#source:niemanlab.org

Important quotes from Nieman Journalism Lab’s interview with Tracie Powell

Well, I think that’s part of the problem. These editors keep hiring people who quote-unquote 'fit.' We need to start hiring some misfits so that they can bring a fresh perspective to our coverage. That editor probably meant he wanted to hire people who got along with everybody else. We don’t have to like each other. We can value a difference of opinion; we can value differences and still enjoy working with each other, be respectful and professional in the workplace.

Encuentros Mortales, a Spanish-language open-source reporting project, is collecting public records and media reports of undocumented immigrants killed during interactions with law enforcement, starting from the year 2000, with a focus on the southern border of the U.S. It will also rely on crowdsourced submissions to fill in the gaps, mining Spanish-language news outlets along the border and promoting itself widely within Spanish-speaking communities.

The site examines four decades of data to explain how drug trafficking reached its current size and influence in the country. The idea for the project came about last year, when Animal Politico obtained, via the Mexican transparency act, a government chart outlining all of the criminal cells operating in the country. Instead of immediately publishing an article with the data, Animal Politico delved further to fill in the information that the document was missing.

Getting reporting students thinking about who’s reading what, why something resonated with and was shared by readers, and what readers are saying to us has helped begin to close the disconnect. Building a relationship to our audience and what the audience needs and wants is the bridge that is helping our students understand the value of what we do. That’s motivating inventiveness.