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Topic: Journalism From Inside a Car
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| clare04 | Posted – 1/19/2007 2:24:01 AM | show profile clink clink Chuck reminds me of the old 3 am milk man. So yeah, he's posting stuff before everyone eats their corn flakes. But so could my sister. As long as the readers know that's what they're getting. Maybe Chuck just woke up one morning with that milk man urge. But he shoulda paid his dues under a mean old milk man or lady for a few years that could teach him a thing or two, first.... |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/19/2007 9:23:35 AM | show profile | email poster Where? Okay, so this time I wanted to see what Chuck was writing... has anyone else taken a look? True, I can't spend much time on this, because I do have a life -- but at a glance I can't find his work. Are you posting the top news links on the front page without a byline? The fog story and rubberneckers etc just now? If you aren't getting a byline, I find that problematic. The little briefs too, at least in my opinion, seem more like sound bites than breaking news. Not sure that is the way to go... maybe some kind of ticker our rotating/updated broadcast audio clips can take care of this... why do I want to click a link to read two paragraphs of text? |
| johnjgeoghegan | Posted – 1/19/2007 1:48:35 PM | show profile | email poster Chuck Myron tells us what it's like being a new breed of "mo Chuck, what kind of digital recording device(s) do you get the best results from when interviewing people? |
| wfcaudle | Posted – 1/19/2007 1:54:40 PM | show profile Mobile Journalism Good info on mojo's but it left me wanting more. I think we only learned about the basics of the tools of the trade. And how prolific is MoJo Chuck as compared to other print based journalists? I also think it would be educational/humorous to hear some of the problems there were in the initial start up or day to day operations beyond failed signals. Are we going to hear more from Mojo Chuck? |
| majj1029 | Posted – 1/19/2007 3:04:56 PM | show profile MoJo's Risin' I'm a community print news reporter for the News-Press's competitor down in South west FL. I see Myron with his equipment reporting at many of the same local events as me. My reporter's pad, my good 'ol faithful blue PaperMate pen and I seem insignificant next to his electronic doohickeys. "Mobile journalism" is great if you're planning on following up on a more in-depth story at the office later that day for the print edition. Advertisers must love it. It must be tough being a "mobile journalist and I wouldn't want the job" The deadline's are shorter and so are the stories. And how do you run to a fresh crime scene hauling that equipment? Journalists should adopt to the new online media and all it's technological glory but shouldn't throw out the basic standards and ethics of the profession. |
| cmyron | Posted – 1/19/2007 4:39:47 PM | show profile I've been asked to show a couple of examples of what I do, for those who haven't yet had a glimpse ... http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070112/NEWS0111/70112032/1086/NEWS0111 http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20070108&Kategori=NEWS0111&Lopenr=70108023&Ref=AR http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20070109&Kategori=NEWS0111&Lopenr=70109026&Ref=AR |
| cmyron | Posted – 1/19/2007 5:00:45 PM | show profile johnjgeoghegan: I'm testing out an Edirol 24-bit WAVE/MP3 recorder for Gannett, but most of the time I don't use one. I prefer taking notes with my Toshiba tablet PC. Majj1029: Hey neighbor! Actually, it's a lot quicker to get the scene of anything going on when you're already out in the field ... the equipment really isn't a problem to haul around when it's already sitting next to you in the passenger seat. And as far as difficulty goes, it is indeed a challenge to deal with the demands of the online world and come up with new ways of doing so. But I'd rather do this than traditional newspaper journalism, which simply doesn't appeal to me for a variety of reasons. |
| clare04 | Posted – 1/19/2007 7:04:14 PM | show profile .... Looked at your link Chuck. Seems like a lot of possibilities to get uncovered grass roots and community stories, people and issues out. But I feel like thats what you refer to as traditional journalism really is. Perhaps you are in fact returning to the original tradition. (wow is that an oxymoron or what) |
| clare04 | Posted – 1/19/2007 7:08:09 PM | show profile .... sorry, correct that to tautologous. But that's what I mean - this "field" work is pretty much what community reporting or field reporting always was - as a lot of posters already said. |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/20/2007 1:16:51 PM | show profile | email poster "cmyron -- I've been asked to show a couple of examples of what I do..." Okay, so with those three examples, were they stories you ran across by just driving around and checking out retail spaces and open air markets? Or did they contact the news room with a pitch? I favor community stories of course. So, is the bulk of what you do really community interaction between actual everyday people and the news department? Almost like an outreach program that is often not a part of newsroom strategy. thx. |
