Public Lab Research note


Reflection on Sensor Journalism

by brendanscully | October 08, 2014 16:32 08 Oct 16:32 | #11250 | #11250

After spending a few weeks reading about, analyzing, and experimenting with many different outlets of sensor journalism, I've become enthralled with the concept and how it can impact a variety of aspects in the world of journalism. To me, the possibilities of what can happen and the subject itself is really quite fascinating. So as I reflect what I've learned in this brief introduction to sensor journalism, I recognize the immense opportunities it brings, as well as the challenges of the practice that need to be addressed. 
The opportunities sensor journalism gives to the industry are plentiful. To start off, the introduction of sensor journalism gives media outlets so many more ways to get access to information and share it to their respective audiences. From the readings, I learned about how many different news organizations can use this to their company's benefit. With media companies such as the Chicago Times, for example, being able to put on a team purely focused on data and sensors and then having that progress into having all of the journalists in this company learning about this specific field can immensely heighten the quality of work and different types of news able to be produced. However, there are downsides to this possibility. The opportunity to have access to this sort of resource doesn't come cheap. The question that comes next is: “how can we afford this resource?” A lot of the times that answer is - “We don't know.” Since it's such in the beginning stages, I'm sure some solution will present itself to this question in the coming years, but it is a setback to all outlets getting on board with sensor journalism. Another potential setback is that with accessibility and so many outlets, there is the possibility that many “atypical” journalists – bloggers, freelancers, etc, will gain access to conducting methods of senor journalism on their own. And although a lot of this will certainly benefit the industry and the world, there is the question that arises of whether or not we can trust data from these sources, if their claims are legitimate, etc. Trusting data collected by these journalists could be a hard thing to get behind. 
Another opportunity that comes with senor journalism is the audience it can attract. The upside of many people having access to these resources means that people can use sensors to report on things in their own community that may not be able to or don't hold the interest of these bigger media outlets. As sensors break news or bring communities together, the knowledge of what's actually going on spreads to a lot more people, and that's good. Sensor journalism allows people to be hands on, gives them access to new data and new mediums, and as a result builds a larger audience. 
Lily Bui's presentation of the street/pothole map is a good example. This was actually done, using data sources we already have and a little bit of journalistic effort. The potential is there. However, lack of participation from people/response from the government hinders the furthering of the efforts. That's another thing. A good amount of these sensor journalism projects are asking for change. Although the stories may put that need for change out there, those in charge of the problem (government, etc) may not enact it. That's why audience for these types of matters is extremely important.
Lastly, an upside to the concept of sensor journalism is that a lot of these resources will be hopefully in the near future become accessible and cheap for all journalists and community members to use. This accessibility is crucial is letting stories be told that need to be shared. Because not all of it is. A challenge with that is again, making sure that all of this equipment produces valid and sound results. An example of this was the water conductivity tests we did in class. Taking water samples and testing the conductivity on our own was outstanding, it had a very DIY and social justice like feel to it. However, there were discrepancies and questioning in sensors that didn't work as well as others, and that's the problem. All in all, sensor journalism I hope is here to stay and progress – because although there are setbacks, the possibilities of the good it can do is really inspiring. 

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