The interhacktivity has started…again
It is not easy to explain what Interhacktives is. As the digital journalism blog from City University’s Interactive Journalism MA gets back online for its fifth year, it is worth pointing out what has been done here in the past, what we want to do now and in the next few months.
The past
Over the past five years, Interhacktives has published some fascinating features, guides and interviews on a range of topics. In a blog post from the very first generation, 2011, Abby Young-Powell stated the principles for this website:
Accountability – We will correct mistakes and amend them transparently. We will verify sources and link to them where appropriate.
Tone and style – We will always write clearly, but will be open to different styles and voices. We will write names correctly and take special care with our spelling.
Accuracy – We will check all facts and figures before publishing.
Transparency – We will always be open and honest about what we do.
Interaction – We will be receptive, responsive and engaging by using social media. We will reply to comments that people leave us.
Originality – We will try to keep our posts topical and aim to be proactive, rather than reactive
Attitude – We will remain level-headed and reasonable, both in our blog posts and in our interaction.
Content – We will keep our writing fun and interesting. Our blog will be suitable for those new to the field, as well as experts.
Relevance – Our focus is community and social media in journalism.
Accessibility – We will endeavour to use new technology to make the site accessible.
These principles are still the most important ones for current Interhacktives, while the digital journalism world is changing.
In 2012, our fellow students defined the activity around the website, explaining how it all started:
The relationship between journalists and their readership has shifted massively over the past 5–10 years. It’s now increasingly common for newspapers to employ community managers to oversee their social media presence. And reporters themselves are getting stuck into the worlds of Twitter and Facebook — exploiting both as a means for publicising and sourcing stories. When we began the Interhacktives site we wanted to provide an information source for those working (or studying to work) in this new and ever-changing field.
Following this intro, other aims were announced: a focus towards a better responsiveness for the website; a shift towards user-generated content as well as traditional interviews and news on digital journalism, among others.
In 2013 a new player entered the Interhacktives arena: data journalism. Sian Boyle, wrote “A beginner’s pre-guide to Data Journalism”, thanks to James Ball, who was a visiting professor at City at the time. The post covers basic Excel and is just the first out of many other data journalism-related articles on this site.
The history of the website goes on, with a series of distinguished guests. On Interhacktives, it is still possible to find talks with the likes of Claire Miller, James Ball, Matthew Keys, Joseph Stashko (who at the time didn’t have a beard in his Twitter handle), Malachy Browne, Luke Lewis, Simon Rogers and many more.
The present
Right now the website is a repository of good — though in some cases out-of-date — content. The “How to” and “Data” sections deserve the most pride — these are where the reader can find articles on how to use social media more effectively (eg how to use Snapchat, Facebook video, Reddit as a journalist) or how to work as a data journalist.
Our suggestion, as we start to publish this year’s content, is to update and develop Interhacktives by taking a look at what has been written in the past and searching for what interests you (and us). We also hope to report on the new technologies at the forefront of digital journalism.
The future
The original Interhacktives had a strapline that still matters to this day: “Digital journalism by tomorrow’s journalists”. This year we want to talk about social media and to continue our path in data journalism, how to learn interesting skills, and interview journalists whose work is relevant. We want to cover VR, 360° videos, coding, bots, and find other good repositories of useful tools for professionals. We also aim to keep an open conversation with our readers, and to interact with them even more than in the past.
The dream
If we can dream for a second about our goal for Interhacktives in five years, we would like to take inspiration from a PowerPoint slide by Beth Ashton, another former student, when talking at City about the divide between print journalism and digital journalism (as reported by Adam Tinworth):
It’s not about forgetting everything we know about journalism, it’s about combining the past and the present to create something incredible.
