According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013 was the second worst year on record for imprisoning journalists around the world for doing their work.
Which makes this story from PBS Idea Lab all the more important: How Journalists Can Stay Secure Reporting from Android Devices. There are tips here on how to anonymize data flowing through your phone using Tor, an open network that helps protect against traffic analysis and network surveillance. Also, there is information about video publishing software that facilitates YouTube posting, even if the site is blocked in your country. Very cool.
The Neiman Lab is publishing an ongoing series of Predictions for Journalism in 2014, and, predictably, the idea of harnessing data looms large. Hassan Hodges, director of innovation for the MLive Media Group, says that in this new journalism landscape, content will start to look more like data and data will look more like content. Poderopedia founder Miguel Paz says that news organizations should fire the consultants and hire more nerds. There are 51 contributions so far, and counting. It’s good reading.
The debate over the direction of journalism education in the data age continues, with Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy’s piece: A Compelling Case for ‘Knowledge-Based Journalism.’
And finally, Comcast is reportedly resurrecting EveryBlock, the community news site that aggregated neighborhood public records data (crime stats, building permits, restaurant inspections) for readers. EveryBlock had been shut down since February.
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