Asia Media Summit 2015: Smartphones Powerful Tool For Journalists - Expert

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- A smartphones is a powerful tool in the pocket that can make one an anonymous journalist who can report things happening around them instantly, said a video journalism expert. Eurovision Academy trainer and former British Broadcast Company (BBC) video journalist, Mark Egan said people's perception that a broadcast journalist who used a smartphones to film their contents were not professional was not true. "Actually journalists across the globe today are using smartphones to create high quality and professional contents and news to be published in their organisation," he told Bernama after conducting a pre-summit 'Master Class: Shooting Video Content with a Smart Phone or Tablet' at Asia Media Summit (AMS) 2015 here, Monday. He said smartphones are powerful tools and have lots of advantages compared to a regular professional video camera when it comes to filming a footage of things happening around a journalist. "If you are in a dangerous situation like a riot or in any disaster places, having a smartphones can become handy as you can easily report the situation and share it with the world," he added. He said the mobile device could also help to reduce the uneasy feeling of people who were being interviewed because they were used to be filmed by a smartphones rather than a big professional video camera. "If you are interviewing somebody with a big and bulky profesional video camera, they might feel intimidated and the answers given to you might not be as good as when they feel easy in front of a smartphone," he said. Mark said owning a smartphones today could be considered as owning modern 'swiss army knives' in one's with capabilities to create a powerful content to be published to the world. "Having a smartphone is just like you are having a 'swiss army knife' in which it got many applications such as camera, video editting apps and other tools to create a powerful message to the world," he added. Malaysia will host the 12th AMS 2015 that sees 500 media practioners around the world sharing their experience and knowledge on broadcast journalism at the two-day event starting tomorrow. AMS 2015 themed 'Transforming Broadcasting in the Social Media Era' will also see the participants discussing their interaction with social media, examining its nature, influence and impact on broadcasting operations and business across the globe. -- BERNAMA