The mobile journalists of Morgan MOJO Lab have written and filmed more than 50 hyperlocal news pieces about Baltimore and formed a content partnership with Baltimore Brew, a daily online journal. They turned iPods into recording devices to cover the city using pilot equipment from VeriCorder, and edited the footage with the iPod app 1st Video Net.
In the past year, MOJO Lab has recorded volunteers who sell clothes out of school buses and put the spotlight on an elderly woman who encourages others to stay fit. Garnering the most video views for MOJO Lab this year: its behind-the-scenes look at the softer side of Baltimore’s star quarterback. Students wrote the majority of the stories, and Allissa Richardson, MOJO Lab’s founder and director, selected outstanding pieces for the prototype site: www.thebaltimoremojo.com.
Helping students develop their news sense were workshops with The Baltimore NewsTrust, an experimental news project that taught them how to evaluate news, considering factors such as objectivity and timeliness. “Then, [NewsTrust] came in twice to evaluate a few of our brave students’ pieces,” said Richardson.
The Lab learned about Web infrastructure from local video game developers. The team also discovered that the project can’t have an open call for photos after an unfortunate incident with Flickr led to an inappropriate photo being published on the site. Like comments, photos must now be moderated. MOJO Lab redesigned the site to have mobile appeal. Stories now appear on a grid, similar to apps on an iPhone screen.
When students went off on vacation, two AmeriCorps Vista volunteers provided content. They also filled in when citizen journalists had other commitments.
As MOJO Lab moves forward, Richardson wants it to involve more community leaders and citizen journalists and explore international trends when they pertain to Baltimore, she said.
To continue the project, MOJO Lab has received $8,000 in funding from J-Lab and matching funds from 2MPower Media, LLC. The Baltimore-based private firm specializes in creating multimedia educational content for nonprofits, media companies, and schools.
Morgan MOJO Lab is affiliated with Morgan State University, one of a few colleges nationwide that has introduced mobile devices into its journalism curriculum, according to Richardson, an assistant professor of journalism.
MOJO Lab seeks to stay connected to its news consumers as the media landscape evolves. In its progress report, it noted that African-Americans use mobile phones to access the Internet more than any other demographic group – almost 48 percent compared to 40 percent of Hispanics and 31 percent of whites.
MOJO has attracted attention abroad, too. GlobalGirl Media, an award-winning nonprofit news group, invited Richardson to start a mobile journalism program in its news bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa. In June, 10 girls there, many of whom had never used a computer before, participated in a pilot camp, where they produced 21 reports in three weeks.
The pilot’s success has spurred Richardson to spend the second year of J-Lab’s New Voices project fine-tuning MOJO Lab’s cross-cultural reporting beats. Upcoming themes include the effects of civil rights on the development of mostly African or African-American cities, environmental justice, and the rights of women and girls of African descent, said Richardson.
- Ari Pinkus
