Glenn Greenwald Speaks, an
evening lecture with Glenn Greenwald who will discuss the state of
journalism and his recent reporting on surveillance and national
security issues on June 18, 2014 at 7pm at the Nourse Theater in San
Francisco, is sold out. Join the #AfterSnowden conversation on Twitter and follow us @TowCenter.
The Tow Center team has launched three new research reports:
- Sensors and Journalism by Tow Fellow Fergus Pitt
This Tow Report focuses on the uses, the opportunities and the risks of
sensors and journalism. It describes the landscape where sensors and
journalism combine, and continues on to define necessary terms for
understanding this area of research. Reporters are using sensors in an
era when the rapid development of technology is moving data into the
mainstream of journalism. The increasing ubiquity of sensors, their
increasing capability and accessibility are on the supply side, while
investigative reporters, computer aided reporters and
journalist/technologists are on the demand side. The introduction also
includes a chapter by scholar Charles Berret, who has written a sensor
history, charting humanity’s efforts to extend the reach of our five
natural senses. This Tow Report’s second
section, containing case studies, examines seven projects that used
sensors for journalism. Each study includes the story of what happened
and then offers analysis in which we identify its distinctive or
noteworthy elements, as well as the lessons journalists may take from
the projects. The Tow Report also includes 12 chapters on the laws and
ethics for reporting with sensors written by experts and the final
section distills this report into a set of recommendations, including
groups of strategic moves, good work practices, and efforts the industry
may collectively consider.
- The Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism by Tow Fellow Alexander Howard
Journalists have been using data in their stories for as long as the
profession has existed. A revolution in computing in the 20th century
created opportunities for data integration into investigations, as
journalists began to bring technology into their work. In the 21st
century, a revolution in connectivity is leading the media toward new
horizons. The Internet, cloud computing, agile development, mobile
devices, and open source software have transformed the practice of
journalism, leading to the emergence of a new term: data journalism.
Although journalists have been using data in their stories for as long
as they have been engaged in reporting, data journalism is more than
traditional journalism with more data. Decades after early pioneers
successfully applied computer-assisted reporting and social science to
investigative journalism, journalists are creating news apps and
interactive features that help people understand data, explore it, and
act upon the insights derived from it. New business models are emerging
in which data is a raw material for profit, impact, and insight,
co-created with an audience that was formerly reduced to passive
consumption. Journalists around the world are grappling with the
excitement and the challenge of telling compelling stories by harnessing
the vast quantity of data that our increasingly networked lives,
devices, businesses, and governments produce every day. While the
potential of data journalism is immense, the pitfalls and challenges to
its adoption throughout the media are similarly significant, from
digital literacy to competition for scarce resources in newsrooms.
Global threats to press freedom, digital security, and limited access to
data create difficult working conditions for journalists in many
countries. A combination of peer-to-peer learning, mentorship, online
training, open data initiatives, and new programs at journalism schools
rising to the challenge, however, offer reasons to be optimistic about
more journalists learning to treat data as a source.
- Amateur Footage: A Global Study of User-Generated Content in TV and Online News Output by Tow Fellows Claire Wardle, Sam Dubberley, and Pete Brown
Crediting is rare, there’s a huge gulf in how senior managers and news
desks talk about it and there’s a significant reliance on news agencies
for discovery and verification. The aim of this research project was to
provide the first comprehensive report about the use of user-generated
content (UGC) among broadcast news channels. UGC being – for this report
– photographs and videos captured by people unrelated to the newsroom,
who would not describe themselves as professional journalists. This
research was designed to answer two key questions. First, when and how
is UGC used by broadcast news organizations, on air as well as online?
Second, does the integration of UGC into output cause any particular
issues for news organizations? What are those issues and how do
newsrooms handle them? This Tow Report and research provides the first
concrete figures we have about the level of reliance on UGC by
international news channels. It also explores six key issues that
newsrooms face in terms of UGC. The report is designed around those six
issues: workflow, verification, permissions, crediting, labeling, and
ethics and responsibilities.
READ THE REPORT
Happy Summer! The Tow Center Newsletter
will return in late summer with all our latest news and an announcement
of a new season of Tow Teas, lectures, workshops, and more.
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Glenn Greenwald Speaks
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
7pm
Nourse Theater | San Francisco
In April 2014, Greenwald and his colleagues at the Guardian received
the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Don’t miss Greenwald speak
in-person as he fits all the pieces together. #AfterSnowden
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Read the latest from the Tow Center Blog:
Knight
Foundation Joins The Tow Foundation as a Sponsor for the Journalism
After Snowden Initiative Headed by Columbia University’s Tow Center for
Digital Journalism
—Jennifer Henrichsen, Tow Fellow and Taylor Owen, Tow Center Research Director
The Journalism After Snowden initiative, a project of The Tow Center
for Digital Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism, will expand to further explore the role of journalism in the
age of surveillance, thanks to new funding from the John S. and James
L. Knight Foundation.
Glenn Greenwald Speaks | Join the Tow Center for an #AfterSnowden Talk in San Francisco on June 18, 2014
—Lauren Mack. Tow Center Research Associate
Join the Tow Center for an evening lecture with Glenn Greenwald, who
will discuss the state of journalism today and his recent reporting on
surveillance and national security issues, on June 18, 2014 at 7pm at
the Nourse Theater in San Francisco.
Tow Center Launches Three Reports —Taylor Owen. Tow Center Research Director
The Tow Center team is thrilled to launch three new research reports:
Sensors and Journalism; The Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism;
and Amateur Footage: A Global Study of User-Generated Content in TV and
Online News Output.
