2015: Mobile Journalism Overview

                                                                                                                             

At Mobile Journalism Conference in Dublin. March 2015

The year 2015 saw several exciting stories hitting the huge engagement of citizen journalists. From South Africa to Bangladesh, Mobile Journalism or MoJo more or less was practiced by mainstream media in 2015. We observed many important stories which were covered only with smartphone.

MoJo opened more opportunities for citizen journalists to tell their untold stories. Some of the greatest stories that covered my mobile journalists around the world were: #ParisAttacks (France) #PutinPresser (Russia) #FeesMustFall (South Africa) #MigrantCrisis (Syria)  #NepalEarthquake (Nepal)  #Ferguson (USA), #WarCrimesTrial (Bangladesh) #UKfloods (UK). 

Smartphone is the perfect device to capture, edit and then instantly distribute the multimedia content to around the globe especially during the breaking news event.  Mojo is an innovative form of reporting where people use only a smartphone to create and file stories. As more audiences are consuming journalism on mobile so traditional broadcasters are now hiring journalists and mobile editors who can make and file stories with selfie sticks and microphones.

2015 made a place in the history of global mobile journalism. MoJoCon, the first international media conference focusing on mobile journalism, mobile filmmaking, mobile photography and new technology that happened in march 2015 in Dublin, Ireland. The conference brought together many MoJo experts and mobile filmmakers from different countries of the world. Glen Mulchey who can be called a MoJo Guru, did tremendous job for organizing such a successful event. Like me & many other young journalism educators and journalists were highly inspired by the speakers and participants of the conference.

Opening session of world'd first MoJo conference

I believe that with the continuous development of digital storytelling tools and sophisticated apps that will bring Mobile Journalism and Digital Media to the next level in 2016.  Western experts have already told us that next generation newsroom will be created according to the work-flows of mobile journalism (MoJo) and VR.

Allissa Richardson who teaches journalism at Bowie State University said her predictions for journalism 2016: ‘Mobile journalism goes virtual in 2016. It will be immersive, engaging and empathetic.’ 

Raymond Joseph, a former fellow at ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellowships tweeted that ‘: ‘Forget digi first, now is the time of mobi first.’

Jane Singer, professor of journalism innovation at City University London, believes 2015 was the year media organizations have started thinking of mobile "not just as an extension of the web but as a whole different beast."

For me MoJo or Mobile journalism means "everything is content." It’s a form of telling stories faster, cheaper and reach to the bigger audience. With a multimedia mindset, right use of the art of smartphone and a little train can make any smartphone user to a mobile journalist.

In 2015, I covered a number of stories which were filmed, edited and distributed with smartphone. As hardwires, I use Samsung Galaxy mega 6.3, AV-JEFES Lavalier (Lapel) Microphone, VJ Mini Tripod, VJ Holder (VJ-H01), VJ Firefly LED Light (to provide direct lighting at night).

A mobile photo captured at Patriotic museum in Moscow

There are number of apps available at the Android market for mobile journalism. Some apps are highly recommended by the Mojo experts. To broadcast Live video stream, Skype still remain the best choice for me. I use native camera app for filming and ‘Kinemaster’ app for editing. ‘Soundcloud' that I use to record voices and publish audio content. Camera360 Ultimate, Instagram and PhotoGrid use mainly to capture still photos, annotating or editing images and publishing them from mobile phone.

Here I narrowed down the top  stories of 2015 which I covered by smartphone:

                                                                                                #VictoryDayCelebrations

#RussianPatrioticMuseum

#TradeFairinMoscow

#ProspectMiraMosque

#BangladeshFestivalinMoscow

#TributetoMichaelJackson

#RoadsUnderWaterinMoscow

#AfricanWeekatPFUR

#CrimeaBacktoMotherland

                                               
                                                                                                  

I think it’s the time to train everyone of news outlet to become a mobile journalist. The magic does not happen without a mindset of digital storytelling skills and proper training. To realize the importance of mobile journalism for today’s newsroom, in 2015, I launched ‘Smartphone Journalism Institute’ which is an online platform of learning mobile journalism. Anyone who wishes to learn about the basics of mobile journalism can get practical knowledge on how to capture news video or special moments of any kind of events and interviews, use of basics MoJo apps to publish media content to your news channel, social networks or blogs.

As a proud member of global MoJo community, I'm very much excited to see more positive developments in the field of Mobile Journalism in 2016. We are looking forward to hear new MoJo voices from every corner of the global village that definitely will encourage many others to become a Mobile Journalist.   

Happy New Year 2016!

Jamil Khan
Lecturer
Department of Mass Communications
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
inb.moscow@gmail.com

LISTEN US ON SOUNDCLOUD

Dear MoJo Blog visitors, 

From now you can listen our all podcast at Soundcloud platform.
You can find our Soundcloud page which is available at www.soundcloud.com/smartphjournalism

Listen Now! 

5 Tips: Instagram Marketing Success for Small Businesses

HOW TO BECOME A MOBILE JOURNALIST?

                                                                                                                    #MobileJournalism 

MoJo: Next-Generation Newsroom

After coming back from world's first ever mobile journalism(MoJo) conference which was held in Dublin, in March, 2015, I use my Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 smartphone to shoot a news footage, capture a photo or record audio clips and edit them also through mobile device. 

I usually use native camera app to shoot video and Kinemaster app to edit and distribute media content. 

No doubt that smartphone is the perfect device to capture multimedia content during 'breaking news' event. Western experts have already told that, next generation news room will be created according to the work-flows of mobile journalism (MoJo). 

