(This article is an edited version of the speech given at the Josh Friedman price ceremony at GIPA, Tbilisi, Georgia, June 9 2015; published at Memeburn http://memeburn.com/2015/06/has-coding-become-journalisms-most-important-skill/)
Journalism will never be as before. The rise of internet not only changed the business model for media but also the content. Data is the new content. Of course journalism is still about storytelling, but it is changing fast in another direction. Drones- drone journalism- are now almost an accepted tool for reporting. Computers could be instructed to write basic stories: robot journalism. Take for example a story from NY Times Upshot about the best and worst places to grow up in the US and notice how the text changes according to the data selected.
Journalism will never be as before. The rise of internet not only changed the business model for media but also the content. Data is the new content. Of course journalism is still about storytelling, but it is changing fast in another direction. Drones- drone journalism- are now almost an accepted tool for reporting. Computers could be instructed to write basic stories: robot journalism. Take for example a story from NY Times Upshot about the best and worst places to grow up in the US and notice how the text changes according to the data selected.
The latest development is sensor
journalism. Buy an Arduino
board and a few sensors, write a program for the processor
and you are in business. An interesting example is the air quality in San
Diego, where students of the University measured the air
pollution in different parts of the city. Access to water points in Tanzania or
water pollution in streams and dams used as potable water in South Africa are
other interesting try outs. It is
undeniable that the influence of technology on journalism especially IT and
coding is growing. Where is data journalism going?
