Category: Interviews
How the ‘Visual Communication Guy’ made impeachment easier to understand
“Impeachment” was the ultimate buzzword in politics for several months before the U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump earlier this month. The United States population hears this word […]
How the Wall Street Journal developed its make-your-own hedcut feature
As of December 2019, the Wall Street Journal has been offering all members the opportunity to create their own portrait “hedcut,” a drawing made of dots and hatched lines. At […]
The challenging — and delicious — adventures of producing the first America’s Test Kitchen podcast
Kaitlin Keleher, America’s Test Kitchen TV & podcast producer, believes the most powerful stories are the background tales about food: the discoveries, mysteries, history and everything that happened before any […]
How Northeastern’s Samuel Scarpino built a live map tracking the coronavirus outbreak
Samuel Scarpino, an assistant professor in Northeastern’s Network Science Institute, built a map that monitors the outbreak of the coronavirus. He has collaborated with many other scientists to track the […]
How The New York Times is visualizing the smartphone tracking industry
A phone application company you have never heard of before likely knows where you are right now. That information is being bought and sold right now. Those apps and their […]
Boston Globe consumer advocacy reporter stands up for the “regular Joe”
A news story must have a “Hey Mah-tha” factor in order to generate a strong reaction, said Sean P. Murphy, a 32-year Boston Globe veteran, who is now a consumer […]
“The alternative media, the independent media is very important around here.”
Despite the challenges facing journalism, the free weekly alternative newspaper DigBoston and its editors remain devoted to providing local coverage and perspectives that are not often heard – even if […]
Behind the scenes of the alt-right with The New Yorker’s Andrew Marantz
Originally published at the Northeastern University Political Review. Thinkpieces on Donald Trump’s election and its underlying forces are like hard liquor. On November 8, 2016, as Trump’s victory shifted from […]
“I love writing profiles of people.”
Glenn Rifkin has an unusual job. He writes “advance” obituaries for the New York Times. That means he writes obits on people before they have died. Sometimes he even interviews […]
How The New York Times broke down the history of the NYC subway map
For the 40th anniversary of the New York City subway map, The New York Times created an interactive story that all but places you directly inside the map. Using a […]
How The Boston Globe is using a suite of niche products to cover the booming business of marijuana
Last December, The Boston Globe launched a marijuana section – three months before the first recreational dispensary opened in Massachusetts. The section wasn’t the Globe’s first foray into the world […]
“Always be willing to learn new topics and skills.”
Gal Tziperman Lotan, a reporter for the Boston Globe, recently visited Northeastern University to discuss the intricacies of covering metro Boston, which can range from covering meetings to murders. Lotan, […]
How PopSci’s “The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week” podcast is making science accessible
Death By Rainbow, Face Blindness, Watermelon Snow. These are just three of the many weird things recently addressed in a podcast titled The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. Currently […]
How Vox visualized segregation in the United States
Vox data journalist Alvin Chang, an alum of the Boston Globe and ESPN, has been writing stories about segregation for most of his career. Earlier this year, Chang looked at […]
How The Pudding visualized the prevalence of hyphenated names in sports
At first glance, a hyphenated name is bound to catch your attention — take NFL player Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s name, for instance. For Clinton-Dix, who plays for the Chicago Bears, his […]
How the New York Times visualized auto carbon emissions in the U.S. and your city
When data visualization guru Alberto Cairo visited Northeastern University in October, he said data visualization is not so much about simplifying a complex issue or set of information. Rather, it’s […]
How designer Nadieh Bremer teaches herself new skills to continue visualizing data in new ways
If you are passionate about telling data-driven stories more engagingly, you should not miss out on Nadieh Bremer, a freelance data visualization designer and artist with a background in astronomy […]
How The Washington Post built a game to demonstrate how autonomous cars work
If your autonomous car is headed into oncoming traffic, what should it be programmed to do? Swerve or hit the vehicle? Chris Alcantara, Youjin Shin and Aaron Steckelburg, members of […]
“A key reason people do freelancing is for the freedom and flexibility, and to pursue a passion”
Freelance reporting might sound like the ideal job, with flexible hours and the option to work from home, in pajamas no less. But freelancer Kelly Field presented a more nuanced […]
Jaime Settle on how social media polarizes America
How did we end up being so angry with those who have opposing political views? Back in the 1960s, the split was tiny. The number of Republicans or Democrats who […]
How The New York Times transformed its “Diary of a Song” series with FaceTime and social media
Think of your favorite song and imagine calling the artist on FaceTime to ask them how they made it. The New York Times series “Diary of a Song” puts viewers […]
How Nicky Case designed the game “Adventures with Anxiety”
Mental disorders are often considered “invisible illnesses,” as the symptoms aren’t always visible. Illustrator and game developer Nicky Case wanted to shed more light on one of the most common […]
How Adrian Zaw produced “A Journey Back to Myanmar” to lift up stories of his country of birth
Imagine taking a 20-hour flight from California to Myanmar every single month. For Adrian Zaw, that was a reality during the production of his film “A Journey Back to Myanmar.” […]
How the Boston Globe reported on hip hop’s fascination with quarterback Tom Brady
Everyone had questions for Tom Brady at Super Bowl LIII media day, as the then-41-year-old NFL quarterback closed in on his sixth Super Bowl ring. How would the New England […]
“It’s always good to record as much as you can”
Interested in making a podcast? But have no idea where to get the right equipment or where to find a quiet room? Jon Reed, the digital media and audio production […]
How Mother Jones reported “The Nightmare of Getting an Abortion in the South”
It’s no secret that abortion laws have been a point of contention in the United States over the past few years, with several states recently introducing new laws that make […]
“Journalism is really a trade you learn on the job”
Rowan Walrath, a staff writer for BostInno, which covers the entrepreneurial business scene in Greater Boston, came back to her alma mater to share tips with students about fact checking […]
Emily Atkin is pissed off about climate change. Her new newsletter Heated says we all should be
Fed up, pissed off and ready to act on climate injustice. That’s the direction Emily Atkin is taking her new climate change newsletter, Heated. After two and a half years […]
How The New York Times predicted your politics using a quiz
Can your race, religion and education predict your political party affiliation? Last month, Sahil Chinoy, a former graphics editor for the opinion section of The New York Times, published an […]
“Don’t assume that anything’s irrelevant. Trust yourself.”
Stephanie Murray says she’s been hooked on politics since she was young kid watching PBS News Hour, which aired after Sesame Street. She produced a homemade magazine on her family’s […]