The word for the week is "mobile."
Over the weekend, I met one of Reuter's first mobile journalists. These reporters are armed with powerful videocamera phones and portable hardware--a single reporter can create print and video features miles from any newsroom.
The experimental Mobile Journalist Toolkit includes a portable tripod, computer keyboard, a directional microphone, and the Nokia N95 cell phone.
The United States is lagging behind other countries in adapting to cell phone possibilities, but the change is coming.
Last week, the MediaShift Idea Lab explored the slow transition to mobile media, offering ideas for writers interested in using this new medium. Paul Lamb writes: "According to a just released report by Jupiter Research, only 16% of U.S. subscribers are browsing the mobile web. According to the report, the low uptake is due primarily to lack of interest (73%) and the high cost (47%)."
The change is coming, it's just taking longer for Americans. Someday soon, the mobile phone market will be begging for content. The journalists who can figure out how to write for this bitty medium can take their pick of stories.
How will you write and report for the smallest screen of all?
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