College journalists should own multimedia tools

Mindy McAdams thinks college students who want to become multimedia journalists should own their tools. I say that’s a pretty good idea.

This is similar to what I wrote in October (What every student reporter should have) from a college media organization perspective. I realize it’s somewhat problematic to do, but college media outlets should be investing in more laptops to go along with the desktop computers they already put to great use.

But I also like the way Mindy frames the idea:

I think perhaps we have come to the point when a journalist should have the kind of relationship with his or her computer that a photojournalist has with the camera. It is always with you. It is always ready. …

I think if the students owned their tools, they would learn more about using them effectively. This is especially true for the laptop — if you carry it with you, it’s easy to ask others for help, advice, critiques. You can say “Look what I made!” at lunch or sitting on a bench at the bus stop. I think this showing and sharing helps people adapt to technology and integrate it into their working life.

This “relationship” (that’s a cool way to look at it) between the reporter and the laptop will also help students become accustomed to using the tool to do their job better (a 21st century journalism skill I outlined here).

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite