I must say that I agree strongly with Eric Mark and Bill.  

Reporters must learn to do far more than research and write, not because
the technology is there, say Suzanne suggests, but because it offers the
audience so much more than mere prose alone can convey.  This is not to
denigrate gifted writers and stylists...they have their place.  But for me
that place is no longer at the top, as it may once have been.  I want more
information than text alone can conveniently convey. I want quantitative
information displayed in graphic format with methodological footnotes. I
want the audio context surrounding key quotes.  I want bibliographic data
on key sources. 

Staffing the new media newsroom should incorporate principles beyond the
familiar divisions of labor many have assumed sacrosanct.  New hires
should be able to operate at more than just one skill specialization, such
as photographer, writer, editor, html specialist, or writer.  Vets should
be encouraged to branch out, and develop complementary skills.  Should the
"gifted" writer be exempt from these trends and pressures?  Some here have
said yes.  I do not agree.

On Mon, 7 Oct 1996, bill wilt wrote:

> At 1:46 PM 10/6/96, Eric Meyer wrote that:
> >On  5 Oct 96 at 23:05, Mark Loundy wrote:
> >
> >> I think that it's important for all journalists to at least consider
> >> approaching a story with an expanded toolkit. Sound, video and still photos
> >> can work together to tell stories in ways that a single medium cannot.
> 
> And then Eric added:
> >
> >Outstanding! We tend to worry so much about media convergence as it
> >applies on the corporate level that we often forget that it applies
> >with equal or greater impact on the individual level.
> >
> >In my humble opinion, the technologically inspired liberation of
> >journalistic tools from overly specialized professions -- coupled
> >with a corresponding de-marginalization of professions that focused
> >primarily on producing journalism using these specialized tools --
> >is a far more significant megatrend than enything we might associate
> >merely with online publishing.
> >
> >We see evidence of it not only online but also in traditional
> >newsrooms, both broadcast and print. And it's high time we did. Now
> >that technology has reduced the technical skills needed to wield most
> >journalistic tools, all journalists should know how to use as many of
> >them as possible. And, in a world crying out for better journalism,
> >we dare not write off the journalistic contributions of anyone simply
> >because that person most frequently works with a tool we do not.
> >
> >A greater diversity of journalistic workers and their tools should
> >yield a greater diversity of our coverage, as well, bringing, for
> >example, the humanity of photojournalism and the statistical literacy
> >of graphics journalism back into text that often desparately lacks
> >them.
> >
> >Albert Bidermann, Russell Neuman and Max Headroom would be proud.
> 
> To which I append:
> 
>  Concur.
> 
>  And what appeal would an omni-media (and omnicompetent) portable hold for
> practitioners of this multi-faceted info-gathering trade? As in, words
> (qwerty keyboard), stills (digital camera connected or built in), video
> (same thing, or a different device, but factored or built in), telecom
> (phone/fax/modem built in), separable audio (record without images, as a
> "tape-recorder mode" deal). All of course weighing in at less than pad,
> pencil, Mimayaflex C-22 with strobe flash pack, TRS 80-100 and Sony TC-110
> recorder w/ electret mike, or "modern-day equivalents".
> 
>  And I must add that, as a print and photo guy soujourning for a while in
> the land of the Bolex, studio-cam and mini-cam, I found that still
> photographs (which you could now zoom in on) and good writing, added a lot
> to the video broadcast medium. Add great graphic art and you have
> something, indeed. It just takes a lot more mastery of a lot more things,
> is all.
> 
> 
> 
> bw
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Bill Wilt           ...in the Age of Connecting...
>  Wilt Enterprises--Guiding businesses to flourish in an all digital world
>                    http://rt66.com/wilt/welcome.html
>   bits: wilt@RT66.com       vox: 603-891-1984     fax: 603-891-1700
>              One Royal Crest Drive, Nashua, NH 03060-5479
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
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