This lays out the current expectation for the backpack or "mojo" (mobile journalist) and what they do. Then you get the view from the Editors desk about the need to "collaborate" which I doubt they do in many newsrooms, and the advantages of F2F with other reporters. Hmm, I think I'd prefer my news from a journalist who works outside the news media office.
Such an assignment is typical for Blackwell and other "backpack" or "mobile" journalists, who spend most if not all of their time outside the newsroom recording, shooting, and writing stories without ever sitting at a desk. "It is probably 60% of my time that is spent out; there are days I don't come into the office at all — at least once or twice a week," says Blackwell, 44. He had worked at the D&C for more than a decade when editors approached him two years ago with the idea of outfitting his 2002 dark blue Audi with a laptop, video camera, audio recorder, still camera, and plenty of lenses.
Tim Franklin of The Sun in Baltimore, worry that journalists can lose that exchange of ideas and editorial oversight if they are not in the newsroom enough. "Being in an office where you can collaborate with others can be very beneficial," he says, adding he has no such "mojos" on staff. "Having a place to meet with someone —there is something to be said for that." |
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