Multimedia Journalism – where is this slow train going in the UK?
In 2008 Canon released its 5D mkii camera and almost by accident turned a new page in photo-journalism. The mkii turned photographers into film makers overnight, enabling photojournalists to produce cinema quality content in full HD for a reasonable price. The 5D has now spawned a hundred different imitators with similar HD features and the proportion of journalists with the physical capability to produce a regular stream of captivating “multimedia” has sky rocketed.
The trend hasn’t gone unnoticed and this year the World Press Photo awards recognised the global shift away from still photography’s visual dominance in newspapers. The Amsterdam based organisation created new categories for two multimedia prizes, one for traditional linear productions and secondly an award for non-linear interactive multimedia productions.