additional ethics for backpack journalists compared to traditional journalists?
  13. Is there a workshop that will teach me want I need to know to be a backpack journalist?
  14. What are some of the specifics I can expect to learn at such a workshop?
  15. Will acquiring backpack journalism skills generate more job opportunities?