Multimedia and more

Okay, so maybe the NPPA Flying short course has been “multimedia” for some time. But it has been several years since I’ve last attended short course and this time around there were no slide projectors, no prints, and definitely no film. And this was a mere six years ago.

Though, the conference proved to me that photographers have a real opportunity to embrace multimedia. At one time they had to fight hard for newsroom equality; to be seen as more than just “photographers.” They fought to be seen as photojournalists — storytellers who were every bit as legitimate as their reporter counterparts. But with the emergence of multimedia storytelling, I’ve found that the paradigm is changing and photographers no longer have the struggle to make that argument.

With Web publications, editors will no longer look for that quick “one shot” photograph to accommodate a story, but they will see the photographer’s roll as helping to offer a whole new method of experiencing the story. Whether it be through a photo gallery, audio slide show, or a full immersive interactive feature, the opportunities are burgeoning for this brand of journalist. Photographers should take comfort that the transformations in this industry open more doors for them than other folks in newsrooms — many of whom will have a much hard time transitioning.

So why the resistance? I’d wager you would be hard-set to find a photographer who outright rejects multimedia storytelling. But they aren’t exactly jumping in head first. Some times I think there is just as much apprehension with this group than the reporters. At first I figured it was for all the more typical reasons; set in their ways, fear of new technology, the introduction of new rolls they haven’t been trained on. But the one reason that really caught my attention was a fear that the narrative would be lost in all of this transformation. That with all of the flashy graphics, all of the innovation, all of the gimmicks — the story and content would be forgotten. I found that reason to be among the most admirable.

I find that photographers are some of the most truest people in the journalism industry. They place some of greatest emphasis on ethics and capturing the natural state of their subjects. So when things turned multimedia - so did those same conversations on ethics. Everything from editing slide shows to how music tracks affect the mood of presentation were discussed to some extent.

Time and time again I’m impressed at this crop of journalist. They shouldn’t be the ones jumping on the bandwagon, but the ones driving it.

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