Sensors and Journalism: A Major Report —Fergus Pitt. Tow Fellow The Tow Center has published a report about
the uses, the opportunities and the risks of sensors and
journalism. We’re describing the landscape where sensors and journalism
combine, and continues on to define necessary terms for understanding
this area of research. Reporters are using sensors in an era when the
rapid development of technology is moving data into the mainstream of
journalism. The increasing ubiquity of sensors, their increasing
capability and accessibility are on the supply side, while investigative
reporters, computer aided reporters and journalist/technologists are on
the demand side.
The Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism —Alexander Howard. Tow Fellow
Journalists have been using data in their stories for as long as the
profession has existed. A revolution in computing in the 20th century
created opportunities for data integration into investigations, as
journalists began to bring technology into their work. In the 21st
century, a revolution in connectivity is leading the media toward new
horizons. The Internet, cloud computing, agile development, mobile
devices, and open source software have transformed the practice of
journalism, leading to the emergence of a new term: data journalism.
LIVE BLOG: Quantifying Journalism: Data, Metrics, and Computation —Lauren
Mack with Yumi Araki, Lauren Beck, Rachel Delia Benaim, Anna
Ruela-Browne, Julien Gathelier, Jessica Quan Li, Rachel Lowry Watch
videos of the panels and read a recap of the day-long conference which
included panel discussions, lectures, lightning talks, and the launch of
three Tow Center reports. All sessions can be viewed here.
Elsewhere on the Web
Knight Foundation Blog | Tow Center Program Defends Journalism from the Threat of Mass Surveillance, June 10, 2014
—Jennifer Henrichsen, Tow Fellow and Taylor Owen, Tow Center Research Director
We’ve long known that it’s easy to kill the messenger. Journalists are
murdered all around the world for speaking truth to power. But, it
wasn’t until recently that we realized how mass surveillance is killing
source confidentiality, and with it, the very essence of journalism. By
taking away the ability to protect sources—the lifeblood of
journalism—surveillance can silence journalists without prosecutions or
violence. Understanding the implications of state surveillance for the
practice of journalism is the focus of our project, Journalism After
Snowden.
Tow Center in the News
- Automated Insights Blog | Embracing Technology in Journalism: Takeaways from Columbia University’s Quantifying Journalism Conference, June 10, 2014
- Jeff Kaufflin | Measuring a News Story’s Success: 5 Innovative Insights, June 10, 2014
- Global Investigative Journalism Network | Top Ten #ddj: The Week’s Most Popular Data Journalism Links, June 9, 2014
- Knowledge Bridge | Data-driven Journalism: The Process to Transform Raw Data into Stories, June 9, 2014
- Boris Loukanov Marketing Creative Library | The Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism – Read the Bible of Modern Generation of Journalists, June 7, 2014
- Pew Research Center | On TV, Few Amateur Journalists Get Credit for Their Contributions to the News, June 5, 2014
- Irish Times | Shaky Scoops from the Scene, June 5, 2014
- Niemen Journalism Lab | Read Some of the Smartest Thinkers on Data Journalism in This New Tow Center Report, June 4, 2014
- DAJORE Data Journalism Research | Columbia’s Tow Center Leads the Data Journalism Research, June 4, 2014
- Gigaom | Media Outlets Love to Use Citizen Journalism But Don’t Like to Say Where They Got It or How, June 3, 2014
- Benton Foundation | Tow Center Launches Amateur Footage: A Global Study of User-Generated Content in TV and Online News Output, June 3, 2014
- Meedan | Tow Center Report on UGC: “People are scared of the ‘V’ Word, June 3, 2014
- Internews | The Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism, June 3, 2014
- PBS MediaShift | Must Reads, June 2, 2014
- Groundswell | The Ethics of Sensor Journalism: Community, Privacy, and Control, June 2, 2014
- International Journalists’ Network | How Sensor Reporting Helps Journalists Find Data Where None Exist, June 2, 2014
- Creative Planet Network | New Study Examines the Use of User-Generated Content in News Reporting, June 2, 2014
- Media Post | News Media’s Uneasy Accord with User-Generated Content, June 2, 2014
- Tech Fancast | User-Generated Content Study Shows Varied Standards of Newsrooms, Poor Labeling and Crediting (Tow Center for Digital Journalism), June 1, 2014
- kdmcBerkley | The Transition to Digital Journalism: Sensors, Drones, and the Internet of Things, June 1, 2014
- MediaBistro 10,000 Words | Three New Tow Center Reports Out May 30, May 30, 2014
Have something to say? The Tow Center is looking for contributors
to pitch and cover events, tell us How It’s Made or write tips and
tutorials for the Tow Center Blog. Contact Smitha Khorana, Digital Media Associate, if you wish to contribute. |
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Upcoming Events:
June 18
Glenn Greenwald Speaks
Join the Tow Center and
Haymarket Books for an evening lecture with Glenn Greenwald, who will
discuss the state of journalism and his recent reporting on surveillance
and national security issues. This event will be held in San Francisco,
California. Join the #AfterSnowden conversation on Twitter and follow
us @TowCenter. |
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Happy Summer! The Tow Center
Newsletter will return in late summer with an announcement of a new
season of Tow Teas, lectures, workshops, and more.
Unless otherwise noted, all Tow Center events are free and open to the public. Follow the Tow Center on Twitter @TowCenter for updates on all events. |
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