• Article

    A student’s take on the teaching hospital model in journalism

    Published July 25, 2014 by

    I enrolled at the University of Miami’s School of Communication to pursue my career goal: become a television news anchor. In August, I will begin my senior year and assume the role of station manager of the campus television station. Do I feel like I am on track for my career goal? Yes. Do I feel like I can get a news job after college? Yes. Has my work as a student journalist made a difference to anybody? Probably not. Why not? Too many journalism schools still treat a diploma as if it is the ticket to the “real world.” So much of the work that we, student journalists, produce exists to fill out a resume rather than inform communities. Most professors agree that up-to-date hands-on experience is best, but most schools haven’t blended that experience into their curriculum.
  • Article

    Teams from Knight communities to travel to Scandinavia on livable cities tour

    Published July 25, 2014 by

    Photo: 26 percent of commutes in Copenhagen are by bicycle. Credit: Wikimedia. Civic innovators from nine Knight communities will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark, next month to study one of the world’s most livable cities. Their journey began last month in Chicago at “The Doable City” forum, organized by 8-80 Cities and sponsored by Knight Foundation. Delegates from 19 Knight communities, large and small, participated in the forum. They came to learn the latest on how to make their cities comfortable for people ages 8 to 80, putting more emphasis on biking and walking, transit and improved public spaces. Delegates heard a powerful lineup of speakers, including Jeff Risom of Gehl Architects, Mia Birk of ALTA Bike share and Charles Montgomery, author of “Happy City.” They also accompanied Dan Burden on a walking audit and had the chance to experience first-hand Millennium Park, the 606 trail and Chicago’s new bike infrastructure. Some even received a hardhat tour of the new Maggie Daley Park.
  • Article

    Civic Patterns is building a common language for creating news and citizen engagement apps

    Published July 24, 2014 by

    This article is cross-posted from IJnet.org. Above: ICFJ #CodeCamp in Bellagio, Italy.  While many in journalism are searching for ways to harness their readers' expertise and to use data to tell compelling stories, technologists and NGOs who build civic technologies around the world are asking some of the same questions. Organizations like the UK's MySociety, US-based Code for America, Code for South Africa or Fundacion Ciudadano Inteligente in Chile develop services that aim to improve interactions between government and citizens. Both media organizations and NGOs are exploring the development of similar services, such as initiatives to analyze data from their countries' legislatures, tools that facilitate writing and publishing requests for information from government, and databases that help patients find the cheapest medicine. While in some cases such NGOs provide only raw data without much analysis, other initiatives, like Homicide Watch DC, blur the lines between civic technology and journalism.
  • Article

    A bright and bold show at Projective Eye

    Published July 24, 2014 by

    Through Sept. 24 the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte’s Center City building has on display a bright and bold show featuring the artworks of Linda Luise Brown, Marge Loudon Moody and Greg Scott. The exhibition, “CHROMA: Lyrical Lines and Compulsive Color,” is enticing for the vibrant colors that leap...
  • Article

    All aboard the Knight Green Line Challenge

    Published July 24, 2014 by

    Photo: St. Paul's new Green Line. Credit: Jonathan Pellgen on Flickr. Today marks the final day of the 2014 Knight Green Line Challenge. We’re accepting applications until midnight tonight. Thanks to everyone who already applied and to those of you putting the last touches on your applications. The response to the challenge has been tremendous; we’ve seen such enthusiasm at the Q&A sessions and partner events, in phone calls and visits to knightgreenlinechallenge.org, and through the applications themselves. We have been gratified by how many people are eager to find ways to make St. Paul’s Central Corridor neighborhoods along the Green Line even more vibrant places to live, work, play and visit. After the challenge closes tonight we will share the applications with a terrific team of community readers who will make recommendations to Knight and The Saint Paul Foundation, which administers the challenge. On Aug. 26, we will notify all the applicants and announce the finalists, who will be asked to submit more details about their projects. Stay tuned for that big news.
  • Article

    Knight Prototype Fund winner Checkdesk wants to take online verification to the next level

    Published July 23, 2014 by

    This article is cross posted from IJnet.org. Verifying the accuracy of social media information is a must for journalists, especially during breaking news events. Social technology nonprofit Meedan realized the importance of verification while translating social media content between Arabic and English during the Arab Spring, said the organization’s research and communications director Tom Trewinnard. The challenge of fact-checking info from social media on the fly gave rise to Meedan’s idea for an open source, online verification toolkit for journalists. The result is “Checkdesk,” a feature-rich, live-blogging platform that makes it easy for newsrooms to embed verified social media content into their reporting. It allows journalists to attach a status like "Verified," "False," or "In progress" to a piece of media and collaborate with readers or community members to help in verifying the information.