Futures Lab Update
Each week we bring you a video roundup of fresh ideas, techniques and developments to help spark innovation and change in newsrooms across all media platforms. (2013–2017)
FL#164: NowThis’ approach to Snapchat
NowThis on Snapchat In addition to using Snapchat Stories to reach younger audiences, NowThis is also one of 20 top publishers using the Discover feature. Executive Producer Sarah Frank explains her team’s Snapchat strategy and offers tips for any newsroom experimenting with the platform.Reporting by Mitchel Summers and Hailey Godburn For more information NowThis delivers … Continued
FL#163: NPR’s approach to Snapchat
NPR on Snapchat NPR has found creative ways to use the most basic features in Snapchat to connect differently with its audience.Reporting by Mitchel Summers. For more information The NPR social media team has shared many posts about Snapchat strategies and experiments on its blog. Some of those posts include: A brief history and breakdown … Continued
FL#162: Making audio interactive with Anchor app
Anchor app Anchor is an iOS app that allows users to interact and engage through audio recordings. These audio conversations can viewed in the app itself, or they can be shared on social media or exported to include in other broadcasts.Reporting by Sarah Sabatke. For more information: Anchor is a free app available for iOS … Continued
FL#161: 5 tips for email newsletters
Email newsletters Email newsletters are far from new, but recently there’s been a resurgence in their popularity. With this renewed interest come new techniques. We look at five innovative approaches to delivering newsletters, inspired by Clover Letter, BuzzFeed and TheSkimm.Reporting by Whitney Matewe. For more information: BuzzFeed has 12 core newsletters but, in total, close … Continued
FL#142: Enlisting product managers and automating more complex stories
This week we explore the role of product managers within news organizations, and we find out how more complex stories might be written by computers. PART 1: Product managers for news Borrowing from the tech and business worlds, several large news organizations have integrated the role of product manager into their workflows. The result can … Continued
FL141: Faster fact-checking and nonprofit partnerships
This week we find out how automation might speed up political fact-checking, and we learn what goes into successful partnerships that involve nonprofit news organizations. PART 1: Faster fact-checking It takes time to investigate whether claims made by politicians are true, but technology might help speed up that process. We get some ideas from PolitiFact … Continued
Futures Lab update #96: Tips for mobile news delivery, and remixing with Trio
This week we get tips on what works when delivering news via mobile devices, and we check out a new app designed for remixing content. PART 1: Mobile insights As part of Al Jazeera’s Research & Development lab, the recently launched app AJ+ serves as an ongoing experiment in ways to deliver news via smartphones. … Continued
Futures Lab update 84: Engagement using text messages, and corrections via social media
This week we learn about a platform for engaging with audiences via text messages, and we explore how to handle corrections to social media posts. PART 1: Groundsource A new platform called Groundsource seeks to help newsrooms interact with their communities outside the confines of smartphones and social media, instead relying on more basic text … Continued
Futures Lab update #40: News tailored for mobile platforms
This week we bring you three examples of how news is being reengineered for people on the go. PART 1: Circa The mobile app Circa has received a lot of attention for its effort to redefine the experience of keeping up with the news via smartphone. The operation is half newsroom and half tech start-up … Continued