Mobilising the media

Today's mobile technology brings journalists back to the street, and it means you no longer need to get stuck behind a desk or own a computer to submit content, explains Peter Verweij of the University of Utrecht, Netherlands.

Stephen Lang, a producer with SABC radio said he is almost dependant on mobile technology at SABC Radio. He says mobile technology is also used for output platforms which are the fundamental ways we use mobile technology.

What this now means is that ordinary people can instantly become news reporters, because mobile technology can be used as an output mode for acquiring information on current affairs faster.

Newspapers and television stations in Europe and the US are already using mobile phones to report news and other events. This was the case with the London train bombings in 2006 when members of the public took pictures and video footage and sent them to the big newsrooms.

With a GPS facility, editors in the newsrooms will also be in a position to supervise their reporters because with the new technology, they will be able to know where the reporters are and what they are up to.

Verweij said mobile phones will enable journalists to report from anywhere for web pages and blogs. The content can range from text to video. For the first time everybody could be a reporter, Verweij said.

However, what will prevent this from happening is the level of internet connectivity across Africa (broadband connectivity over wireless is still limited for most of Africa, South Africa being one of only a few exceptions).

With about 2.5 billion mobile phone users globally, the conclusion that was made by Verweij is indeed not farfetched.

Africa alone has 200 million people using mobile technology and that means journalism on the continent will adopt this emerging tradition.

Already, Africa Interactive, the publishers of AfrikaNews, a worldwide interactive multimedia platform focused on Africa, are piloting a new project called Voices of Africa where journalists use mobile phones to gather and report news.

Mobile phones can also be used in election monitoring like was the case in Nigeria in April. This same technology will be used in the upcoming November elections in Kenya.

Dr Peter Benjamin from CellLife says mobile phones are a viable and easy way of linking communities in the flight against social issues like HIV/AIDS. It is hoped that very soon one-touch panic buttons and emergency service numbers will become functional fixtures.

Source: HANA www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za