Backpack Journalism Blog

WASHINGTON, DC, 27 March 2011 — One of my students in Maracaibo, Venezuela, sent me a group picture of the newly minted Backpack Journalism Workshop participants at the Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso (URBE). So the above shot is courtesy of Camilo Andrés. Gracias.

CARACAS, Venezuela, 25 March 2011 — At the end of the two-day Backpack Journalism Workshop at the Catholic University Andres Bello in the Venezuelan capital, I sit for photos with my students, another newly minted group of backpack video journalists.

CARACAS, Venezuela, 25 March 2011 — During the two-day workshop at the Catholic University Andres Bello in Caracas, I had time to walk the corridors of the institution with one of the work-study students who assisted during the event. Below, I discuss the advantages of backpack video journalism with students.

(Photos by Alex Rengel.)

CARACAS, Venezuela, 25 March 2011 — Finished up a two-day backpack video journalism workshop at Catholic University Andres Bello in Caracas. Great bunch of students.

(Photos by Bill Gentile.)

CARACAS, Venezuela, 23 March 2011 — “Alo Ciudadano” is arguably the most popular program on Venezuelan television. Host Leopoldo Castillo and I discuss backpack video journalism during an interview on his show.

(Photos by Tom Mittnacht.)

MARACAIBO, Venezuela, 22 March 2010 — Just finishing up Day Two of the Backpack Video Journalism Workshop at Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso (URBE) in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Above, two of my students video one of the guards whose responsibility it is to protect the university and its students.

Above, backpack video journalists work on their video on the grounds of the university.

Above, over-the-shoulder shot of future backpack video journalist…

… during a group interview.

The library entrance.

Students inside the library study with the university plaza in the background.

(Photos by Bill Gentile.)

MARACAIBO, Venezuela, 22 March 2011 — I took the Backpack Journalism Workshop to Maracaibo, Venezuela, this week. Attached see some of the photos at the Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso (URBE).

(Photos by Renan Huerta.)

WASHINGTON, DC, 18 March 2011 — While embedded with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24thMEU) in Afghanistan in 2008, I made a brief video of New York Times Photojournalist Tyler Hicks as he prepared and then transmitted images from one of the most unforgiving locales on earth to the Times photo desk in New York. Posted on my Vimeo channel, Backpack Journalist, you can see the video here. You can also watch the piece on YouTube, here. At the time I met Tyler, I was working on a piece in Afghanistan’s Helmand River Valley, along the border with Pakistan, for NOW on PBS. (Titled, “Afghanistan: The Forgotten War,” the piece was nominated for a national Emmy Award.) I think the video of Tyler at work illustrates the technology that has revolutionized the craft of journalism. More importantly, it gives viewers a sense of how professional, articulate and dedicated some of the practitioners of our craft can be. Tyler Hicks is an extraordinarily talented photojournalist and a role model for all who want to enter the craft. The Times reported today that Tyler, along with three other New York Times employees, are scheduled for release by Libyan forces who captured them while the journalists were covering events in that north African country. I am delighted to hear this and I hope that release happens immediately.

- Bill Gentile

(Photo by Bill Gentile, 2008)

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C., 9 March 2011 — A film made by two American University students with whom I traveled to the Galapagos Islands has been selected for screening at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. Mark Petruniak and Chris McMorrow are heading to California to attend the show of “La Pesca Vivencial,” which they shot and produced during a trip to Ecuador sponsored by American University in 2009. You can watch the short on YouTube. I’m delighted this piece is getting proper exposure. Many congratulations to Mark and Chris for seeing it through.

WASHINGTON, DC, 1 March 2011 — I conducted a Backpack Journalism Workshop for eight new fellows at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in the nation’s capital prior to their departure for assignments overseas. During the all-day workshop, we discussed Controlling Idea, Dramatic Arc, the ABCs of the visual language, character-driven documentary and other components of this methodology. We viewed “Afghanistan: The Forgotten War,” and “Nurses Needed,” both broadcast by NOW on PBS.

(Photos by Bill Gentile.)