Communications Engineering, Inc. (CEI), a veteran system integration and design firm, has joined forces with Emmy Award-winning producer Bill Gentile to develop a portable system for broadcast journalists to acquire and create finished news segments in the field.
Called the Gentile Backpack Journalism System, the equipment complement can be customized and includes components from Sony (camera), Apple (editing), G-Technology (solid-state storage) and Manfrotto (tripod). The entire system is configured by CEI and covered by a three-year warranty.
Gentile has covered stories on five continents over a 30-year career, as well as teaching other journalists on his one-man-band techniques. He has worked for The Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Television, ABC’s “Nightline with Ted Koppel,” “NOW With Bill Moyers,” Court TV and Lion TV.
John Wesley Nash, executive vice president and COO of CEI, said Gentile brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge to this project. “He knows exactly what photo journalists need in the field, understands the challenges they face, and has helped us put together what is certain to be a system that allows them to be very mobile and still deliver high-quality stories.”