There is much discussion the journalism industry of the addition of duties and responsibilities of reporters in the field. In the good old days, news crews (reporter, photographer, sound man) were the norm. Now, thanks to the advancements of technology and an increased awareness of the bottom line, the news crew is no more. Now we have the “one man band” or “backpack journalist”.
The proliferation of the OMB/BPJ has caused much consternation among old school reporters. “How can I do all of this?” they ask. “The quality of my work will surely suffer!”
Now, with the growth of social media, reporters are finding one MORE task to add to their daily workflow: updating Twitter, Facebook, etc.
But, I contend that there are plenty of OMB/BPJs out there getting the job done and getting it done well. Case in point: Julie Wolfe.
Take a look at this picture. That’s Julie, sterilized and scrubbed in for a story she’s working on. In the picture you can also see the tools of the trade: two cameras. What’s that? You only see one camera? Look closer. That’s right, she’s holding the other camera in her hand.
Armed with her iPhone, Julie (@juliewolfe on Twitter) has been Tweeting her way through covering her stories. She posts messages and updates regularly, and has developed quite a following. Afterall, Julie’s job is to communicate stories, ideas and information to people. That’s what a journalist does. Even though she’s employed by a TV station, she knows she needs to reach her audience on different platforms.
You might call Julie (with all of her gadgets) the Journalist of the Future. But I’d say you’re wrong. I’d say she’s the Journalist of Today. And a darn good one at that.
By the way, the story she’s working on is remarkable. It’s scheduled to air Friday morning. But of course, you can follow the developments online:
Quinn’s Transplant: Photos and twitter transcript
Atlanta (11Alive) – On Tuesday, September 29th, 8 year old Quinn underwent surgery and got a new kidney.
Quinn has Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). PKD is a life-threatening genetic kidney disease affecting 600,000 Americans.
11Alive reporter Julie Wolfe spent the day in the OR with Quinn. Julie and others posted surgey updates throughout the day using twitter.
As a recent j-school grad, I’m so thankful the curriculum at KU was catered toward the “one man band” journalist. Who says a jack-of-all-trades can’t be a master of any?