Washington Post reporters adopt video cameras

Just as traditional television is quickly merging with the Internet, broadcast news is also merging with print media. Now, the Washington Post is joining the multimedia revolution — making it a direct competitor to broadcast TV news.

The Washingtonian Online reports the Post is now shipping digital video cameras to its bureaus and that — most significantly — Post reporters are now expected to report in multimedia. So far, about 50 Post reporters are already video-equipped, the report said.

“About a quarter of the foreign bureaus have digital video cameras,” Keith Richburg, the Post's foreign editor, told the Washingtonian. “Our goal would be to get them out to them all.”

Video from Iraq or Africa or Mexico shot by writers is starting to show up on the Post's Web site, www.Washingtonpost.com. Most Post metro bureaus have at least one digital video camera, and reporters are encouraged to interview, report, write and shoot.

The Post aims to be at the forefront of the move to multimedia reporting by print journalists, the article said.