Mobile journalism (MOJO) is a form of digital storytelling where the creating and editing of images, audio, and video is performed by a smartphone. Its effects in journalism are reaching beyond the realm of traditions in media.

I talked to NDTV senior journalist Parimal Kumar about different perspectives of MOJO and its future.

Q. Tell us about your journey as a MOJO journalist.

In 2017, I began MOJO on a trial basis on the terrace of the NDTV office. Later under the guidance of Anindo Chakravarty, I started MOJO during the protest in the Kathputli colony for the DDA flat. That is when for the first time I took bytes and shot on a mobile phone. I was the only person who was present there and also did the scripting myself. Then I mailed the story to the office through mobile phone for the first time, which we usually send with the help of an AV van. This story coverage became the inspiration for other journalists and from there the culture of MOJO started. 

Q. What are the merits of MOJO?

 MoJo is a one-man army show. It does not require a team of camera journalists, AV van, sound engineers, and others on the ground. One highly skilled journalist with a smartphone can manage the entire work by themselves. 

It is a time-saving process and you can cut the clips properly as you are the camera person and you have a proper idea of visuals as well.  Now there is no need to uplink the video to MCR. You can directly mail the clips by phone to the office. Earlier we used to send the link via AV van, now a normal phone can do the same.

Another factor is that you need a proper tuning with the camera person and it is necessary to have coordination with them as they know about your recording pattern. If he is your senior, then it becomes very uncomfortable.  MOJO culture has ended such conflict. 

 Q. How is it different from traditional journalism?

Earlier it took half to one hour of time to take the shot for a two minutes story. Now it is easier with MOJO. The reporter is the camera person, so he knows which clip and scene should be recorded for the story properly. Even the transfer of files was a time taking process. We used to go to the nearby AV van as it was the only source to send the recording to the office. Now with MOJO, we can do the same with mobile internet and it has also ended the long queue tradition in the office to ingest the video. It has become very easy to cover breaking news and make it go live swiftly.

Q. What are the demerits of MOJO?

MOJO has ended the culture of documentary and during summertime, the camera does not work due to the regular heat. So at times, it becomes challenging in meeting deadlines.

Q. What is the future of MOJO?

Every institution is in a financial crisis and they want more work with less expenditure which makes MOJO a go-to option for them. New YouTube channels are also emerging through the help of MOJO. Regional news is being covered through this as it is easy to address the local issues through MOJO.