The mainstream media is running at full speed, but a there’s a bunch of indy online reporters that may soon lap them.

They’re recording, editing and filing stories from the Winter Olympics, using iPhones and cool new multimedia software from Kelowna, BC-based VeriCorder.

Among the mobile reporters, two students from Fanshawe College in London, ON.

Ashley Rowe and Nick Wynja are filing reports both to schools’ site, and to a special news and media portal set up just for the project.

They’ve got quite the different take on the event, and they’re causing quite a stir on the Web.

At MoJo-revolution.com (MoJo in this case stands for mobile journalism), multimedia reports will be posted, covering both sporting and news events around the Games. The site was set up by VeriCorder.

The Ontario students’ ten day trip to Vancouver was supported by VeriCorder and their College (which got them new iPhone 3G from Telus for the assignment. VeriCorder provided free software.

“I’ll be breaking new ground with the latest in mobile technologies to capture and share information instantly,” Nick Wynja, a second-year student in Fanshawe’s Radio Broadcasting program, said before heading out. “It’s going to be an unforgettable experience and one that would never have happened if it weren’t for the opportunities and industry connections that I’ve gained through Fanshawe College and the Radio Broadcasting Program.”

“I’m getting the experience of a lifetime,” added Ashley Rowe, a fourth-year student in the Media Theory and Production program, a collaboration between Fanshawe College and The University of Western Ontario.  ”Seeing how the media works in such a major, international event is any journalism student’s dream come true.  I’m extremely grateful to the VeriCorder team for selecting me, and am thankful for the support I have received from my peers and mentors.”

In addition to demonstrating VeriCorder’s revolutionary technology, Nick and Ashley will also produce and present a daily report from the Olympics World Media Centre in Vancouver.  Their reports will be broadcast internationally on the Mojo network and on Fanshawe’s own 106.9 X-FM.

Fanshawe’s Radio Broadcasting & Broadcast Journalism Program Co-ordinator, Robert Collins noted, “These two students work hard every day and it’s a tribute to them that they were selected.  I can’t wait to hear their stories from Vancouver using VeriCorder.”

Those stories will closely watched – and marked, too!  Collins explained that the second year of the Fanshawe program includes a highly practical work placement, so both Nick and Ashley will be graded on their reports.

VeriCorder is a Canadian high-tech company with headquarters and R&D labs in Kelowna, British Columbia. The company makes iPhone-based enterprise software for journalists, podcasters and other multimedia professionals.

In 2010, VeriCorder will release four software programs through the iPhone App Store, and for enterprise deployment, all designed to make it fast and easy to record, edit and send fully-crafted stories from the field in to the newsroom.

“We think this technology will have a radical impact on reporting and broadcast journalism,” Kieran Foster, Vice President – Strategic Alliances for VeriCorder told WhatsYourTech.ca. “We see this as a very disruptive technology, one that opens up a new world a whole new marketplace. Certainly, in the TV broadcast and transmission world, things are going to change dramatically in the next few years.”

The MoJo project is supported by VX Services, and the VX Digital Media and Wireless Showcase. That’s a group of BC wireless and digital media companies that have come together to show off their products and services to business and media representatives visiting Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

submitted by Lee Rickwood

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