“It’s not whether it has an app on it. Obviously it has to have good basic phone functionality,” Northrup said. He showed the requirements for a mobile phone to be a good news gathering resource. However, it’s not all about the technology, and the storytelling factor still needs to be prominent.

“Mobile has the greatest impact on the newsroom,” Almar Latour said. “If it can be mobile, it will be mobile.”

He emphasized the advantages of mobile news gathering, such as rapid response, access – commentary to video, and it’s considered a reporter’s notebook because it’s convenient for behind-the-scenes footage along with using a variety of different mobile devices to publish effective stories.

Ivo Burum finished the session by saying that while the journalists need to have a good phone that produces good quality video and audio, the journalists also need to know how to use the phone.

“It’s giving indigenous people voices,” Burum said.