Vision 2020 — stories of the new year
The year ahead
Welcome to 2020! Exhausted yet? Well drink a smoothie and put on your motivational tunes because this journey around the Sun isn't slowing down!
What are the big events that will shape this year, and what are the methods and technologies we'll use to tell those stories? We've put together an ace panel to discuss this and answer your questions.
Peter Marsh is a digital journalist with the ABC in Brisbane. He has a passion for everything US politics - so this year is a big one for him.
Dubbed Nostradamus of 21st century, Professor Bela Stantic is founder and director of Big Data and Smart Analytics lab at Griffith Uni.
Susan Hetherington is a journalism lecturer at QUT who continues to have strong industry links with regular spots on ABC Radio in Brisbane.
6pm: Arrive, grab a drink, socialise
6.30pm: Panel discussion
7pm: Food, another drink (but no pressure), more chats
8pm: Close
Help us make Hacks/Hackers Brisbane better! If you've got 15 mins, we'd love for you to complete this survey - it's about the meet-up topics, a bit about you, this newsletter, and other stuff
ICYMI
📈 The winners of the inaugural Sigma Awards have been revealed. No Aussie outfits among the winners, but entries from the ABC and Fairfax/Nine were shortlisted (More about the Sigma Awards)
⚙️Telling stories with data increasingly requires at least a passing familiarity with the concepts behind machine learning. If you've got 6 minutes, here's an overview of the most popular ones
🛰️ This Twitter thread by ABC web developer Colin Gourlay (who spoke at Hacks/Hackers last year) digs into how he put together this very impressive feature showing the extent of bushfire damage this season
📝 Got an idea that you need funding for? The International Centre for Journalists is seeking project proposals from news innovators for a one- to two-year working, paid fellowship. Be quick - it closes on Feb 29
🚨 JOB ALERT: Do you know your way around Python and web scraping? UQ is looking for tutors. Contact Dr Cédric Courtois for more information
About last ̶m̶o̶n̶t̶h̶ year...
Huge thank you to everyone who came along to our meet-ups in 2019. We hope 2020 brings loads more discussions and interesting technologies.
Our last gathering (way back in November!) posed the question: how do you get a job as a digital journalist?
To answer, we had Stuart Layt, the Brisbane Times' health, science and technology reporter, and Felicity Sheppard, day editor at ABC News Digital.
Felicity came to journalism after a career in health information management. She did a masters, and got her foot in the door through a cadetship at the Courier Mail
Stuart is now at the Brisbane Times after cutting his teeth at 4BC and then a stint doing breaking news at AAP
Our discussion moderator, Sarah Motherwell, who also worked at AAP, remembers being told to write 3 pars in 3 minutes; 150 words in 15 minutes: "It prepares you well for digital platforms"
Stuart talked about his transition from being a broadcast journalist to a digital and cross-platform one. BT staff, he says, are different from their formerly-known-as-Fairfax counterparts in the southern states; without a newspaper to print, they’re "more nimble" to the changing media ecosystem, because it's a small team who identify as online journalists
Felicity talked about the changes within the ABC as broadcast journalists have upskilled and learned to file across all platforms. She recalled hearing that it was a red flag for the Courier-Mail recruiters if a potential hire was too focused on writing for newspapers
Felicity said aspiring journalists should have a sense of urgency, some technical proficiency, and an open mind to new technology
She also suggested reaching out for a mentor, and grab every opportunity; "doors will open"
Once they're in a newsroom, Stuart's advice was: "do more than you're asked to do". He thought being curious was the most important thing. Both said there was value in having life experience outside journalism — and consuming lots of news
- Many thanks to Rosie Ryan for these excellent November 2019 notes