Make Way for MOJO!

It’s your go-to gadget for communication, information and, now, reporting: your cell phone!

Thanks to the up-and-coming field of Mobile Journalism (MOJO), reporters can shoot, write, and edit stories all on their mobile devices.

News Director and MOJO proponent, Geoffrey Roth, explained how this method of reporting will become more more prominent over the next few years, at the 2018 Excellence in Journalism Conference in Baltimore.

“I think this is the direction that news-gathering is going in, in terms of both equipment and distribution.” Roth said.

Roth explained how much of the focus over the next five or six years will be placed on shooting with small, light equipment capable of shooting high-quality content and distributing to various platforms.

“We’re still doing stuff for television but there’s much more of an emphasis on getting things on digital platforms, on stations’ websites, on social media. And part of the beauty of mobile journalism is that if you shoot and edit everything on your phone, you can instantly distribute it to all those platforms,” Roth said.

Keeping current with journalistic trends like MOJO is essential for all good reporters, even ones who have been in the business for years, like former news anchor and lifestyle host, Nicole Livas.

“I want to learn how to shoot and edit pieces that I can be proud of that can go on the air and not just online. I’m a lifetime learner. I’m one of those people. I’ve been in the industry for a long time but I’m always looking to sharpen my skills and learn new things,” Livas said.

As reporting becomes increasingly time-sensitive, MOJO will become more useful to journalists of all types, from seasoned reporters to newsroom newbies.

Inspired by Roth’s lecture, aspiring broadcaster Brittney Steele gave MOJO a try.

“I attended MOJO, or Mobile Journalism, because it was really interesting to me…I did do a package completely on my phone,” Steele said.

If MOJO takes off as Roth predicts, mobile packages like Steele’s will become a more common sight on TV newscasts. In fact,  you can see MCJ students’ own MOJO pieces this semester on Fresno State Focus.