3 to read: The trouble with platforms & newsrooms | ‘Darts & Laurels’ goes monthly | Planning a data story

By Matt Carroll <@MattatMIT>

July 12, 2016: A trio of news media stories, videos, and data viz compiled weekly. Get notified via email? Email 3toread (at) gmail.com.

1. Newsrooms & Facebook: I don’t normally recommend videos — I’m too impatient to watch long vids, frankly — but here’s a wonderful discussion about the evolving, tense relationship between platforms and newsrooms on Charlie Rose’s show. It features Melissa Bell of Vox, Jay Rosen of NYU, and John Herrman of the NYT. They touch on all the simmering issues — curation, algorithms, Facebook’s goals vs. newsroom goals, the role of publishers, etc. A fascinating watch.
2. Darts & Laurels goes digital: Oh, how I’ve missed this. Columbia Jrn Review, as CJR.org online, runs an annual compilation of the best and worst of journalism. It’s always a great read and now it’s going monthly. Samples from the first month: “Best”: The decision by three online sites to give the victim of rapist Brock Turner a voice, publishing her heart-rending, scathing statement. And a “Worst”: CNN’s hiring of Trump’s former campaign manager, who signed an agreement with the presidential candidate, promising not to disparage him. Always fun to see who gets praised and who gets scorched.
3. Using a template to plan your data story: I’m a clean-desk kind of person — I like things organized, in other words. So I always like to play with different methods of organizing stories, especially data stories, which was what I concentrated on for the past two decades. This story by Miguel Paz at CUNY outlines some simple but effective ways of organizing a data story, from even before the data is in hand. It’s helpful.

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Matt Carroll runs the Future of News initiative at the MIT Media Lab.