Aron Pilhofer

Thinking Outside the Search Box Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times

Interactive News • Ten journalists • News-focused, data-driven apps • “Web development at newsroom speed”

Interactive News Where we’re a little different: • Based in the newsroom • Run by (relatively nerdy) journalists • A news desk; not a software shop • Focused on journalism, not news products

What is web journalism?

“I just want to get data on the web. So what?”

Data Vomit

Data Vomit • Sometimes works quite well. • What am I to understand from this? • What is the context of this? • Why should I care?

Throwing data online without context or analysis is what machines do, not journalists.

We can (and must) do more.

Interactivity. Engagement. Community.

Who, What, Where, When, Why.

Web Journalism • It’s about making editorial decisions • It’s about telling a story • It’s about providing context, analysis • In other words...

It’s about journalism.

A Good Interactive Should Be...

Steeped in context and analysis

Feature data that’s useful, not ubiquitous

Invite exploration and discovery

Provide a venue for sharing

Portable: APIs, RSS everywhere.

Usable, intuitive and predictable

Bottom line: We need to start thinking like a startup.

Bottom line: This is about survival now.

Where to begin?

Bring known journalism forms to the web.

Start asking: “Why?”

Think broadly about what constitutes data.

If you don’t get it, ﬁnd the people who do.

Pick up a book and learn it.

Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times aron@nytimes.com (212) 556-5849 AIM: pilhofer

Aron Pilhofer

by The Media Consortium on Mar 04, 2010

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