Monday, 25 July 2022

MoJo: New form of stoytelling

 


 

               Photo by George Milton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/phone-recording-video-of-talking-women-6953836/

-Rinkumani Pathak

Around 2 years ago, it was beyond imagination for the journalists to work from home. But COVID-induced situation made it happen and many media organisations introduced work from home for their employees. Many television anchors turned their homes into studios thanks to the utilities of mobile phones.

Mobile Journalism was prevalent before COVID-19, but it made work from home easier for the journalists during the pandemic. It has diminished the idea that in a newsroom everyone should be within shouting distance of one another. From news anchors to reporters, mobile phones helped them to carry out their jobs during the pandemic.

Natasha Ghoneim, a journalist with Al Jazeera writes, “At a time when many of my colleagues were unable to work in the field due to Covid-19 concerns and restrictions placed on travel, I became a crew of one and began to produce, shoot and report my own stories just a few months after completing the mobile journalism course. Granted, I already knew how to shoot and edit. However,  I needed the training to learn how to produce news stories with my mobile phone that met Al Jazeera standards. Due to working solo and with the limitations of shooting on an iPhone, I chose non-breaking news, enterprise stories where I was not bound by the demands of a looming deadline.”

Simply speaking, Mobile Journalism is a kind of journalism done through mobile phones. Here, collection and dissemination of news are done through mobile phones. It has relieved the journalists from the burden of heavy cameras and other equipment. Aljajeera Media Training and Development Centre defines mobile journalism as the process of gathering and delivering news using a smartphone or tablet. It is a trend in news covering and broadcasting and has the potential to become the new standard in journalism practice, especially to report breaking news.

Earlier, mobile phones were regarded as a tool only for citizen journalists who don’t have access to sophisticated cameras. But presently, mobile journalism has become the utmost necessity for all those in the profession. As the smartphones are endowed not only with high quality cameras, but also internet-wifi and different add on applications, it is certainly a comfortable tool for gathering, shooting, editing, live broadcasting or sharing news.

The availability of Live option on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube etc. are another added advantage of mobile journalism. Gone are the days of ENG cameras and DSNG vans, now mobile phones have enabled not only to capture the visuals but also to go live from the spot at any point of time.

                                                                                                                                  The Assam Tribune, 2016

There are several advantages of mobile journalism. First is its mobility. As it is a portable device it gives us access to the places where we can’t go with a DSLR or any other big cameras. It has become a one-man-show as mobile journalism doesn’t need large crews and heavy equipment. On the other hand, in many crucial situations using a smartphone is much safer for the journalists. It allows them to be less noticeable and comfortably do their job.

In his paper titled “Closer to the Story: Accessibility and Mobile Journalism”, Panu Karhunen finds that journalists can closer to the story and subject by utilising the mobile journalism.

The mobile journalists he had interviewed for this paper said they were able to film stories that would have been impossible with a TV camera and a multi-person crew. They opined that mobile journalism can lead to more genuine and more intimate journalism. Most of these journalists felt that people prefer to give an interview to a mobile journalist than to a multi-person TV crew.

Mobile journalism has ensured filing the news direct from the smartphones. Journalists can send the news stories to the newsrooms through emails, clouds or any other apps with his smartphones. Live streaming has become simpler and less expensive because of the smartphones.

It can also fulfil the business interests of the media houses as the live streaming allows the journalists to engage with their audience in different social media platforms. The most significant aspect of mobile journalism is that it saves money. A smartphone doesn’t cost much. But it can replace a large crew and heavy equipment. Therefore mobile journalism can curb the production costs.

Many prominent media houses across the world are resorting to mobile journalism for various reasons. Organizations like BBC has been emphasizing telling stories through smartphones. Aljajeera is also one of the pioneers. In March 2012, Aljajeera English broadcast a documentary titled Syria: Songs of Defiance shot entirely with an iphone. As the Syrian government banned Aljajeera reporters the undercover journalist shot the documentary with a smartphone.

Most of the news channels in the country have embraced mobile journalism. Though, mobile phones have not replaced studio and newsroom cameras, the reporters in Assam are also using their phones to collect and share news.

Kanak Chandra Boro, Kokrajhar-based journalist for a satellite news channel says, “I was introduced to MoJo more than 3 years ago while I was working for a national media house. They provided me a MoJo kit which included a mobile phone, tripod, monopod, power bank, lapel, lighting equipment etc.”

Boro states that MoJo has many advantages.


                                                                                    Kanak Chandra Boro, in a reporting assignment

“First, a mobile phone is portable. We can collect and deliver news first. It is helpful to break a news immediately. But it has limitations. For example—you can’t give a good coverage of chief minister’s programme with your mobile phone.  VIPs, VVIPs have certain protocol. Sometimes, you have too shoot from distance. But mobile phones can’t help you with zoom in. Network issue is another constraint,” he explains.

Dwipjyoti Ray, a correspondent for a tv channel adds, “ Earlier people used to ridicule at the reporters covering news with mobile phones. But now a days, everyone is using mobile phone.”

 

 

 

 

 


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