convergent features reporting

Random thoughts collected while pondering the number of bolts in the Tyngsborough Bridge.

With all the yip-yap (I think that's also a brand of dog treats) about convergence, I think it's time to get on board. I don't have audio gear, I'm not sure the camcorder I've got is up to the struggle and there're only 24 hours in a day, but hey, ya works with whats ya have.

That said, I've come up with a couple of subjects that can be handled with relative ease:

One is strolls in the city, which was the idea behind this blog in the first place. The print piece would be cake - a map, a photo or two and a short feature, maybe focusing on one piece of the walk. The podcast could be an edited, voiced-over video stroll. It could be a slide show, I guess, but zzzzzzz. I suppose it would be possible to have audio-only, too, but that seems passe.

Another would serve as partial culimination of a long-term project that involves cooking, and would be essentially a TV show writ small. Its print potential is high, too. Ironically, or maybe just coincidentally, I think the model for production of print & video of the cooking show is the same as what cooking shows get compared to all the time these days.

Of course, for a full-time features reporter, the possibilities are at least as great for converged reporting as they are for traditional work.