In 2014 I was part of a massive open online course organised by the European Journalism Centre (EJC) called ‘Doing Journalism with Data‘. If you missed it first time round (or never finished), the EJC has just relaunched that data journalism course as one of the courses on offer on their new dedicated video training platform, LEARNO.net. Continue reading
Category Archives: online journalism
Just add JavaScript: use these 3 tools to get instant interactivity
Maria Crosas Batista highlights ways to get started with adding interactivity to your journalism.
This post is for beginners that are learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Below are 3 useful websites to embed maps, charts and timelines in your HTML without going crazy. Continue reading
5 of the best: podcasts about data journalism

Image by Carla Pedret©
Podcasts are a great way to listen to stories on the move, be entertained, or keep up with developments in a particular field. However, have you ever thought about using them to learn data journalism?
In this list, I have pulled together some of the best podcasts about data. Some are specifically about data journalism, whereas others approach data from another perspective.
Continue reading
If the Daily Mail ‘steals’ your visualisation, they’re giving you publishing permission on their site
Nathan Yau has written about the Daily Mail using his data visualisation without permission. It’s not the first time this has happened, nor even the second.
One of my former Telegraph trainees Raziye Akkoc had the same experience when her world map of immigration was embedded in a Daily Mail article.
How to: liven up your blog post by adding an animated GIF

In a previous guest post Maria Crosas Batista created GIFs to demonstrate interactives in action. In this guest post – cross-posted from her datavis blog Dinfografia – she explains how to make GIFs from screenshots in five steps.
Journalists need their own archives. Here’s how to start one

Archives image by DRs Kulturarvsprojekt
Last week I wrote about the problem with trusting Twitter to keep a public record of all tweets. But it’s not just social networks; we can’t trust any website to keep information on our behalf.
3 recent articles highlight the problem particularly well.
Google loses interest and links rot Continue reading
HuffPost editor Stephen Hull triggers furious reaction over being ‘proud’ not to pay writers
The Huffington Post’s UK editor-in-chief Stephen Hull has provoked a curious backlash on Twitter following an appearance on Radio 4’s Media Show where he was asked why he doesn’t pay writers, writes Alex Iacovangelo.
“I love this question,” he replied:
“If I was paying someone to write something because I want it to get advertising, that’s not a real authentic way of presenting copy.
“When somebody writes something for us, we know it’s real, we know they want to write it. It’s not been forced or paid for. I think that’s something to be proud of.”
Tweeters quickly condemned him for encouraging the tactic during a time when jobs are being cut and budding journalists struggle to financially survive.
Below are some of the tweets, you can read the rest on this link:
(Note: @edcaesar quoted Stephen Hull)
@edcaesar In that case, he should refuse his salary – we wouldn’t want his corrupted paid-for editing would we? His editing should be “real”
— Stuart McGurk (@stuartmcgurk) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar Ed, this is a disgusting way to treat people. And to quote yourself like that! I thought more of you. This is where we part.
— Letters of Note (@LettersOfNote) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar @arseblog Real incentive for all young journalists. Hey let’s do something really good for free. Journalism is a job not a charity
— Stephen Killick (@SteveKills) February 18, 2016
.@edcaesar When I scream ARSEHOLE at him, nobody will be paying me. He’ll know it’s real.
— Eddie Robson (@EddieRobson) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar Bullshit. This fellow just needs to admit they are too cheap to pay authors & too corrupt to share earning off their writing!
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar @stephenbhull I’m curious as to where your idea that unpaid writing is somehow “purer” than paid writing comes from.
— Torraine Walker (@TorraineWalker) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar Which is why I stopped writing for them – also because they don’t promote the writing, and also because of the Sidebar of Shame.
— Judi Sutherland (@judi_sutherland) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar No. Are you insinuating that people who do get paid for their work are less real? THIS is why I did not choose to write for you.
— Wordtasting (@Cookwitch) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar @SallyThompson they’re prepared to take the financial reward of other people’s labour, though
— That Dave McKinnon (@DaveMcKinnon__) February 18, 2016
.@edcaesar What’s even worse is that “exposure” hungry writers do it, not realising that all it adds to their CV is: “Happy to be exploited”
— Sam Rowe (@samrowe_) February 18, 2016
Maybe it’s the HuffPost UK editor’s salary that is making them speak such inauthentic bollocks @edcaesar
— Abi Wilkinson (@AbiWilks) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar Surely has opposite effect. If not getting paid then fuck it, if all elements of a piece arent 100% correct what are they losing?
— Simon Margolis (@Si_Margolis) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar Another interpretation: because we don’t pay them, there’s no onus on them to write truthfully or do proper research.
— Bobbito Ball (@bobbitoball) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar @feelinglistless This is why I won’t read Huff Post, because I know its owners are exploitative.
— asta (@asta) February 18, 2016
@edcaesar @mikejakeman was he then asked: “So, why are you not working for free?”
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) February 18, 2016
How to: convert audio into Twitter video using Voice Record Pro 7
A conversation on Anchor recently threw up this useful tip from Christian Payne (aka Documentally) – which I’ve also converted into the video above. Continue reading
Journalism tool: Clammr, the Vine for audio

Image: screenshot from Clammr
By Alex Iacovangelo
You probably already have your favourite audio recorder and editor but Clammr offers something new: a way to highlight the best bits of your podcast to help it stand out on social media.
Clammr allows you to select up to 24 seconds of a podcast or interview and post that clip on social media with a direct link to the original to attract listeners. Continue reading
What journalists need to know to fly a drone

Some of the drones that BBC team brought to the session (Photo: Barbara Maseda)
Drones – also called unmanned aerial systems (UASs) – can provide spectacular views for TV or online video production which would otherwise be unobtainable. When members of a BBC team specially trained to use drones explained in a special BBC Academy Fusion session what factors journalists should take into account when using drones, Online Journalism masters students Carla Pedret and Barbara Maseda (photos) went along. Here are their tips: Continue reading
