The recent buzz around backpack journalism has made many longtime journalists wonder: What’s all the fuss about? Any TV journalist who’s worked the weekend shift as a reporter/cameraperson/editor/producer/anchor knows that stations have been using one-man bands for years.
But what sets today’s backpack journalists (BPJs) apart is the amount of content they’re being asked to produce—and how frequently they’re taking the place of more expensive multi-person crews. In the past, BPJs were only used for weekends and off-hours. Now, they’re part of the main weekday news crew.
Boosted by today’s compact yet broadcast-compatible equipment, it’s this new level of one-man bandwidth that has the industry abuzz. As advertising revenues continue their steady declines, these tech-savvy multitaskers seem to offer salvation to newsrooms near the brink.
“Using backpack journalists allows us to cover much more than we ever did before,” says Patti Dennis, vice president/news director at KUSA-TV in Denver. “It’s particularly good for getting ‘commodity video’ footage of news conferences and other such events.”
But to fulfill this shining promise, lone reporters need more than sharp instincts: They need the right equipment in their packs.
Tools of the Trade
While every backpack journalist’s kit looks a little different, there are a few primary tools no one-man band can go without.
To cover the basics, a small camcorder such as a MiniDV unit is advised, because it provides a good balance of video resolution versus weight. Will Frampton, a multimedia journalist with KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., prefers a Sony HVR-Z1U camcorder that can shoot in HDV, DV and DVCAM formats.
The same is true at KUSA.
“We use Sony HVR-Z1Us because their tape format is compatible with the Sony DSR-450/500 broadcast camcorders used by our news photographers,” says KUSA Director of Photography Eric Kehe.
But the type of camera used varies by the type of story being covered, Kehe says. For high priority or visually challenging stories, KUSA sends out individual news photographers with the Sony DSR-450/500 camcorders. For stories that are easier to capture, the station deploys BPJs who use handheld Sony HVR-Z1Us. For stories with less demanding shots or that will have a larger presence online, KUSA sends out multimedia journalists, such as assignment editors and sports producers, who use prosumer Sony HVR-A1U handheld camcorders.
The rule of thumb: the more important and visually-demanding the story, the higher grade of shooter/camcorder assigned to it.
A compact and varied lighting kit is also vital. Its most important component is a camera-mounted spot with low power consumption, so BPJs don’t have to wear heavy battery belts. But while fancy equipment is helpful, not everything has to be state-of-the-art, says Michelle Michael, a video journalist for the American Forces Network Europe based in Mannheim, Germany.
“My most useful piece of equipment is my rusty, old light stand,” she says. “I take it everywhere. It helps me focus the camera where I will be in my stand-ups.”
Maintaining sounds quality also requires equipment that differs by assignment. BPJs need both a broadcast-quality handheld microphone for stand-ups and a lavalier microphone for interviews. For breaking news stories, wearing a lavalier microphone while shooting continuous footage allows reporters to narrate a story directly to air, using the camera to illustrate what they are ad-libbing as they shoot. To create the illusion of a separate reporter shooting an interview, a journalist can also place a lavalier microphone on the interview subject and ask the subject to look over the reporter’s left shoulder during the shot.
As an armed forces reporter, Michael covers live combat and training missions when she’s in the field. To get the sound bites she needs in these loud, outdoor scenarios, she uses a Sony WRT-822B wireless mic with a frequency range of 66 to 69.
“I could never, ever live without my wireless microphone and my earpiece,” says Michael. “I monitor audio at all times.”
To communicate with the station while on assignment, a smart phone is critical for BPJs. A laptop comes in quite handy for script writing, video editing and package delivery, but unless there is a pressing need, it makes sense for reporters to come back to the station and produce their stories there. Otherwise, stations may end up paying extra for field production equipment they may not really need.
For instance, when a microwave truck is close by, Frampton will use it to send his reports back to KXTV.
“Although I can FTP stories using a 3G wireless connection, I prefer to just bring my finished reports to the station and load them directly into the playout server,” Frampton says.
When backpack journalists report from abroad, sending their packages can be a bit more complex.
“Where I work depends on how I transmit my stories,” Michael says. “If I am editing at the station, then I transfer via Avid Media Manager and Avid Unity. In the field, we use various methods to transmit our material including a SweDish portable satellite dish, a satellite truck, or something as simple as FTP.”
Obstacles and Opportunities
But even with the best, most compact equipment in the world, news directors must be savvy about when to use a BPJ and when to send an entire crew into the field. A major benefit of sending a BPJ to cover a story is the relationship it fosters between reporter and subject. Pieces focused on individuals or intimate groups, when the reporter needs to discuss a personal or sensitive subject with their sources, create great opportunities for BPJs, says Frampton.
“The smaller camcorder, plus the lack of a ‘news crew’ can help the subject feel more at ease and help them open up more,” he says. “The result can be a better, more intimate story.”
Similarly, backpack journalism works great for stories where a reporter’s point of view is part of the narrative, be they idiosyncratic features or action-oriented war stories. In these pieces, BPJs should use their camcorders as their eyes, allowing viewers to literally ‘see’ what they are talking about in real-time. For instance, if you’re narrating a story about dog sledding, consider taking your small camcorder, sitting in the sled, and filming while it’s in motion.
But there are many stories that just can’t be covered by one reporter. Multi-person news crews are better for certain crime stories, and whenever covering a story poses a safety risk, Frampton says.
“We did a story on a homeless community with a two-man crew where the reporter got attacked,” he says. “Had that been a [backpack journalist] with their eye looking through the camcorder lens, they wouldn’t have seen the attack coming. Nor would there have been a second station person on hand to rescue them.”
The rule of thumb: If a story lends itself to a first-person perspective, requires a lot of tact on the part of the news crew or has easy-to-capture video like a news conference or check signing, then a backpack journalist is a good choice. But if the story requires the feeling of a detached observer, a network feel in interviews and stand-ups, or poses risk to a single shooter, then a multi-person crew is a better bet.
For branding purposes, it also makes sense to use a separate cameraperson when an anchor is out in the field, to reinforce their on-air status with the viewers. In scrums, where the reporter has to fight his or her way through a crowd of journalists, separate camera people can improve the quality the shots, as well.
But the most telling limit, as far as backpack journalism is concerned, is the demand it puts on its practitioners, says Patti Dennis.
“To succeed as a backpack journalist, a person has to have the willingness to do two to three jobs themselves, and to work without the luxury of collaboration,” she says.
But when they succeed, the result can be as good as anything produced by a multi-person crew.
**A
behind the scenes look at backpack journalist Brittany Morehouse,
WUSA-TV, shot and edited by a first-time backpack journalist.**
To learn more about the tools BPJs use, check out Communicator's expanded coverage.
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