The Columbia Journalism Review writes about how big and small outlets alike are increasingly looking to journalist programmers to help them enter and occupy the world of data journalism. It suggests that students can have jobs before they graduate if they choose to enter that field.
Last week The New York Times irked the carmaker Tesla with an unflattering review of its electric car's range in cold weather. The CEO, Elon Musk, accused the Times of falsifying its account. The public editor of the Times, Margaret Sullivan, spent days trying to sort through the dispute and her account suggests the review was of integrity and goodwill, even if the reviewer left himself open to valid criticism in his note-taking and in his judgment of when to recharge the car along the way. Her account of this saga is a strong example of the value of a public editor in sorting through public complaints.
Last week the Committee to Protect Journalists released its annual report on the risks to journalists worldwide. It found a significant rise in the number of journalists attacked, imprisoned and killed in the year. Some 70 were killed, a 43-per-cent increase over 2011, and more than 35 disappeared as repressive regimes exerted even more media influence on dissent. It was a sad year for press freedom, the committee concluded.