| A~ | Posted – 1/20/2007 2:02:27 PM | show profile >> Edirol 24-bit WAVE/MP3 recorder for Gannett << After much research, this is what I've pared it down to: The Olympus WS-320M is a great small recoding device. This model is one gig and the USB connector is built into the unit (a major plus). It shows the left/right channel signal on the screen, is TINY, and even has an external speak that is surprisingly loud. This model is a year old and I think the newer ones may be two gigs now (though one gig is more than enough). It even has an in and and out (a lot of these low end recording gadgets do not have a built in USB plug and a mic out.) It's about $140. I also have a digital Marantz PMD660, which I used for field recording with professional mics (just as a hobby). I'd probably use that if I were doing anything for radio. It's $499, but you'll easily spend $1000 once you get the case, mic, pole, sock and expanded memory card. To be honest, I think the Olympus would work for most situations, even podcasting. It's off topic, but somebody was talking about gadgetry. On topic: I still don't get the "mobile" part. A lot of newspapers are supply all of their reporters with laptops and mobile phones to be used as modems and etcetera as part of an effort to make them all mobile instead of sedentary. Being connected and moving around is, like, uh, what reporters DO, don't they? |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/20/2007 2:09:17 PM | show profile Stories were fine -- the kind of quick-and-dirty, meat-and-potatoes stories you usually find in small newspapers. It was interesting to me that nothing about the stories suggests a special need for a mobile journalist filing from the field (i.e., none of the stories were breaking news, but were features that could have easily appeared at any time). In fact, unless you were told, you would have no idea the reporter just didn't take his notebook back to the newsroom and write the story there. So, in essence, it feels all this is simply about posting a short feature story online a couple of hours sooner. (It would be interesting to see readership surveys to see how many people this matters to, and how much it matters.) Fair enough. Maybe this is the very, very, very earliest stages of reporters going out with video cameras or digital recorders and capturing multi-media components that they put on the newspaper website. --cmyron -- I've been asked to show a couple of examples of what I do..." Okay, so with those three examples, were they stories you ran across by just driving around and checking out retail spaces and open air markets? Or did they contact the news room with a pitch? I favor community stories of course. So, is the bulk of what you do really community interaction between actual everyday people and the news department? Almost like an outreach program that is often not a part of newsroom strategy. thx. -- |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/20/2007 2:16:24 PM | show profile You're right -- this is a lot of hyping. Reporters going out and talking to people in person -- heck, I did that starting out in the newspaper game 20 years ago, and it wasn't like that was unusual then. People filing remotely? That's old, too. Really, the only new thing is the reporter being able to go out to his car, plug his laptop in the cigarette lighter, hurriedly dash off the story, and then file it remotely using the wireless card. The net benefit is posting the article 20 or 40 minutes earlier, or however much time it would take the reporter to drive back to the office. However, if the lead of this story was, "As a mobile journalist, I write my one-source, soft-feature articles on my laptop sitting in my car, and consequently they are posted online 20 minutes quicker," it wouldn't have sounded as cool, I guess. So mostly this is a lot of hype, in my humble opinion. --On topic: I still don't get the "mobile" part. A lot of newspapers are supply all of their reporters with laptops and mobile phones to be used as modems and etcetera as part of an effort to make them all mobile instead of sedentary. Being connected and moving around is, like, uh, what reporters DO, don't they?-- |
| fromthenorth | Posted – 1/20/2007 3:02:17 PM | show profile This is a job for young people. I can see how someone right out of college would be enthusiastic about it, but it would get old in a few years. And that is the case with much of journalism now, primarly because of the low pay. They are implementing the mobile journalists at our newspaper group. It's funny how all of the older people at our company are making all of these decisions directed toward recruiting younger readers, but they don't even bother to ask younger readers what content and features appeal to them. In my opinion, that is why the newspaper industry is dying because they are still trying to cater to people who are older and have no real understanding of the younger generation 35 and under. Journalism is one of those fields where older people still believe you have to pay your dues in order to earn respect, but none of the older people know very much about technology or the Internet. So younger people truly have the advantage when it comes to what is happening with technology, but the older people in charge still pay them crap. |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/20/2007 5:59:29 PM | show profile | email poster dribbledrive makes a good point about the essence of what was posted. I didn't necessarily see it that way, as my thinking was more about building new readership, whether print or online, with the community that newspaper serves. This is my biggest gripe with the NYT -- it is NOT Manhattan's newspaper, but reserved for the elite and strives for newsroom awards ahead of chosing what Manhattanites want to read (that is why more read/buy the other papers.) "Whomever," I don't agree this approach is reserved for young people. It was not explained at the beginning of this post what the writer was covering... whether my mis-interpretation or not, I assumed he was out there ready for the 'burning building' story. I think a seasoned journalist is going to ask even a small shop owner, more direct questions about running a business and profits etc. I know of plenty 40, 50, 60 year old journalists who write similar stories to the examples given. In support of dribb's point though, again these were not breaking news and I do think it is the seasoned journalist who can handle a true breaking story much better from his/her experience. Perhaps if one reporter is truly mobile, he would switch to a variation of live video feed (or rotate) on the stories he covers -- even so for a feature. Voyeurism of sorts... be a step a head of YouTube and rather than post videos, stream them live from the scene. This might be a job for two people, cameraman and journalist. The whole feature idea, especially in Florida, lends itself to quite a range of stories to cover -- the sufer dudes on the beach, the senior center bridge game -- whateva... u get the point. |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/20/2007 6:00:46 PM | show profile | email poster Sorry - "whomever" changed his name to "fromthenorth." lol. