multimedia = multiskilled + multitasking

It sounds like a simple formula, but in reality, it’s probably anything but.

Much has been said and written about the waning interest -– especially of the younger generation –- in news or in reading newspapers. Multimedia journalism is a way of adapting to the changing habits of our audience. It is about providing a multisensory experience to an audience that wants or requires information quickly and more easily.

dumbing down vs. stepping up
Multimedia journalism caters to short attention spans. But this doesn’t mean dumbing down –- far from it. In my view, multimedia journalism is a way for us to meet the demands and expectations of our our audience. And they do demand more from us. After all, they are techno-savvy, more sophisticated, pickier about what they read or watch or listen to.

Therefore, venturing into this field of journalism requires us to step up to its challenges. It is expanding our skill sets to enable us to better engage the audience. Multimedia journalism helps us become better practitioners as well. And since we cannot expect a linear thinker to produce nonlinear reports, the more we can think like our audience and anticipate their needs, the better we can give them what they want or need to know.

multimedia journalism in the philippines
I was a bit surprised (to put it mildly) to learn from the UC Berkeley grad school of journalism that the sites of some of the major news organizations are not considered multimedia journ. For this reason, I don't think there's any Philippine media organization that has gone multimedia in the true sense of that word.

True, training is ongoing and equipment being upgraded. And that is a sign that we are heading in that direction. Maybe in a matter of months, we will see the practice of journalism evolving –- from shovelware and blogs, from merely making video and audio available in news portals, to real multimedia journalism.

It is not just about the medium and the technology. It is about changing our own views about news and about our audience, adapting to change, and being better equipped.

it is not the medium

One of the issues raised last night during our first chat session was that of the quality of journalism in light of convergence. Technology, convergence, and speed should be tools for delivering the news -- not excuses for bad journalism. The principles of journalism defined by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel are not limited to one medium -- they should be practiced across media. Any journalist worth his salt should remain mindful of this.

Reflecting on this, I am reminded of Stephen Glass, formerly of The New Republic. Writing in Forbes.com, Adam Penenberg -- who kept digging until he uncovered Glass’s deception -- said, “It is ironic that online journalists have received bad press from the print media for shoddy reporting. But the truth is, bad journalism can be found anywhere. It is not the medium; it is the writer.”

print: strengths and weaknesses

In Chapter 2 of Convergent Journalism, print is described as a “portable and permanent” medium –- you can take a newspaper or magazine anywhere and read it at anytime, referring to it again and again.

Because of portability, newspapers and magazines are still the most accessible news media. We can find them on street corners and in convenience stores, in waiting rooms and hotel lobbies, and even –- at least in this country –- peddled on the streets during morning rush hours. They are also the cheapest way of getting the news, at Php20 for a broadsheet or Php75 for a magazine.

However, while readily available, the print medium is limited by production schedule. Local broadsheets come out only once a day, but events don’t stop after the newspapers are printed. So after reading the news in the morning, you would have to rely on the broadcast or online media for updates. Or wait for the following day’s paper.

in today's converging world
The print medium is threatened by the immediacy with which TV, radio, and the Internet deliver the news. But because of the amount of space available, a newspaper or magazine lends itself to long and detailed news reports –- such as investigative reports. This can also be said of the Internet, but with a difference: stories are archived and fees charged for retrieval, or worse, links to stories can become inactive.

In the Philippines, newspapers are not about to be replaced by the Internet as a medium. Not everyone has access to a computer or laptop, and to the Internet. Also, local news sites feature mostly reproductions of reports found in print. Perhaps that is more a question of economics than anything else. But online news must be written for the Web to adapt to the “scanning” behavior, as Jakob Nielsen describes it, of Web readers. See the CyberJournalist site and Nielsen’s columns (click here for guidelines on writing for the web, and here for web reading patterns).

Meanwhile, the print medium continues to survive because it adapts to the habits of its readers. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, for instance, is now seen in other forms that offer the news to specific readers –- to commuters, in the form of free tabloid-size papers; and to younger readers, in compact format that delivers more concise news in visually interesting layouts.