Hacks/Hackers Brings "A Different Voice" to African Newsrooms

By: Kendall McCabe | 05/24/2013

Grassroots journalism organization Hacks/Hackers helps bridge the gap between news media and rapidly advancing technologies.

Knight International Journalism Fellow Justin Arenstein is a driving force behind the organization’s presence and growth in Africa. Hacks/Hackers pairs journalists (“hacks”) with programmers and other technologists (“hackers”) to collaborate on projects that inform the public.

In an interview with DW Akademie, Arenstein explained that the Hacks/Hackers model is beneficial to media organizations with few resources.

“They take this synergy back to their newsrooms," Arenstein says, "and suddenly you have a completely different voice at the newsroom desk."

Topics

Media Innovation

Latest News

ICFJ Welcomes David Merritt of Bloomberg to Its Board

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) this week announced that David Merritt, the head of media editorial at Bloomberg, has joined its Board of Directors.

ICFJ Statement on African News Innovation Challenge

From 2012 to 2014, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) worked in partnership with the African Media Initiative (AMI) to manage programs aimed at helping African media and media support outlets to improve the quality of their journalism, their use of technology, and their financial sustainability. Among these programs was the African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC), with its digital innovation lab, which provided grants and mentoring to organizations with the best ideas for finding technological solutions for news gathering and dissemination.

U.S. Ethnic and Indigenous Media Play Critical Role in Countering Disinformation, New ICFJ Study Finds

While political disinformation is surging across the United States, one part of the news media is proving especially resilient in stopping the spread of false information – ethnic and Indigenous newsrooms, according to a new study by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).