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/20/2007 8:28:30 PM | show profile Well, it's hard to imagine the story examples we were given doing anything to build readership. They were just the kind of typical articles small newspapers have been running for decades. The cutting-edge stuff involves looking at newspaper web sites in new ways, providing more multimedia and more opportunities for interaction with readers. I mean, I hate to keep harping on this, but what this particular "mobile journalist" does could be boiled down to a couple of sentences: "I write quick-and-dirty, one-source feature articles, but instead of going back to the office to write, I write on my laptop in my car and post to our web site without editing using a Sprint wireless card. Because of this, the articles are posted online an hour or two sooner." Actually, this strikes me as the kind of model an old, out-of-touch newspaper guy would use for leveraging the Internet. It's just doing the same-old stuff in the same-old way, but just doing it a smidgen quicker. --dribbledrive makes a good point about the essence of what was posted. I didn't necessarily see it that way, as my thinking was more about building new readership, whether print or online, with the community that newspaper serves. This is my biggest gripe with the NYT -- it is NOT Manhattan's newspaper, but reserved for the elite and strives for newsroom awards ahead of chosing what Manhattanites want to read (that is why more read/buy the other papers.) "Whomever," I don't agree this approach is reserved for young people. It was not explained at the beginning of this post what the writer was covering... whether my mis-interpretation or not, I assumed he was out there ready for the 'burning building' story. I think a seasoned journalist is going to ask even a small shop owner, more direct questions about running a business and profits etc. I know of plenty 40, 50, 60 year old journalists who write similar stories to the examples given. In support of dribb's point though, again these were not breaking news and I do think it is the seasoned journalist who can handle a true breaking story much better from his/her experience. Perhaps if one reporter is truly mobile, he would switch to a variation of live video feed (or rotate) on the stories he covers -- even so for a feature. Voyeurism of sorts... be a step a head of YouTube and rather than post videos, stream them live from the scene. This might be a job for two people, cameraman and journalist. The whole feature idea, especially in Florida, lends itself to quite a range of stories to cover -- the sufer dudes on the beach, the senior center bridge game -- whateva... u get the point. -- |
| Brakingnews | Posted – 1/21/2007 10:10:04 AM | show profile Bonus/incentive Chuck, as a test pilot for the company, was their some sort of bonus attached to this position? (As a fellow journalists I feel your 30 cents a mile pain!) |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/21/2007 12:02:01 PM | show profile | email poster "dribbledrive - Well, it's hard to imagine the story examples we were given doing anything to build readership..." I don't know about that dd. Out your way, the LAT used to have an office in SJ Cap and I knew the editor/senior writer there, but the office was closed some years ago as a cost cutting measure. Not sure what happened to him now, but I think he went into PR. Oddly enough - or despite all odds - that office closure opened a new door. A journalist (I think he came from the OC Register don't quote me though) bought the Capistrano Dispatch, which is a local freebee. He is making a go of it I think 3 or 4 yrs now -- off line actually. He writes the types of stories mojo showed us here. To me in this day of high expenses it does not stand to reason how he can keep afloat. However, that guy is all over the city. Everyone knows him, he is out and about more than mojo. He is proving how community journalism is working in a day we all look online for whatever topic. People do, for at least this moment, still want to read about their local celebs or businesses. I don't know how big Ft Myers is - never been there - it is a suburban lifestyle though yes? For a daily to hit upon these people type stories has to be a benefit to readership I would think. That alone might not increase subscriptions -- but if it stops the bleeding that is a plus. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/21/2007 12:43:47 PM | show profile Oh, you're misunderstanding me. Sure, these kind of stories are pretty typical for small newspapers and readers like them well enough. What I meant is I don't think the "mobile journalist" aspect of the stories seems pretty irrelevant. --"dribbledrive - Well, it's hard to imagine the story examples we were given doing anything to build readership..." I don't know about that dd. Out your way, the LAT used to have an office in SJ Cap and I knew the editor/senior writer there, but the office was closed some years ago as a cost cutting measure. Not sure what happened to him now, but I think he went into PR. Oddly enough - or despite all odds - that office closure opened a new door. A journalist (I think he came from the OC Register don't quote me though) bought the Capistrano Dispatch, which is a local freebee. He is making a go of it I think 3 or 4 yrs now -- off line actually. He writes the types of stories mojo showed us here. To me in this day of high expenses it does not stand to reason how he can keep afloat. However, that guy is all over the city. Everyone knows him, he is out and about more than mojo. He is proving how community journalism is working in a day we all look online for whatever topic. People do, for at least this moment, still want to read about their local celebs or businesses. I don't know how big Ft Myers is - never been there - it is a suburban lifestyle though yes? For a daily to hit upon these people type stories has to be a benefit to readership I would think. That alone might not increase subscriptions -- but if it stops the bleeding that is a plus. -- |
