One-Woman Newsroom

Last week, a photographer and I drove an hour into the middle of nowhere for a Halloween-themed story. Yes, it's that time of year. No reporter is immune.

This assignment includes writing a story about the legends of this supposed haunted house and it's new owner, who is way too happy to share the ghost stories.

But whereas even five years ago all I would've needed to bring was myself and a pen and a notepad (maybe a tape recorder) -- this was the list of gear on me: smart phone for GPS and voice recording, pen and notepad, DSLR camera, HD video camera. Yes, not only do I write the stories, but sometimes I also end up taking the pictures AND shooting and editing together a video story to compliment.

It's what people in the biz like to call "Backpack Journalism" and what I like to call "Way Too Much Stuff to Carry." Don't get me wrong, I like the video stuff - but usually it's more fun when that's all I have to do.

Throw in a little creaky old haunted house and that's one little cocktail o fun. Here I am with a bag over one shoulder carrying the notepad, pen and phone, the DSLR slung over the other shoulder, and carrying the HD video camera on its tripod throughout this old, sometimes structurally questionable house. The camera wobbles a little on this tripod, so I grip it tight. There's also no electricity, so I'm shooting most of my video using night vision, which is downright creepy. As the photographer told me, that will only add the spookiness factor to this whole story. I think at one point I even hit my head on something hanging from the ceiling.

I made it out alive!

At least the tour by the owner was fun and he was willing to have me mic him for sound the whole time. Some people don't like the idea of me recording everything they say for an hour. (Part of the inspiration for this blog's name.)

When I graduated from college six years ago with a degree in journalism, I was taught nothing about online multimedia or video editing and little about photography. Now I see many students have to know how to do all that. It's the next generation of journalism - where the industry is basically making every person into his or her own little newsroom.