FL#171: IBM Watson Speech to Text

IBM Watson Speech to Text is a service that uses machine intelligence to convert the spoken word into written transcriptions. Pietro Passarelli, a Knight-Mozilla Fellow at Vox Media, has integrated this technology into an open-source tool that can turn video interviews into edited stories.Reporting by Jon Doty For more information The tool Pietro Passarelli describes … Continued

Missouri School of Journalism reporters put virtual reality into deadline news

Mizzou VR Journalism hit a benchmark recently by publishing a 360-degree illustrated news feature on normal online newspaper deadline. In an Oct. 26 article in the Columbia Missourian, Emily Shepherd wrote about a Harry Potter-themed astronomy lesson that night at the University of Missouri’s Laws Observatory. Stephanie Miller provided normal photographic coverage, but Claudia Chong and … Continued

What is a VR editor and stitcher?

Gone are the days when news organizations had just copy editors and page designers. Today, there are newsroom titles like digital optimizer, audience analyst and executive mobile editor. As social media platforms have evolved so have job titles, along with the tools journalists use to communicate with audiences. In this series, RJI will learn more about these titles and the people who hold them.

FL#170: Lessons from Reported.ly

Lessons from Reported.ly For 20 months, Reported.ly adopted a grassroots approach to telling stories by sourcing from social media to get perspectives from people around the world. But on Aug. 31, Reported.ly was shuttered after its parent company, First Look Media, pulled its funding. We spoke with Reported.ly founder and editor Andy Carvin about what … Continued

Four teams tap AI in 10th annual RJI Student Competition

Students taking part in the 2016-2017 RJI Student Competition at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute are harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to develop mobile apps for journalists and citizens who engage with journalism. Four teams — Colloquy, Mind Flow, NaberFeed and Voice Veritas — will receive media, business, IT and legal mentoring … Continued

Nonresidential fellow jumpstarts his project with a visit to RJI

My fellowship project was transformed earlier this month during a three-day visit to Columbia, Missouri. The occasion was an informal convening of several of this year’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute fellows to discuss the varied projects we hope to bring to fruition over the coming months. Though it was a laid-back affair, the conversations … Continued

In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk

In the news Poverty is a major factor in the death of victims of natural disasters, including those that are climate related, according to a United Nations report released on Oct. 13 in connection with the International Day for Disaster Reduction. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction found that of the 1.35 million people … Continued

What gap? Study compares online news consumption of millennials and baby boomers

The perceived generational gap between millennials and baby boomers’ online news media usage is much smaller than previously assumed, according to a study by 2015-2016 RJI Fellow Harsh Taneja and other collaborators. Preliminary findings show this is due to the way online news is currently structured and how comfortable each generation is with these specific … Continued

FL#169: Building a 360 toolkit

Building a 360-degree toolkit Journalists are routinely using virtual reality and 360 video to put viewers in places they wouldn’t otherwise be. But for smaller newsrooms with modest budgets, 360-degree video can seem out of reach. Shaheryar Popalzai, a Knight International Journalism Fellow, says building a 360 video toolkit is easier and cheaper than you … Continued