Program News

ICFJ Participant Wins National Edward R. Murrow Award for Report on Human Trafficking

For his investigation into the sex trade along the United States’ Eastern seaboard, ICFJ Reporting Fellow Phillip Martin and the WGBH News team won a national Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in electronic journalism.

Featuring interviews with victims detailing their experiences and state officials describing their efforts to prevent the practices, “Underground Trade: From Boston to Bangkok” uncovers the workings of East Coast-based human trafficking networks and their connections to Southeast Asia.

ICFJ Knight Fellow's Regional Hackathon Follows Funds

Fourteen distinct chapters of Hacks/Hackers across Latin America and Miami gathered participants on June 7 to work on projects that attempt to answer one basic question: Where does my money go?

The hackathon brought journalists and coders together to follow where and how Latin American governments and corporations direct their funds.

Expert Tips for Making Better Infographics

While infographics are a great way to help readers understand complex topics, journalists should avoid the temptation to make information appear to be simpler than it is.

"Stories are always more complicated than they seem at first," said data visualization expert Alberto Cairo.

How to Improve Coverage of Technology in Africa

Technology is thriving in Africa. In just over a decade, the region has become the one of the most connected via mobile, experiencing the fastest growth in mobile subscribers. The world’s tech giants are investing in the region. And an active tech community is pioneering ways to rewire the media. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from reading the news.

The Art of Managing Interactive Journalism Projects

An attractive, informative infographic or other interactive product can be the satisfying end result of a digital team's hard work.

But former Guardian interactive designer Mariana Santos says the process of getting there is just as important.

“For a team, it’s as much about the trip as it is about arriving,” says Santos, an ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow.

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.