Our 2020-21 Magic Grant Local Live(s) organizes and hosts live events – virtually for now – with journalists telling the stories behind their reporting. Through these events, the bi-coastal team seeks to create a dialogue between reporters in local news organizations and the communities they serve. Ultimately, the Local Live(s) project wants to establish a
CategoryProject Updates
Announcing ‘Points Unknown 2021’ at Columbia
News unfolds in places and every newsworthy event is shaped by the details of location. Those details might include the specifics of a neighborhood as it is today or of the history leading to its current configurations. Alongside the development of web technologies, journalistic organizations have incorporated web-based maps to enhance reader engagement with stories.
The Brown Institute, Lenfest Local Lab and Philadelphia Inquirer are partnering to build content audit tools
Our collaborative project won the Google GNI Innovation Challenge, securing $300,000 to build and test machine learning-based tools that help newsrooms analyze equity and representation in their work at scale. Editor’s note: This post was co-written and edited by Michael Krisch, Deputy Director of the Brown Institute; Sarah Schmalbach, Product Director of the Lenfest Local
Local Live(s) – Innovative Storytelling Connecting Journalists and Communities
Crystal Niebla, a reporter from the Long Beach Post, looked through the camera lens and into the homes of people she served. She was recounting a story she reported, about a violent mugging in the Washington neighborhood of Long Beach where she used to live. As the story progressed, Crystal peeled back the layers of
‘Sylvia’ Premiering at IDFA DocLab
Have you ever known an aging robot? Meet Sylvia, the first aging virtual influencer. Premiering on November 20, 2020 at the International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA), attendee’s can look back on Sylvia’s life, and witness its end. Virtual Influencers are computer-generated characters that exist on social media and appear as real humans. These characters are complex
Introducing Reporting Grants from Maternal Figures
Led by Ashley Okwuosa and Chuma Asuzu, Maternal Figures is a solutions journalism project aiming to encourage journalists to investigate solutions to an endemic problem. The project focuses on Nigeria’s maternal health, which has one of the world’s worst outcomes. For context, Nigeria’s estimated 40,000 maternal deaths account for a staggering 14% of the world’s annual
Meet ‘Sylvia’: A Project Challenging Ageism in Digital Space
Ziv Schneider is a creative technologist at The Brown Institute for Media Innovation based at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Schneider is breaking barriers in the sphere of Virtual Influencers. Virtual Influencers are computer-generated characters that exist on social media and appear as real humans – yet completely ignore the reality of aging. Like the
Announcing the Launch of the Stanford Cable TV News Analyzer
The Brown Institute for Media Innovation is pleased to announce the launch of the Stanford Cable TV News Analyzer, an interactive tool that gives the public the ability to not just search transcripts, but also compute the screen time of public figures in nearly 24-7 broadcasts from CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. Each day, cable
Who’s in Charge?
This post is part of a series of profiles of our current 2019-20 Magic Grants. It gives us an opportunity to brag about the great work being done by our grantees, and also to encourage you to consider applying for one of next year’s grants! Funding could start as early as July 1, depending on