News

ProPublica Founder Offers Advice For Effective, Fair Investigative Journalism

Given all the trash, half-truths and outright lies published on digital media, people are placing a higher value on news outlets that verify information and demonstrate high ethical standards.

Paul Steiger, founder and executive chairman of ProPublica, tells of a major donor to his online publication who "absolutely hated" an investigative story they had published about a group "near and dear to the donor's heart." Steiger told the donor that the information was verified, and the story was fair.

How Journalists Cover ISIS and Its Vast Propaganda Machine

News organizations are struggling to cover ISIS, constrained by a lack of on-the-ground presence in the wake of its brutal murders of journalists, according to an International Center for Journalists’ panel of media experts.

ICFJ Knight Roundup: Azerbaijani News Gets a 'Push' From New Mobile App

As part of the Knight International Media Innovators blog, the ICFJ Knight team will round up stories focused on how their fellows are making an impact in the field. Find out more about the fellows' projects by clicking here.

What Today's Newsrooms Can do to Spark Innovation For Tomorrow

Back in September, I partnered with The Express Tribune, a leading English-language newspaper in Karachi, Pakistan, as part of my ICFJ Knight Fellowship to work on news innovation. The main focus was working with the Tribune Labs team and helping them build up their capacity in order to work on visual and interactive content on their own, without the need for a developer.

To start off, we brought a developer on board as an Innovation Fellow. Our first task was to help Labs with a system where they could develop interactive features on their own and in the shortest possible time.

Spearhead Media Transformation as Code for Nigeria's News Innovation Fellow

Code for Nigeria is looking for a digital journalist and strategist to join our CitizenLab in Lagos.

The News Innovation Fellow will implement and manage our journalistic projects and showcase events.

In AIDS-Affected Regions, Journalists Must Continue to Raise Awareness

The fight against HIV/AIDS is a decades-long global battle which had claimed the lives of 34 million people by the end of 2015. Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that only 54 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are aware of their infection.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, with around 25 million people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in 2014.

ICFJ Knight Roundup: ICFJ Knight Award Nomination Deadline Approaches

As part of the Knight International Media Innovators blog, the ICFJ Knight team will round up stories focused on how their fellows are making an impact in the field. Find out more about the fellows' projects by clicking here.

A final reminder for 2016 Knight Awards nominations, Code for South Africa's new data school and more from the Knight Fellows in this week’s roundup.

There's still time!

Inside the Innovative Training Model at Code for South Africa's Data Journalism Academy

What does it take to convince thinly stretched, understaffed newsrooms to release experienced reporters for three months to attend a data journalism program — and pay for the privilege, too?

Understanding the Need for Cybersecurity in African Journalism

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), over the past two decades 780 journalists worldwide were murdered while reporting or investigating stories. Many used digital tools in their daily work, which exposed them to cyber threats as well.

This trend is reflected in a recent CPJ report indicating that 109 out of the 199 journalists jailed last year worked online.

The Biggest Mistake a News Startup Can Make: Not Hiring a Web Editor

There has been a surge in news organizations over the last 10 years. The advent of digital publishing has led to startups covering everything from general news to the smallest of niches you can imagine. For years, these new organizations have tried to model themselves after their big brothers. This works out, sometimes. Other times budget constraints, inexperience and sheer practicality overwhelm and undercut important structural and business decisions.

The biggest and most oft-repeated mistake that I see these new groups making is ignoring the desperate role of a web editor.