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 […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 26 February 2011 – The technological advances driving the revolutionary model that we refer to as backpack video journalism enable a single practitioner to exchange ideas and information as never before in the history of mankind. But there is a dark side to this methodology, which empowers lone practitioners to document and disseminate […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 23 February 2011 — I got a query this morning from a person inquiring about my “Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua,” coming up this summer. She was concerned that her lack of experience with new digital cameras might be a stumbling block on the journey. Here’s part of my response: “The methodology that we […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 9 February 2011 — The “Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua,” is a 10-day immersion in the craft of character-driven documentary making. We follow American volunteers with a leading U.S. non-profit to the Nicaraguan town of Ticuantepe, just outside the capital of Managua. For me, it’s not just about teaching backpack video journalism, or documentary. […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 4 February 2011 — I just ran across this story about the Miami Herald’s production of its first documentary, about the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti: (Click here.) Just one more measure of how the media landscape is shifting beneath our feet. — Bill Gentile
WASHINGTON, 22 January 2011 — Maria Howell (R) is on a roll. Last summer she was the winner of the Associated Press/American University Backpack Journalism Foreign Internship that took her to the AP bureau in Jerusalem. Last fall she took on a backpack journalism internship at WashingtonPost.com. And this week she begins a backpack video […]