Program News

Announcing the 2014 HacksLabs Challenge

The first DataJournalism Accelerator Fund for Latin America launches the HacksLabs Challenge 2014 today with US$100,000 in grants for Latin American projects selected in two rounds. This fund is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the World Bank Institute, the International Center for Journalists ( ICFJ ) and Knight-Mozilla Open News.

Cutting-Edge Journalism Curricula Start with Tech-Savvy Teachers

The basic tenets of journalism aren’t changing--but the tools available to reporters certainly are.

Technology is advancing rapidly, especially in the field of journalism. So how are students supposed to keep up with the latest trends when their professors have not set foot in a newsroom in years?

For Code for Africa, Creating an App is Just the First Step

Code for Africa has helped newsrooms in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and other countries to liberate data sets and package them as apps that deliver information citizens need in everyday life.

But Justin Arenstein, the initiative's chief strategist and an ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow, says developing an app should never be the end of the line.

Raising Financial Literacy Through Data Journalism

The Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring crude oil from Canada to the Gulf, has been hotly debated for environmental and economic reasons. But the social cost on Native American communities has been overlooked—until now.

Reporter Mary Annette Pember’s story, “Will Keystone XL Pipeline Pump Sexual Violence Into South Dakota?” is just one of hundreds by journalists in an International Center for Journalists program that aims to bring coverage of important financial topics to minority communities.

Justin Arenstein: Data Journalism as a Revenue Stream is Catching on in Africa

With traditional advertising no longer a sustainable business model, news outlets worldwide are experimenting with alternatives, from holding events to putting up paywalls. Now, a new model is on the rise: data as revenue.

In the U.S., ProPublica recently opened a data store, charging a one-time fee for cleaned-up data sets.

Knight Fellow and Twitter Team Up to Illustrate Women's Inequality

ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow Mariana Santos, an expert in data visualization and animation, worked with Twitter data editor Simon Rogers on this animated video to showcase women’s inequality in the workplace.

Their video decided to focus on some of the reasons why, even in 2014, many women are still losing in the workplace.

Global Business Journalism Program in China Accepting Applications

English-speaking journalists worldwide can apply for ICFJ's Global Business Journalism program in China.

Geographic Data Powers Climate Change Coverage in Indonesia

Frequent flooding and critically low crop yields are just two of the warning signs of climate change in Indonesia, home to the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest and some of the highest levels of biological diversity on the globe.

To shed light on these crucial issues, data journalists have launched the news site Ekuatorial, which offers the latest environmental news and engaging, easy-to-understand interactive maps of oceans, forests and natural disasters in Indonesia.

Helping Women in News Get the Tech Training They Need to Thrive

Visual journalist Mariana Santos knows what it takes to succeed as a tech-savvy newsroom leader, and she wants to help other women do the same.

That's why Santos, formerly with The Guardian's interactive team, created “Chicas Poderosas” earlier this year to train, engage and inspire Latin American women journalists, designers, programmers and artists. Since May, the project -- which is part of Santos’ ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellowship -- has reached Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica with workshops and opportunities for learning and networking for both men and women.

Tapping Women’s Passion for Technology in Latin American Newsrooms

Chicas Poderosas [nid:47352] As interactive designer Mariana Santos prepared to introduce her project designed to bring more women into tech roles in news at a Hacks/Hackers Meetup in Santiago, Chile, the organizers warned her not to expect much of a turnout on a cold, wet night.

But instead of speaking to a handful of attendees, Santos addressed a packed university auditorium.