Photo courtesy Calvert Mary Calvert is showcasing the true power of photojournalism, documenting injustices ranging from uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation to obstetric fistula — a debilitating medical condition which happens when women are injured during childbirth without timely access to medical care — in sub-Saharan Africa. For the past decade, Calvert has focused her attention on documenting the pervasive and underreported sexual abuse of men and women in the United States military. Calvert has won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award twice and is a three-time Pulitzer Prize f ..read more

With almost 12 million subscribers on YouTube, Vox has established itself as one of the most prominent video media outlets. Explainer videos such as “Why we all need subtitles now” and “Teaching in the US vs. the rest of the world” have garnered millions of views with thousands of comments.  It is no surprise that there is something Vox has mastered that other media outlets have yet to hone: strategic use of animation for audience engagement. Storybench spoke with Joey Sendaydiego, an art director for the video team at Vox, to get a better understanding of how he uses animation to digital ..read more

The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, or NICAR, conference — an annual event run by Investigative Reporters & Editors —  is famous for its useful, helpful and diverse workshops to help journalists learn hands-on data journalism tools. At this year’s conference in Baltimore last month, The Washington Post shared over 35 tools they have been using for building data visualizations. These resources span the entire spectrum of the visualization process, from initial data collection through to the meticulous design of visual representations. These tools also reflect t ..read more

Meet Benjamin Myers, a 22-year-old Psychology student at Boston University with a compelling mission: to amplify the often-overlooked voices of individuals experiencing homelessness. Ben isn’t just any student; he’s the visionary founder and skilled videographer behind Food for Thought, a viral social media sensation that shines a spotlight on the raw realities of homelessness, right in the heart of Boston. In a remarkably short time, Food for Thought has captivated not only Bostonians but audiences far beyond, with over 10 million views across various social platforms. Boston’s homelessness ..read more

When asked about the inspiration behind “My Unsung Hero” –– a two- to five-minute podcast detailing stories of everyday heroes  –– Tara Boyle, executive producer and head of content, was quick to call it “delightful serendipity.” What began in 2016 as a way to show gratitude to colleagues who supported the Hidden Brain podcast turned into a weekly independent podcast and segment on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” From a kind gesture, like receiving a hug in a checkout line, to a teacher that forever changed a students’ life, “My Unsung Hero” encapsulates stories of empathy and humility. Th ..read more

I Used ChatGPT as a Reporting Assistant. It Didn’t Go Well The AI tool ignored basic instructions about sourcing and citations. But it’s a pretty good newsroom coding partner. By: Jon Keegan Hello, readers! When it comes to developments in artificial intelligence, things are moving fast. It’s been less than two years since the public release of AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Meta’s LLaMA. Regulators, lawmakers, and businesses are all beginning to wrap their heads around the implications of the use of generative AI tools.  This includes news organizations and jour ..read more

Performing the national anthem at any large-scale event is a high honor. However, upon accepting this assignment, singers often feel compelled to infuse the standard rendition with their artistic flair. Demi Lovato ranged far and wide to give “proof through the night” while Taylor Swift kept it simple. How many famous artists actually prioritize their voice shining through while performing the national anthem? In a recent interactive story by The Pudding, “Quantifying the Diva-ness of 138 National Anthem Performances,” Jan Diehm and Michelle McGhee explored this question by analyzing 138 perfo ..read more

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of child sexual abuse. More than half of Gen Z in the United States say they would like to be an influencer if given the chance. And many don’t wait until adulthood to pursue these aspirations.  Brand deals on social media have created a lucrative market, where young children’s lives are documented for profit. These influencers range from girls whose hobbies include dancing, modeling and competing in pageants, to girls as young as infants and toddlers chronicling their everyday lives. Instagram also doesn’t allow children under the age of ..read more

To understand politics, economics, events and health communication in the news, researchers study large sets of articles from online news sources. Media Cloud, a project that I co-lead, holds a historical archive of over 1.5 billion stories from over 100,000 sources and has been used to study police violence, influence of pre-print academic papers, political propaganda and numerous other topics.  A challenging part of these kinds of projects is selecting the right set of news stories about the topic being studied and finding the signal in the noise of billions of articles. Recent developm ..read more

Every year in the United States, there are more than 20,000 stillbirths, when expected children die at 20 weeks of pregnancy or more. For many parents, their losses can feel invisible, as they worry that their children and their names will be forgotten. In an ongoing series called “Stillbirths,” ProPublica examines the institutional failures that led to this stillbirth crisis. The most recent story in the series, “Still Born,” highlights the lived experiences of parents whose pregnancies ended with stillbirth. Through interactive scrollytelling, “Still Born” memorializes 60 children by sharing ..read more