Technology and Journalism
At RJI, we believe “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
This frequently quoted statement attributed to Alan Kay, the computer scientist who defined the conceptual basics for notebook and tablet computers in the early 1970s, embodies much of RJI’s vision and the technology initiatives we pursue.
We are striving to create an environment within RJI where fresh ideas and innovations that advance journalism can be tested and put into practice. Our efforts draw on the wisdom and talents of media professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, technologists, educators, students and citizens who embrace the future.
When completed later this year, the RJI’s Futures Lab and Demonstration Center will provide state-of-the-art spaces and tools where RJI Fellows, students and others can develop their ideas. Although we have designed the facilities to encourage and support innovative thinking, the RJI vision is not confined to a building. Nor is it on hold until the building opens its doors.
RJI already has initiated the following technology projects:
Digital Newsbook Project
Four hundred years ago, printed newsbooks circulated throughout Europe and informed people about timely events and topics of importance. This project, lead by Roger Fidler, RJI’s first fellow and now its program director for digital publishing, is using digital technology to revive the newsbook concept to disseminate in-depth newspaper reporting in the form of downloadable eBooks.
More about the Digital Newsbook Project »
eReader Project
After several false starts in the 1990s, mobile electronic reading devices called eReaders are finally making their way into the general consumer market. This project is assessing the reading experience afforded by eReaders and exploring the potential of eReaders as a medium for circulating newspaper digital editions.
More about the eReader Project »
NAA E-Reader Report
Roger Fidler wrote this piece for the Newspaper Association of America as part of “Moving to Mobile: A Development & Growth Guide for Newspapers.” The complete guide is available at www.naa.org/mobile. NAA is a nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry. More information about NAA is available at www.naa.org.
More about the eReader Report »
Missourian eMprint Project
The weekly eMprint (electronic media print) edition of the Columbia Missourian was the first technology initiative funded by RJI. This experiment, which ran from March 2005 to May 2007, was designed to assess the potential of this digital format to attract and retain readers and advertisers. Unlike the more common digital editions that exactly replicate printed editions, the eMprint model involved repackaging the newspaper’s content in a magazine-size format that was optimized for reading and navigating on computer displays.
More about the Missourian eMprint Project »
Community Knowledge Base Project
This project, directed by Lew Friedland of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is an application in a newsroom setting of the social network mapping systems. The work will involve implementing and testing the system in the Columbia Missourian newsroom. In addition, Friedland will build a database of 1,000 local leaders that will be used in a series of reporting experiments aimed at stimulating grassroots reporting in daily assignments.
Local Journalism Project (MizzNet)
In the coming months, RJI plans to undertake the next stage of marketing our Local Journalism Project, now called MizzNet. The creative team is completing a schematic design of MizzNet for review by interested companies. MizzNet is created to enable hyper-local journalism created by citizens as well as reporters.