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, 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 […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 18 January 2011 — I’m finally catching up to posting material generated during our December Backpack Journalism Workshop at Maryland Public Television. That’s Andrea Boston in the center, with Esther Gentile looking over her shoulder and Don Sladkin on the left. I’m on the right giving instruction. (Photos by Kelly Donnellan, Esther Gentile […]