How a Journalist and Technologist Collaborated to Improve Maps for News

By: 03/11/2013

In the current news environment, journalists and developers are increasingly calling upon and benefiting from one another's skills and expertise.

The nearly one-year-old InfoAmazonia is a product of such a partnership–and a testament to the power of collaboration. Led by Knight International Journalism Fellow Gustavo Faleiros, InfoAmazonia presents environmental news and maps of open data in Portuguese, Spanish and English from the nine-country Amazon region.

The Washington-based company MapBox built the developer tools for the InfoAmazonia site. During InfoAmazonia’s development, MapBox provided site strategy, Web design and cartography, as well as training for journalists in Brazil on how to use the site’s tools.

IJNet talked with Faleiros and MapBox senior developer Alex Barth to find out how their collaboration improved the work of both.

Read the interview on IJNet.

Latest News

A Journalist's Guide to Reporting on ESG and the Geopolitics of Sustainability

This article is your reporter’s guide to that fault line: where ESG came from; how it has been weaponized politically in the second Trump administration, and why the rest of the world sees it as essential infrastructure that cannot be repealed.

Covering the US-China Economic Showdown: What Journalists Need to Know

Tariffs have always been about more than just economics. They are tools of power and leverage, expressions of national priorities and xenophobic fears. But the 2025 U.S.-China trade standoff marks a profound shift.

Journalists to Investigate Education, Evictions & More With Support from ICFJ and News Corp

Four early-career journalists supported by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) will report on education, high school sports, eviction trends, and immigration enforcement. This financial support and mentorship are made possible by an ICFJ program supported by News Corp. It is designed to support early-career journalists around the world through training and reporting grants.