by mattschmertz
Joel Currier is a member of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s breaking news team. Although he and his team do not specialize in mobile journalism, they do utilize the technology to accomplish their goals. Joel has worked as an editor for two weekly papers in Syracuse, NY and has been with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 2005.
Joel had some great insight on examples of work created with mobile tools:
Photos
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_d13e2ce0-348b-11e0-a2fe-0017a4a78c22.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/article_01de7dea-3212-11e0-9dba-00127992bc8b.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_5d558a72-2fb2-11e0-88c4-0017a4a78c22.html
Currier suggested some basic tools that every mobile journalist should have which included a smart phone, point-and shoot camera, SLR digital camera, laptop, wireless card and a digital recorder. The gear and applications Joel suggested included Google Maps, Google Navigation, SMS handcent text messaging, Pixelpipe, Twidroyd, YouTube, PDF Document Scanner, CamScanner and a Scanner Radio or Police Scanner.
Although mobile journalism has come a long ways over the past 5 years, there are still many limitations. Currier explained that he has a Droid X, “but it will not upload HD video. As a result, I have to shoot at a lower resolution for a limited amount of time in order to upload remotely. If HD is necessary, I wont upload until returning to the newsroom, but that kindof defeats the purpose of being mobile.”
Currier has attempted many techniques that did not work out the way he expected. He says, “It’s a huge challenge to shoot photos and report at the same time. You really can only do one adequately at a time. So, I’ve learned to balance the need to get great photos and gather great information for the story.”
Look for Joel Currier’s work online at the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
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