Journalists have been urged to move away from the traditional way of gathering, processing, and telling stories and embrace technology to fit properly into the changing world of journalism.
Mr. Isaac Kaledzi, a resource person from DW Akademie, said the world was evolving, hence the need for journalists to equip themselves with skills that would make news gathering and reporting easy, even with the use of mobile phones.
Speaking at the opening of a five-day Mobile Journalism (MoJo) training programme in Kumasi for some selected journalists in the Ashanti Region, he noted that times were changing and journalists must adjust to ensure quality work delivery.
The training, organized by the DW Akademie, aimed at building participants’ capacity to use the mobile phone to produce timely and quality news without the use of the traditional camera, which sometimes delayed news reporting.
DW Akademie is Deutsche Welle’s centre for international media development, journalism training, and knowledge transfer.
Mr. Kaledzi said mobile phones were no longer tools for making and receiving calls only but had a lot of features that could be used for timely and quality news reporting.
He observed that most citizens in Ghana possessed a smartphone known for its unique features, such as the camera, sound recorder, and access to internet connectivity, and could be used for both audio and video editing.
Practicing MoJo gave the journalist the upper hand in terms of employment opportunities and quality work delivery.
“Most media institutions employers would want to cut down on expenses and would prefer a dynamic journalist who can work alone,” he said.
Comparing the traditional camera to the mobile phone, Mr. Kaledzi mentioned that a mobile phone was portable, easily accessible, and could be worked with at all times, while the traditional camera was very complex to deal with.
Despite those advantages, he said journalists who embraced MoJo needed to complement mobile phones with other accessories.
The tripod, light, microphone, and shoulder pod would help the journalists to be more professional and welcomed everywhere, said Mr. Kaledzi.
