dr. stephen quinn in manila

When Australian author and journalism professor Stephen Quinn -- who also happens to be our Convergent Journalism professor -- came for a brief visit in March, my classmate Erwin Oliva managed to squeeze in some questions on his ongoing projects and his take on technology in Asia and in the Philippines, in particular.

It was an interesting interview, with Dr. Quinn discussing "the future for journalism" in the Philippines. True to the concept of convergent journalism, the whole Q&A was captured on video via Erwin's mobile phone. Watch the full interview below:



With thanks to Erwin for letting me use this.

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.