The Mobile Journalist Toolkit

Engadget points us to a project by Reuters and Nokia that equipped journalists with a ‘mobile journalism toolkit’ to help them improve their roving reporting skills. The journos were provided with a N95, a Nokia SU-8W portable keyboard, a Sony condenser mic with special N95 adapter, a tripod, and 2 Power Monkey power stations. The press release reads:

Nokia Research Center and Reuters are working together on a mobile journalism project that could transform the way journalists file news reports when on the move.

The mobile journalism application uses the multimedia capabilities already available in existing smart phones and combines these to produce a toolkit that fits intuitively with the way in which journalists want to use it. The toolkit comprises multimedia capabilities, text editing tools and live video streaming and is accessed using an innovative user interface. Metadata facilities automatically combine every piece of information the device already has about the context for the story - location, time, date and so on. For the trial, GPS integrated video-streaming technology was provided by Comvu. Reuters has already developed a mobile editorial interface that links the toolkit developed by NRC to the in-house editorial process, allowing stories to be published almost instantly from the field.

There’s also a hint about how Nokia thinks will use this kit in the future:

While the application’s most immediate use would be for professional journalists, the implications of the research could be much wider in the long term. Timo Koskinen, project manager with Nokia Research Center, said:”The term ‘citizen journalism’ has been in use for several years, but technological innovations - particularly the introduction of mobile multimedia computers - have transformed the concept.

Footage and stills from the mobile journalism trial here: http://reutersmojo.com