Journalism.co.uk: Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo is training its reporters in mobile journalism to increase its video output

Posted November 01, 2016

Share To

 

  TweetEmail

Video has in the past few years become an increasingly important aspect of any media company, particularly newspapers and news websites.  As companies try to increase their video output, many have turned to smartphones for cheap, mobile and high quality video production.  One such outlet is Prothom Alo, a Bangladeshi newspaper, where reporters are trained to shoot and edit video on Android phones.

We are coming to a time in which if you want to work for a newspaper or other media outlet, you must be video literate.  Not knowing video now is like walking into a newsroom and announcing you don't know how to read or type the written word.  As the emerging lingua franca, video is a must need skill, and luckily is one that can easily be learned. 

Caroline Scott of Journalsm.co.uk reports on Prothom Alo:

Journalists at daily Banglasdeshi newspaper Prothom Alo have been using Android devices to introduce mobile journalism (mojo) skills into their workflow in a bid to increase the amount of video coverage they produce, while improving the speed at which they report on stories for their online daily audience of seven million readers.

Tarek Mahmud, special correspondent, Prothom Alo, explained that reporters wanted to stay ahead of the curve and ensure they were up to date with new ways to tell stories in the digital age.

"It's a great way to make our coverage more interesting and authentic, Mahmud said.

"For example, our sports desk are currently covering the English v Bangladesh test series, and we have been able to use our smartphones to provide video footage from press conferences and matches, so that our online audience can connect with the events."

The journalists, who work across different desks in the print publication and website, are mainly concentrating on producing news packages and behind the scenes footage from events for the website, but have also been producing Facebook Lives in a bid to engage with wider audiences.

Read the full article.