The practice of MoJo has also started in Bangladesh. I hope it will get more and more popularity among professional & citizen journalists .

Recently i've made a MoJo report for a private TV channel located in Dhaka. You can watch it bellow.    

ROADS UNDER WATER IN MOSCOW CITY

Roads under water and city dwellers faced difficulties while heavy rainfall in Moscow city in last week.

DBINBOX: RECEIVE MOJO FILES

We use dbinbox for our Mojo students to send us larger files with by a simple drag'n'drop. 

Here is our unique link to send us Mojo files: https://dbinbox.com/mojo

DBinbox was created by Christian Genco in April of 2013 while studying abroad in Australia because he needed a way to send files to himself on the insecure school computers.

Since then, DBinbox has grown to over 30,000 users from all over the world, and helps transfer terabytes of data every month.

PRESENTATION ON FUTURE OF MOBILE JOURNALISM IN BANGLADESH

FIRE AT BHATAR KHAL COLONY IN SOUTHERN PART OF BANGLADESH

                                                                                                                     #Mojo Report

                                                                                                                Location: Barisal, Bangladesh

                    

At least 10 houses were burnt and four persons sustained minor injuries as a result of a fire erupted at a house of Bhatar Khal Colony in Barisal city, southern part of Bangladesh. 

 The fire broke out around 12 pm on monday, according to the Barisal fire service. Four fire-fighting units extinguished the flames after half an hour of effort.

Our Mojo reporter Siddiquer Rahman brings the images from the ground. He sent photos & videos to the news room from the scene. 


‪#‎FireInBarisal‬ ‪#‎MojoReport‬ ‪#‎MobileJournalism‬

A LIST OF BASIC TIPS TO GET STARTED WITH MOBILE JOURNALISM

                                                                                                                          #mojocon 
                                                                                                                          Dublin, 2015

Just a week ago the first ever mobile journalism conference mojocon finished in Dublin. It was a two-day event, with sessions discussing key areas in the field followed by masterclasses and workshops on the second day.

All workshops were very enthusiastic specially ''mobile journalism on iOS, Android and Windows Lumia''. I got valuable skills from there. I've tried to make a list of basic tips to help anyone to get started with mobile journalism. 

Mobile video expert and former BBC video journalist Mark Egan covered the basic tips 

1. Keep your phone on airplane mode.
   
2. Check the video settings. Always use the highest video resolution for the best video quality, but BBC's March Settle said, 'highest quality is great but not if file becomes too large/ slow to send'
3. Clean your lens as Phones are always put in pockets.
   
4. Hold your phone horizontally. No vertical video, must be horizontall
   
5. Use the largest memory card your phone can handle. Video requires a lot of storage.
6. Zoom with your feed. ( for good quality and audio)
   
7. Hold it steady. Try not to move the camera so much. Make sure your shoot is stable.
   
8. Start off with a wide shot to establish the scene; then get closer to subjects ( make moneyshots ). Physically move towards the subject rather than using your camera's zoom.
   
9. Use the light. Never shoot into the light ( except for effects)
   
10. Move as little as possible, no pans.
    
11. Know where the microphone on your phone is. Keep it clear. Make sure your hands aren't blocking the microphone.
    
12. Position your subject a little bit of-axis.
13. Look focus and exposure. Do framing, check sound and light.
    
14. Bring all necessary acccesories with you.
    
15. To get good quality audio, use a externel mic or headset.
    
16. Film variety of shoots, angels and sequences, which really help you to tell the story.
    
17. Check the audio just after recorded, if it's not useable, do it again. Because sound in radio and TV is really important.
    
18. Check your footage at the scene, if it's bad, do it again.
    
19. There are plenty of options for mobile journalism apps. Some of the iOS staples are “Filmic pro” for shooting and “iMovie” for editing. For Android device, try “Camera FV-5” for filming and “Kinemaster” for editing.
    
    

Are there any helpful tips that I missed? 

# Source: workshop on mobile journalism on iOS, Android & Windows Lumia, Mojo Con, 28 March 2015, Dublin  

WORLD’S FIRST EVER MOBILE JOURNALISM CONFERENCE HELD IN DUBLIN

On March 27 and 28, the world’s first ever mobile journalism conference held in Dublin and organised by Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

The conference was held under the slogan ‘the future is mobile, the future is now’.

The World’s First Ever Mobile Journalism Conference

It was the most amazing experience where incredible journalists and storytellers from all over the world gathered under the same roof to discuss the evolution of mobile journalism.

I was also there, on behalf of the People’s Friendship University of Russia.

To be a part of this, as an academic of new media, was a true privilege.

Mobile journalism conference ( MojoConIrl)  which was devoted purely to mobile journalism, storytelling and film-making was a great  opportunity for me, many other academics and mobile journalists who create content for a variety of platforms – including TV, radio, print and social media – to share their lessons and experience.

According to Glen Mulcahy, innovation lead of RTÉ and  organizer of the conference said, “It was an opportunity for people like that to come and hear what other people are doing, what trouble they have had, and to share work flows or strategies for how they approach this content production model.”

journalists can use smartphones for reporting & interviewing

MoJoConIrl  was a two-day event, with sessions discussing key areas in the field followed by masterclasses and workshops on the second day.

The sessions focused on the hot topics in mobile journalism, including technology and storytelling.

In total, there were 16 sessions and workshops delivered by more than 40 trainers and speakers to around 400 delegates.

I met so many nice people over the weekend.

To be a part of this, as an academic of new media, was a true privilege. It has really inspired me. I met so many nice people over the weekend. And finally I would like to say thanks to  RTÉ and Glen Mulcahy for organizing this cool event.