The first day of the RTÉ MoJoCon conference kicked off in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Galway city yesterday.
Some highlights from Day 1 at #mojocon @rte @TaraghLG @LifeStyleRTE pic.twitter.com/VdQlR6OvcY
— RTÉ Mojocon 360 (@MojoConIRL) May 4, 2017
The first day of the event played host to numerous speakers in the field of mobile journalism across four different sessions and various exhibitors showcasing the latest in mobile tech.
Following a welcome from the Founder of MoJoCon, Glen Mulcahy, the keynote address was delivered by Richard Swinford of Arthur D. Little who explored the future launch of 5G and the "amazing transformation" it would have on the media industry.
The opening session of the conference, entitled, Is Journalism Dead? explored the idea of where the future of journalism lies, online journalism and the influence of social media on news consumption.
During a panel discussion, Executive Producer for Social and Emerging Media of CNN International, Samantha Barry, said, "Journalism is not dead, old news habits are dead."
"The newsrooms are holding on to this idea that somebody is going to continue to buy a newspaper everyday for their household," she said.
CEO of VJ.com, Michael Rosenblum, spoke about the issue of free online content and how it can threaten journalistic credibility. "We have this stupid arrogance that only we know the truth. Everyone’s a journalist now. Wise up," he said.
The next session, entitled The great debate in Mojo: iOS or Android explored a key question for mobile journalists: do only iPhones provide the quality apps and hardware needed to produce quality journalism, or can Android do the same?
The panel discussed both mobile operating systems’ range of downloadable apps, their camera quality and their availability and popularity worldwide.
Video Features Editor of Journalism.co.uk, Caroline Scott, said, "It doesn’t matter about the phone you have. It’s about your creativity and work flow."
‘The Evolution of 360 Video, VR and AR’ session explored 360 and VR video as newly-emerging ways of storytelling online and on social media platforms such as Facebook.
Associate Professor of Professional Practice at the University of South California, Robert Hernandez, said, "If you are waiting for VR to go mainstream, you are wasting your time. Start experimenting now. It’s essential to start experimenting with 360 video."
The final session of the day, What is the future of mobile content creation?, explored the future of mobile generated content and previewed a teaser new RTÉ drama Are You Free?, filmed using an iPhone.
SVT Video and Mobile Journalist Patrik Qvicker, spoke of the reluctance of many journalists still have when it comes to using their mobile phones to tell a story: "They still don’t think that they can tell a story without a big camera - even if it is just a short news story, it’s impossible (for them) to tell it without using this big camera."
Following a successful day of panel discussions, exhibitions and networking, Glen Mulcahy closed the first day of the three day long event by thanking everyone involved.
Breda Graham
