It's funny, because while reading these articles I found it difficult to decide which was "right" and which was "wrong"- I think this was probably because neither was right or wrong. The exact definition of "backpack journalism" is constantly changing and developing, and in actuality, I feel like you can't really "correctly" define backpack journalism because the term encompasses such a wide variety of actions and careers and an individual's definition really depends on their personal experiences with and observations of the world of journalism. "Backpack journalism" changes so rapidly due to both constant development of new technologies and to user discoveries of new ways to use this technology. Because of this, I think that both authors make pretty valid points.
One of the lines that stood out most to me, though, referred to convergence/backpack journalists as "jacks of all trades, and masters of none (this phrase seems to have stuck out to many of us, as it's referenced in a lot of the blog entries below!)." And frankly, I feel like this isn't really a valid point, essentially because I believe that when it comes to journalism, the most important "trade" to learn is storytelling. People need news, care about news, and crave news because they want to be informed or are engaged by stories about the people and world around us, and a truly good storyteller will be able to inform and engage through any medium they learn how to use. Taking pictures, shooting video, editing clips, and posting to the internet are not our "trades" as journalists- they're our tools. With enough training, anyone can learn how to write well, use AP style, shoot with a camera or work with a Web page; the most challenging and exciting skill to master is learning to share news in a way that maintains attention, effectively informs viewers and makes them honestly care about and feel as if they can relate to each subject at hand.
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