2. A powerful tool in your toolbox
Doesn’t change the underlying journalism
Improves speed, productivity and ability to capture
moments
Can replace other tools you’re using
3. Smartphone reporting functions
Audio recorder Transmitter (wi-fi
Still camera hotspot, FTP)
Video camera Publishing platform
Notepad (via social media or
CMS apps)
Police scanner
4. Gathering news on the go
Police Scanner Competitors’ apps Audio Recorder
6. Become a mobile superuser
Use your phone for both personal and professional
endeavors
Best smartphone reporting comes from people
who know their tools
Download apps for your competitors; become a
mobile news consumer as well as distributor
13. Your device
iPhone, Android or something else?
Depends on ease of use – for YOU
14. Useful apps – Photo & Video
ProCamera (iPhone): Expanded camera options.
Take stills while recording video. Adjust exposure
and focus.
Ustream Broadcaster (iPhone/Android): Stream
video live from your phone.
YouTube (iPhone/Android): Upload videos directly
to YouTube for easy embedding on your site.
Instagram (iPhone/Android): Social photo sharing
often of filtered photos.
15. Useful apps – Photo & Video
iMovie (iPhone/iPad): Expanded video-editing
capabilities. Add photos or multiple video clips to a
project; trim video clips; incorporate music or
voiceovers.
AndroMedia Video Editor (Android): Can include
multiple video and audio tracks.
Photosynth (iPhone/Windows phone): Create
embeddable 360-degree panorama views.
16. Useful apps – Social Media
Twitter (iPhone/Android/BlackBerry, Windows
phone): Turn on notifications for important sources
you follow.
TweetDeck (iPhone/Android): Useful to filter
tweets into columns – all tweets, @
mentions, searches and lists.
Ban.jo (iPhone/Android): Find people recently
active on social networks based on geography.
17. Useful apps - News
AP Mobile (iPhone/Android)
USA TODAY (iPhone/Android/Windows
phone/myriad of native tablet apps)
Circa (iPhone) – Get news bites and follow specific
stories to be alerted of new info.
Today’s Front Pages (iPhone/iPad): Scan
regional/national A1s from the Newseum.
Apps from your competitors
18. Useful apps - Organization
Evernote (iPhone/Android/BlackBerry/Windows
phone): Create text, photo and audio notes.
Synchronize across devices and online.
Dropbox (iPhone/Android/BlackBerry) : Store
documents, music, PDFS and videos in a cloud that
you (or people you allow) can access
anytime, anywhere.
Google Drive (iPhone/Android): Access and edit
Google Docs anywhere.
19. Useful apps - Other
5-0 Radio Police Scanner Lite (iPhone) or Scanner
Radio (Android): Live streaming of police radio
reference feeds for multiple counties.
CoveritLive (iPhone/Android): Administer, participate
in live chats.
Skype (iPhone/Android/Windows phone): Call, video
call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free.
Dragon Dictation (iPhone): Voice recognition for note
taking.
Image to Text (iPhone) or Google Goggles (Android):
Uses OCR for scanning documents.
20. Gadgets
Microphones are a necessity for videos
Tripods help in many situations
Consider some basics: Bluetooth, car charger, etc.
24. Tablet reporting
Useful for social networking interaction
Good for composing and publishing (consider a
Bluetooth keyboard)
Can be useful for ingesting and organizing
photos, editing videos
Great for news consumption
HOWEVER …
27. Crowdsource
Plenty of readers have mobile phones – involve
them in the process!
Ask for mobile photos & videos
Find sources around breaking news
Show readers your mobile and news savvy in one
fell swoop
30. Market research in central Iowa
41% of adults own a smartphone
19% of adults own a tablet
47% of adults own a smartphone or a tablet
Source: Scarborough 12-month aggregate surveying respondents within the DMA
from September 2011-August 2012
31.
32.
33.
34. Come up with a mobile plan
Survey your market
Decide how you’ll deliver news on mobile
platforms
You don’t have to develop native apps
36. 5 mobile reporting takeaways
Become a smartphone superuser
Take full advantage of your device in breaking news
situations
Use apps to make your reporting life easier
Involve your audience (social, crowdsourcing, etc.)
Come up with a mobile delivery plan
You have to know how your readers are consuming news on their devices to best produce news on yours
What that allows you to do is be prepared to capture an important moment – you can’t fumble in breaking news situations, and everyone from reporters to editors should know how to use their devices
Photos on next slide
When Paul Ryan spoke at The Register’s soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, the first photo I had for the website came from editor Rick Green, shot and emailed on his iPhone. And when the story became about hecklers jumping on the stage, that photo came from Rick, too. Didn’t use those photos in print, but they were perfect for real-time news coverage online.
Most popular story of the day. Reporter was tweeting from her phone and captured an immediate photo.
Many ranked the Mitt Romney 47 percent video as a defining moment in the presidential campaign. Millions of views.
So let’s talk a little about specific devices, apps and gadgets
60 iPhones rolled out to frontline reporters & photographers. Carrier might make a difference in your area, so explore your options. Not telling you to purchase iPhones for your entire staffs, but if you’re able, it’s a worthy investment
Viddy is like Instagram for video (iPhone/iPad)
How many of you do live chats online?
Phone tripod mounts can be purchased to use with existing tripods
My staff went through an extensive iPhone video training this week. I won’t do the device-specificstep-by-step tutorial, but here are some general tips we learned.
Dramatic pause … however --
Stats are from Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and were released in October 2012
Compare to national: 44% smartphone, 22% tablet, 50% either
The survey even revealed some confusion over what apps even are, especially for tablet.