MANILA, Philippines?It?s not enough to be gung ho. One has to be ?mojo.?

To survive in today?s media industry, Asian news organizations should start to ?think regional? and media practitioners should be prepared to be ?mojo? or ?mobile journalists.?

A good mojo can produce quality news material?like videos and sound bites of a violent rally?in less than 20 minutes and can perform the work of a three-member crew with the help of the latest technology, according to one scenario shared Monday in a conference which sought to chart the future of Asian journalism.

But more than the reliance on high-tech gizmos, a new mind-set among editors and publishers may be in order.

?Think regionally. This is my message to young emerging leaders. It means thinking beyond borders and understanding the different countries' dependence on each other,? said Pana Janviroj, executive director of the Bangkok-based Asian News Network (ANN).

?It?s a bit of an art which requires experience and it?s not just about blogs or SMS. It?s a bit harder,? said Pana, who cited climate change as one of the cross-border issues that media entities in the region could increasingly tackle.

The ANN, for example, was conceived in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Various organizations, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer, then agreed that there was a need to share news from their respective countries with their Asian neighbors.

Crew of one

?We see a demand for news produced across borders for whatever reason,? Pana said.

News gathering methods have also evolved with technology playing a crucial role, said Stephen Quinn of Deakin University in Australia.

Quinn said the advent of ?mojos? or ?mobile journalists? has shown how broadcast and online reporters can produce news in less than 20 minutes using the coolest gadgets like the iPhone and OWLE Bubo, a device which keeps a camera phone steady and comes with a high quality lens.

Quinn noted how news gathering using a mobile phone would allow one person to accomplish the work of a three-man TV crew.

He said among the recent examples of mobile journalism was the video that captured the dying moments of a female activist using a mobile phone camera during a massive demonstration in Iran last year.

Mojos also helped the world learn quickly about the extent of the Haiti earthquake in January, he said.

RP press still ?local?

Janviroj and Quinn were among the speakers at the 5th Annual Forum of Emerging Leaders in Asian Journalism, a two-day conference held at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.

The forum was in line with the 10th anniversary of the university's Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism.

In an interview, Pana said Asian news organizations had been thinking regional in ?different degrees,? but the Philippine media entities can be considered among those whose orientation was ?quite local.?

Pana said the ?problem? could be traced partly to the very readers of these organizations, since they tend to be more concerned with what was happening in their own backyard.

He pointed out that with the Philippines being a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Filipinos ought to be aware of issues in the region.

Pana cited the dispute over the Spratly Islands and how Manila?s strong voice is recognized in the region as a vocal critic of the military junta in Burma.

Still a need for print

?You would want the world to see that you have something here,? he said.

Like Pana, Philip Bowring of the International Herald Tribune expressed confidence that newspapers will never die despite increasingly stiff competition from online news providers.

?Print (journalism) still has a long life ? There will be a need for newspapers in whatever form there is,? Bowring said, noting how newspapers have been adopting new business models to meet the high cost of publication.

But Quinn conceded the ?worlds of journalism and media remain uncertain in the wake of falling advertising revenues, a consequence of the global financial crisis.?

?This uncertainty presents both challenges and opportunities for journalists,? Quinn said.

Some media houses might fail and job opportunities in the mainstream media would shrink, but ?journalism will continue as a profession,? he added.

Challenge to journ grads

The challenge for journalism graduates, Quinn said, is to become ?more entrepreneurial.?

An example would be for these new graduates to consider forming their own startup media organizations, no matter how small, as an ?alternative? to working in the mainstream media and use social networking to market themselves.

?Digital tools for creating journalism have never been better or cheaper,? he said.