Blog Post

News App "Yo Intervengo" Wants Colombians to Shine a Light on Corruption

On one of Bogotá, Colombia’s busiest thoroughfares, Calle 26, eight-and-a-half miles of dedicated bus lanes were set to be constructed between 2007 and 2009.

How to Convince Journalists that Digital Security is for Them

The workshop had ended, but the attendees stayed glued to their seats and their laptop computers. For a few more minutes, nobody wanted to leave the room.

Code for Africa Builds WaziMap to Make Public Data More User-Friendly for Journalists

Black smoke churned toward the sky in Nyanga, one of the oldest townships in Cape Town, after protestors set fire to buses there in early September.

Mapping Attacks on Journalists Can Point the Way to Better Security

For many reporters and photographers, it’s pretty common to get the following assignment from their editors: Go cover a street protest, get pictures and video, look out for clashes between police and demonstrators…and be careful.

If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, have reminded us of the dangers of covering demonstrations on the streets, as reporters have been attacked or arrested during the protests sparked by the police shooting of an unarmed teen.

Hacks/Hackers Media Party: Census Reporter site makes it easier for reporters to use data

For many reporters, working with U.S. Census data is like going to the dentist — you know it’s important, but it often means a painful and prolonged visit to the dreaded U.S. government census website. But since the launch of Census Reporter, reporting on this data no longer has to feel like pulling teeth.

The display of Census facts is light-years away from the way the same information appears on the U.S. government website, where journalists can spend hours sifting through 1,500 tables of data.

Community engagement tips from Hacks/Hackers Buenos Aires Media Party

In a world connected by social media, journalists can no longer serve up the news with the attitude that “we are the experts, and we’re going to give it to you in the format that suits us, in the way that suits us,” said community-building specialist Jeanne Brooks.

Instead, she said, a news organization should engage its audience and create its news and information products--whether those are articles, apps or even a radio station--in response to audience needs.

Knight Fellow builds a team at Fusion to change how people interact with news

Once upon a time, storytelling may have been defined by the use of words, images or video.

But by using digital innovations such as games the Interactive Team at Fusion, a television and digital network, refuses to consider storytelling as creating content for mere consumption; the innovators want to change the way people interact with stories.

“As Fusion says, it’s all about the fusion,” said Mariana Santos, the interactive and animation director for the team.

GotToVote! website will help Ghana's voters find their polling stations

A new website is helping Ghana's citizens find their nearest voter registration center, so that they can be sure they are eligible to vote in the 2016 general election.

GotToVote!, which is optimized for mobile devices, explains who is eligible to register for the 2016 general elections in Ghana and gives a simple overview of the voter registration process.

How Poderopedia has promoted transparency in its first year and a half

In its first year and a half of existence, the data journalism platform Poderopedia has promoted transparency and detection of conflicts of interest; generated news stories that made an impact on society; and built alliances with other Latin American organizations.

I founded Poderopedia, which tracks who is who in politics and business, in December 2012 in Chile, with a committed team of journalists and programmers and with financial support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Despite efforts to curb violence, attacks against journalists continue

The delegates, journalists and observers gathered at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council were focused on a noble purpose: promoting freedom of the press and the security of journalists worldwide.

But at the same time they were at a loss to answer one basic question: Why is violence against the press increasing despite years of efforts to curtail it?

In their interventions at the meeting, national representatives talked about “political will,” a very useful cliché for useless statements.