Donald O'Mahony's Comm 361 class blog

Brad Kalbfeld has over 36 years of reporting experience, and on March 23, he came to George Mason University to share some of his experiences and give advice to students who are starting down the journalism path.

Brad Kalbfeld

In a time where many journalists are being laid off or bought out, Kalbfeld is looking into the future. “I’m trying to find ways to build a business model that works,” he said. “In my day, everything was one way. I report, you consume. Today, everything is interactive. Consumers are in the drivers seat.”

Kalbfeld began the presentation by giving students an idea of how far technology has come during his career. He brought his old typewriter and compared it to his iPod and a personal wifi hotspot.

“It’s interesting that someone who started their career on a typewriter is so enthusiastic about changes in technology,” said Chanel Dority. “I think aspiring journalists can learn a lot from that. We really need to be flexible and have the ability to adapt to new things.”

Kalbfeld also stressed the importance of quality journalism. “I think that journalistic values are more important than ever,” he said. “News is now participatory, with people emailing links, posting comments or sending in new facts or video. Writers need to make more of an effort to make sure things are accurate and sort through that things that are not.”

In the end, the business is always about the consumer. “If our audience doesn’t care, we don’t care,” said Kalbfeld. For as long as he is working, he will continue to do his best to make the consumers care.

As is states in the introduction, journalism without photos is like writing without words. Digital technology has made it possible to publish pictures almost immediately after they are taken with just a few clicks. However, effectively publishing digital photos takes practice and patience. This chapter explains what a journalist will need to know.

Image courtesy of: howstuffworks.com

In this modern era, digital photography has become the preference of most because of its many benefits, including:

• Not having film limit the amount of pictures that can be taken
• The ability to immediately see whether or not you captured the image you wanted
• The ability to upload pictures to the internet
• Saving money by printing only the pictures you want
• Easy editing of photos, such as cropping, on your computer

By now, digital camera use is pretty simple to most college students. You point and click to shoot the image and look on the camera’s display to make sure its what you want. Then there are the zoom and flash features if you need a close up or more light.

After you have the images you need, it is time to edit them. Cropping and resizing photos can be important depending on what you need them for. However, it is possible to do more harm than good if you are not careful. According to the Code of Ethics of the National Press Photographers Association, you should never “manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.”

Following these steps while editing your photos is a good way to make sure you get the most out of the program you decide to use.

• Edit a copy of the photo — never the original
• crop the photo
• resize the picture
• modify the resolution
• tone and color correct the picture
• save a web version
• keep it simple

Once you have your collection of photos, you will need a place to organize them. There are many sites online that let you upload, organize and share your photos with friends and family. Using these simple photography techniques can greatly improve the quality of your journalism.

Mobile journalism is beginning to revolutionize the way reporters work. When Christiano Ronaldo crashed his Ferrari, the reporter on the scene used her cell phone to take pictures that were used for the story. Thinking on her feet and using what was available to her made it possible to get the story out as soon as she could. This chapter is full of examples of how journalism is going mobile.

Christiano Ronaldo crashed his car while still in Manchester. He has since moved on to Madrid.

The right tool for mobile journalism is whatever you feel most comfortable with. It could be a laptop, smartphone, digital camera, audio recorder or any other device you are familiar with. It is important to make sure you can capture content and connect to the internet. If you can’t do both of those, then you will not be able to get the story out.

Take advantage of technology. Instead of carrying around ten different pieces of equipment, try to find some devices with multiples tools included. Also, be sure to test out new devices during free time before relying on them on the job.

There are two types or mobile journalists: A gearhead and a light packer. A gearhead carries around a laptop, camera, tripod, video camera, audio recorder and any other equipment they might need. A light packer is equipped with a smartphone that can access the internet, easily type information and take pictures and video. Any modern journalist should seriously consider a smartphone if they are looking for an advantage.

Some questions to consider when deciding whether mobile journalism is neccesary are:

• Will the audience benefit if we can take them there?
• Will the journalism be better if it’s done on location?
• Can this event be effectively communicated in small chunks over time?
• Will sound reporting or video footage, turned around quickly, help people understand the story?

After you make your decision, you are ready to go. Mobile journalism can be effective while covering many events, including:

• Breaking news
• Sporting events
• Public speeches or announcements
• Grand openings
• Public gatherings or protests

Journalists cannot be affraid of technology. There are so many ways to take advantage of technology to help make a story better for the reader. Any young journalist can gain an advantage by becoming more familiar with the many devices out there.