Columbia Journalism School Innovation Showcase
On Saturday, April 27th, Columbia Journalism School will be hosting its First Annual Innovation Showcase. The New York World, a project of the J-School, will be featuring a sample of our digital projects that you can find linked below.
The event takes place from 12 to 5 at Columbia Journalism School, 2950 Broadway, at 115th Street.
Hope to see you there. For those keeping score, #cujshowcase is the hashtag.
Dividing Lines
Our series on New York State’s redistricting process combined sophisticated maps with old-fashioned political reporting to expose gerrymandering in our new election districts. In New York, state legislators get to draw their own maps for the state Senate and Assembly — a fundamental conflict of interest. In partnership with CUNY Mapping Service, we illustrated how the legislature’s plans shortchanged New York City voters, created additional seats for majority parties, and divided racial and ethnic communities.
Under Suspicion
The number of stops the NYPD has made as a part of its controversial Stop, Question and Frisk program has risen every year, topping out at over 680,000 stops in 2011. Our most recent piece on the controversy involved a written story, video interviews and an interactive showing that Commissioner Kelly’s memo to stop making marijuana arrests last September did not result in a decrease in such arrests.
Explaining 2012 City Budget Process
We kicked off our coverage on the city’s annual budget dance with an animated video, a first for the New York World. The budget process can be opaque and (let’s face it) boring for those unfamiliar with the subject. To spice it up we analogized the process to a trip to IKEA. Our own Michael Keller and Alex Hotz created the storyboard and concept, and Wonderbot Studios generously donated their animation skills.
The Lobbies at the top
The New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics documents spending on lobbying statewide, as reported by the entities seeking influence and the lobbyists they hire. The data is very difficult to analyze, however.
We created a newsapp that allowed the reader to explore the data easily and in more detail.
We hope to broaden the tool in the near future, combining campaign finance and lobbying data to draw a more complete picture of who influences decisions in Albany.
Privately Owned Public Spaces
Dotted throughout the city are million dollar gems of property known as privately owned public spaces (POPS) — the most famous one being Zuccotti Park, home to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Trouble is, these spaces are sometimes only gems for the developers who were able to build millions of dollars worth of extra building space but have failed to live up to promises to provide public access to open spaces.
We partnered with WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer show to launch a crowdsourced rating project of New York’s POPS and followed up with stories of building owners who were providing sub-optimal amenities.