| LAEdtr | Posted – 1/21/2007 11:30:16 PM | show profile The yourhub.com approach, formed in Denver and sold to other markets, is another way to present community news. A mid-career buddy of mine walks the neighborhoods, posts video and blog material, and solicits copy from those he comes across. So, instead of tossing off soft, one-source feature stories himself, he has other, untrained people offer softer, no-source feature stories. |
| cmyron | Posted – 1/21/2007 11:54:30 PM | show profile clare04: Yeah, you know, I think in some ways this is indeed a return to grass-roots journalism, or many of the tenets journalism sets out to do but doesn't quite accomplish. A~: I like gadgetry discussions, so feel free. And to answer your other question, being mobile is what reporters are, I believe, intended to do, but it doesn't quite happen under traditional models. There are a lot of papers that do not equip their staff to file from anywhere but the downtown office. mailbag: These were stories that I generated from looking around ... I wasn't tipped off, and I didn't get assignments from an editor. dribbledrive: You'd be surprised how much feedback we get from editors when we beat the competition by short time periods like 20 to 40 minutes. For better or worse, speed counts online. fromthenorth: It's appalling what some newspapers pay their reporters. Sadly, the salary structure is ingrained as an industry standard. Media companies have been hurt by their own tight-fistedness, as have the communities they cover. Brakingnews: Nope, no bonus. mailbag: Fort Myers has about 58,000 people. Neighboring Cape Coral has about 140,000 people. The metropolitan area as a whole has about 550,000 people. It's largely suburban, but as with almost any place in Florida, there's a slice of every type of lifestyle. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/22/2007 1:08:36 AM | show profile It wouldn't surprise me if editors really like this, but I am not sure how much it means to readers. i find a lot of newspaper editors out of touch, to be frank. I worked with one editor of a trade magazine, who had a strong newspaper background, and he had a total "scoop" mentality. Anything I turned in he'd asked if it was a "scoop." I'd say, "Sure." even if the piece was based on a press release, and he would go crazy with delight. And that to me if the problem with newspapers approach to the web. They are seeing it as an extention of dailies, and using already-outmoded daily values. --dribbledrive: You'd be surprised how much feedback we get from editors when we beat the competition by short time periods like 20 to 40 minutes. For better or worse, speed counts online.-- |
| EuroWriter | Posted – 1/22/2007 8:42:04 AM | show profile | email poster Teaching an old dog ... I am trying to figure out if this development is good, bad or neutral. But the thing that strikes me most is that newspaper editors seem to really think they are onto something new here. What do they think their reporters have been doing for the past century? Back in the stone ages of the early 1990s, I covered business for Reuters and filed market moving news directly to the global wire -- laptop hooked up to a GSM modem -- from my seat during company press conferences, central bank press conferences, or from the curb on some street filing news features at the site of a train crash, plane hijacking. Once when a cabinet member unexpectedly resigned, I had to pull of the highway and spend the next four hours reporting, writing and filing from my car. What have war correspondents been doing for ages? Having an office or not isn't the issue. The technology is much better and makes the job a lot easier. But getting out and getting the story and filing on deadline or real time for the wires, TV, radio (ever hacked open a public phone to connect your alligator clips?) isn't new. But the MoJo seems to be about more than just getting the story and filing in real time or near real time. And that's what worries me. The story is changing more than the technology and work practices. It seems that the radius is getting much narrower. Not only are we giving American readers less international news, but now even national news is being cut back in favor of hyperlocal news as if the readers were really only interested in what goes on in their neighborhoods. What would be new with all this fancy technology and unparalleled ability to interact with readers would be to stop patronizing our readers and start challenging their intelligence, engage them in real and meaningful dialogue about what is happening in our world. |
| mailbag | Posted – 1/22/2007 8:44:18 AM | show profile | email poster "dribbledrive1 -- It wouldn't surprise me if editors really like this, but I am not sure how much it means to readers..." So, now that he said he is finding these feature type stories himself, why wouldn't readers be interested from two standpoints - 1) general interest about their community, and 2) their own chance of getting mojo to come by their shop and do an interview... free publicity in other words. This of course works two ways... because if a business likes him, the chance is better down the road they may tip him off on something bigger. The more biz contacts he has in the community the greater chance they will phone him up some day and say "hey, did you know xyz is going on?" I can see that as win for the paper in general especially if the competitors don't have this inside relationship with the business community. |
