Many Digital First newsrooms are already inviting the public into their offices with community media labs, but several newspapers in the company are taking it a step further and hitting the road.
The Bay Area News Group joined the Pioneer Press and York Daily Record last week when it launched the “News MoJo” – its new mobile journalism lab. The lab is a conversion van with working office space in its cabin for up to six people.
The idea came about during discussions of the Bay Area News Group community committee on how to engage more of its readers. Senior Engagement Editor Martin Reynolds said although the group maintains open community media news labs at its Oakland and San Jose offices, those are not accessible to large parts of its readership.
“We felt we needed to do something to connect more with areas like Silicon Valley, the Peninsula and the East Bay that don’t have media labs in their offices,” said Reynolds. “So we thought, if we do something mobile, it will enable us to go into the communities so they don’t have to come to us all the time.”
The MoJo is equipped with a variety of electronics devices ranging from iPads and laptops to a smart TV synced to a Slingbox server back at the office capable of broadcasting live TV. Alll of this is fed Internet access by two 4G mobile broadband hotspots, with plans to expand to four or five.
Reynolds plans to use this computing power and bandwidth to bring some of the classes taught at the company’s community media labs to area libraries, schools and senior centers. By parking at publicly accessible locations, locals won’t have to go very far to learn how to access public records or use social networking.
Reynolds also hopes to utilize the van to improve live coverage of breaking news and events. There are many possibilities for journalists to use the Mojo and Reynolds said it will require an open mind, as well as familiarity with the equipment, to understand its potential.
“One of the challenges we’re going to face is getting the mobile lab integrated into what we all do,” he said. “Ideally, what would be fantastic is to have one specific person in each department who uses it consistently.”
Digital Transformation Editor Steve Buttry was present for the launch of the Mojo last week. Check out his blog for more photos and information.