Whats in your backpack?

A backpack journalist is someone who is always ready to catch a story. They are people who carry the essentials with them at all times, such as a camera, voice recorder and notepad. They are people who are able to multi-task and capture all aspects of the story; they are able to get interviews, photos and videos. Jared Silfies keeps a multitude of items in his backpack. He keeps his laptop, digital camera, cell phone, flash drive, notepads and pencils, and of course The Elements of Style and his planner. I have actually not read The Elements of Style yet but I did just buy it today after hearing it is a must have book. After seeing that Silfies carries this book everywhere with him it shows me that he is dedicated to make his stories accurate and professional.


One journalist whose portfolio I found to be outstanding was Patrick Smith. He is a photojournalist from Baltimore, Maryland who actually went to Towson and served as the photo editor at The Towerlight. He works as a freelance journalist in the Baltimore area and is a photo intern at The Baltimore Sun. Patrick probably carries a digital camera, USB cord, computer and notepad in his backpack. He needs to be able to upload his photos to his computer and take notes on what he just photographed. Under each picture he writes a few lines on where, when and why he decided to snap the photo.