How can journalists use technology to enhance their reporting?

Journalism must face the risks of data manipulation. Incorrect or manipulated data can lead to poor decision making. Once it is revealed that data has been manipulated, the reputation of the journalist and the outlet can suffer significant damage. Many industries are subject to strict regulations regarding data accuracy, privacy, and security. Data manipulation can be a form of cyber attack or security breach. Trust in data is essential for any organization. Reliance on inaccurate data can lead to operational inefficiencies. Data manipulation can have repercussions and legal consequences beyond what is expected. Journalistic information based on manipulated data can face serious consequences.

Data journalism is a tough nut to crack. Personally, I struggled fair bit with data journalism in my early phase of business of tech journey. I could not decipher or even understand what to do with the data that is there. And at some point I was hitting the wall despite multiple attempts. This was mainly because I wasn't prepared and equipped (in terms of knowledge and know-how). My key learning was to start small with data. Get a good mentor or course that will help you the fundamentals.

Journalists should be wary that data slicing and manipulation could lead to erroneous reporting. This could create a false or harmful narrative despite the usage of correct data.

Um exemplo do bom uso do jornalismo de dados foi no caso Panama Pappers, a maior colaboração jornalística da história. Os repórteres coletaram, separaram e cruzaram os dados para encontrar todos os envolvidos no caso.

Es indispensable aprender a usar bases de datos funcionales, estas no tienen que se bonitas, sino útiles para procesar la información. Aprendan a usar las hojas de cálculo. No importa si manejamos unas centenas de datos o grandes bases cuando les ponemos orden y aplicamos un poco de estadística veremos información que antes no habíamos detectado que teníamos frente a nuestros ojos.

Social networks are the platforms where the media find new fields of action. Journalism finds incredible new skills here, but professional practice must maintain the same equanimity and commitment.

Social media is fast emerging as an alternative to real-time updates from legacy media. But there is a catch. Social media does not offer checks and balances that publications have, say journalism ethics. Yes, social media helps you look into one direction and probably has made the reach out easier but it is very important to verify anything you quote from someone you have met online. Do not fall into the temptation of cracking a big story from anonymous leads. Always verify and do the basics before publishing anything under your byline or for your employer.

Social media is a pertinent source for information for journalists, however it needs to be carefully vetted as the rise of questionable content and fake news is rampant.

Social media is the way that younger people are having their news diet. That could be used in a bad way (by following people who don´t create good journalism) or in a good way: the fact that there are 20-something journalists who were born and raised with social networks around them, makes them relevant because they understand how to use it organically, not as traditional media, that what they do is only to cut and publish they TV/Radio segments or they web site links into post, waiting for the people to follow them... that is nuts!

Stand out from what anyone else can share on social by having excellent sound, strong variety of visuals that include people, clips and close-ups, and a creative tease that’s accurate and attributed. The goal is to compel someone to check out your full article or podcast or whatever news content you want discovered.

Allowing mobile journalism increases the range and variety of reporting sources. However, it should be used as a supplement to other forms of journalism and not be a sole outlet.

Professionals who have had the opportunity to adapt to their phones to practice journalism have found a true universe of possibilities. Every day new technological skills are made available to you. Real-time information and the possibility of carrying out unimaginable investigations.

Mojo was the first real start of the citizen journalism. Back in 2017, a lot of journalists were encouraged to leverage their mobile phones to shoot, record, and do live videos. Since then, mobile phones have become much more sophisticated and capable, and more or less only big equipment you need to cover an event. Moreover, a few accessories and apps can help make most of the device. Also, Mojo does not attract that kind of wide attention that you get with a proper set up when shooting in public. In nutshell, it is a must companion for your shoots, interviews, and so on.

O mobile journalism é a tendência mais recente da área. Cada vez os computadores são menos indispensáveis para a produção de conteúdo. Com um celular, o repórter grava a entrevista, decupa, escreve o texto, fotografa o entrevistado e publica seu conteúdo. A tecnologia 5G deixou isso ainda mais fácil. Em questão de segundos tudo está feito. Com isso, surge outro problema: assim como tudo está em um único lugar (celular), a segurança do aparelho precisa ser redobrada com antivírus.

It's a far-fetched technology which I don't see of much use in a market like India for now. I am yet to see a quality work using VR technology for journalism. Probably, makes better with aesthetics, but not sure how much journalism skills. I'd rather bet on drones or something like that for better footage, say covering a traffic jam or crowd

It will be necessary to know the environments where virtual reality will be inserted, because otherwise it could lose the sense of identity related to the non-virtual environment. The way virtual content creation becomes more effective is when users can interpret it in their own conscious world.

From 2015 to 2020, many projects were circulating about immersive journalism. Despite being very well executed, they posed challenges. They involved highly complex cameras that captured entire scenes, allowing viewers to rotate their heads and look wherever they wanted from their homes. It was a headache for newsrooms because it was costly and inconvenient. Just imagine, a regular video camera is already somewhat intrusive for conducting interviews; a device like this eliminates spontaneity. Moreover, for users, the requirement of a special device to view the content posed a significant barrier. What does the APPLE VISION PRO bring? It pushes for more devices to be in the hands of people, but the issue remains the high cost.

I have no qualms about using Gen AI for work. In fact, it's a great tool as a writer's assistant and research to a large extent. However, one should make judicious use of these, and not blindly rely on it. But yeah, it can make your work faster and efficient.

I have largely use Generative AI for creating infographics and images. I have found solutions to tell stories that can not be pictured, but only be imagined. What I see as a great addition to journalism is the fact that we can generate images to tell stories like those of grief, defilement.... It is a good addition, and protecting subjects is a great way to uphold principles of journalism.

Check with your editors to see what uses of AI are allowed. And make sure that you provide disclosures to your audience when you do use it. This is still bleeding-edge technology, and it'll take a few more years for journalists to figure out how to use it well.

Para o bem e para o mal, o avanço da IA é inevitável. Os profissionais que trabalham com criatividade, como artistas e escritores estão sendo os primeiros impactados. As ferramentas generativas usam as criações desses profissionais para entregar o que foi pedido pelo usuário. Mas, por outro lado, isso mostra a fraqueza da ferramenta. Por mais que ela aprenda, ela não é capaz de criar. A criatividade é humana e inexpugnável. O segredo e alimentá-la, assim como alimentamos as IAs.

The way to get AIs to develop what we need is based on learning to give the right orders. As in everyday life, to be able to relate better you must learn to ask in the right way for what you want to obtain.