Premjith Mathew : Rendezvous with Paul Salopek

Tuesday, 13 November 2018

Rendezvous with Paul Salopek

‘Walking is falling forward. Each step we take is an arrested plunge, a collapse averted, a disaster braked. In this way, to walk becomes an act of faith’

In an age where news travels in the speed of lightning, the voice of Paul is a game changer. He advocates a type of journalism which is known as slow journalism. He goes beyond this nomenclature by naming this journalism as grassroots journalism, boot journalism or immersive journalism. Paul Salopek, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (2001 and 2010) expressed his strong desire to oscillate between working in a newsroom and in the open environment. A biologist, he doesn’t believe in a rigid work environment nor does he believe in a strict academic structure. He describes Africa as a place of inexhaustible stories. He started his Out of Eden walks in Ethiopia tracing the route taken by the early humans. He describes his act of walking as ‘storytelling walk through time’. What he has tried is to map the human narrative by foot. He brings in the allusion of the Wandering bards and the Japanese Zen master Basho who travelled everywhere and composed haikus based on his experience of walking through the Japanese villages. The public was updated about the happenings around them through these wandering minstrels. It is so convenient for us to receive news from around the globe using our smartphones and the WhatsApp messenger service. According to Paul, when it comes to reporting it is not about who is the fastest and who arrives first. Every publishing house around the world should have uniqueness in the way the story is told. He advocates a kind of journalism that is based on the act of walking where every step is a learning experience. This is like an ongoing adult education class.

The tools for slow journalism.

The gadgets used – He has used a solar sheet which is normally propped on a camel’s back and it charges the laptop in just under 4 hours. He intends to use solar shirts in the near future.
Animal Power – The animals that were used to traverse difficult terrains. Camels in the desert and donkeys in the mountains.
Walking partners – The locals who travelled with him and were always eager to show and talk about the local history and traditions.

In the next phase, he discusses the major themes that are covered in slow journalism.