When Washington State University’s
Edward R. Murrow College of Communi-
cation began to integrate their broad-
cast news and journalism programs in
September 2010, Marvin Marcello, General
Manager and Associate Professor, Murrow
Symposium, turned to Sony to develop
a kit that would allow their journalism
and media students to easily capture
still pictures, video and audio. Marcello
worked with his Sony Account Manager
Claudia Souza and Peter DiIorio of
Sony’s Systems Solutions Group to spec
out a custom solution to meet their
students’ needs.
Over the next 18 months, Sony worked
closely with the school to determine the
best solution that would benefit students
in its reporting, multimedia, and editing
classes.Then in the spring semester of
2012, the school launched the Murrow
Backpack Journalism Project.
In this program the student journalists
travel to some of the world’s most remote
regions to report on important stories,
as an “eyewitness” to world events.They
are on the scene where and when the
news is being made.
“The Backpack Journalism Project not
only gives our students the opportunity
to travel to unfamiliar locales and meet
people from all walks of life, but it allows
them to highlight some of the life-
changing work the volunteer groups
do in third-world countries,” said Marcello.
“They witness firsthand the positive
impact of the work being done in these
communities and post these stories
to share with the rest of the world.”
Stephanie Schendel and Andrea Castillo
were the first WSU students selected to
take part in the program, and they were
assigned to report in two different parts
of the world: Guatemala and Nicaragua.
The budding journalists photographed,
blogged, and produced video stories
about their experiences and encounters.
The students, both seniors in the
Customer:
• Washington State University’s
Edward R. Murrow College
of Communication
Industry:
• Education
Challenges:
• Allow for field production with a
minimum of equipment
• Provide a tool for students to
learn photojournalism methods
• Maintain high-quality video
standards
Solution:
• Acquire 20 Sony Video
Journalist Backpacks
Benefits:
• Made it convenient for students
to work “on the go”
• Allowed for students to travel
much lighter in the field
• Was affordable and easy to use
case study
WSU Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Is First
School to Use Sony Video Journalist Backpack
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