Satellite Phones help develop ‘Backpack Journalists’ in Iraq
Sending journalists out to report on unrest in the Middle East is not a new concept
for the media; news articles from the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and now Iraq have
dominated recent times.
However, the difference in Iraq is the technology they are using to file their
reports, it has undergone something of a technological revolution. Access to
specialist satellite equipment is open to more people than ever before.
Mobal equips front line reporters
Our UK office has helped equip the only two Midlands based journalists with some
of the hardware they need to report ‘up to the minute’ news from the front lines
in Iraq.
Deputy editor Keith Harrison and photographer Alan Evans of the Express & Star
have rented an Iridium Satellite phone to use alongside their RBGAN satellite
modem and Apple G3 laptop computer in the Gulf as part of their standard equipment.
Using the Iridium network of 66 satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of 450 miles, the journalists will be able to speak to their news desk back in
England without having to rely on the Iraqi telephone networks that could become
a military target.
Satellite technology becomes user friendly
The use of satellite phones is not a totally new development for war reporters,
they were used in the Gulf War back in 1991, the difference lies in the size
and availability of satellite phones. Today, instead of having to operate 40kg
units that needed generators or mains power, journalists are able to use handsets
like the Iridium satellite phone that weighs a much friendlier 382g and, operates
much like a standard cell phone.
Also, as is the case with all technologies, the more developed they become the
lower the prices go. Now it is not just the media market leaders that can afford
to use satellite technology but many freelancers and smaller companies as well.
Greater media coverage
The term ‘Backpack Journalist’ has been coined to describe this new generation
of reporters who are using compact, light weight satellite technology such as
the Iridium satellite phone; one person with one pack can carry all the equipment
needed to file news reports. As a result it is easier for them to operate from
the thick of the action.
What this means for people back home is more spontaneous, independent and ‘up
to the minute’ information from the world’s danger zones.
