Shazna Nessa, director of interactive at the Associated Press, lectured on how to be a successful newsroom change agent for the #MozNewsLab.

1. CHANGE AGENTS
AP INTERACTIVE
SHAZNA NESSA

2. Short bio
• London
• Sylhet
• Paris
• New York
Interactive

3. AP facts and figures
• Founded in 1846, AP is one of the largest and most
trusted sources of news in the world
• More than half the world’s population sees news
from AP every day
• Staff in 300 locations worldwide
Interactive

4. Unique structure
• Neither privately owned nor government-funded, the
AP is a not-for-profit news cooperative, owned by its
American newspaper and broadcast members. They
elect a board of directors that directs the cooperative.
Interactive

5. The interactive department
• Interactive graphics and data visualization
• News apps
• Rich multimedia
• Video graphics & animation
• Platforms: All
Interactive

6. Interactive

7. Interactive

8. Interactive

9. Interactive

10. • KNC
• Data
journalism
• Data
visualization
• Hiring!
Interactive

11. Changes needed
• Break down silos
• Formalize technology in the newsroom
• Develop specialized skills – programming, UI, data viz, 3D
• Develop hybrid skills
• Formalize social media and mobile as news experiences
Interactive

12. Challenges
• Do more with less
Interactive

13. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
Interactive

14. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
• Curb frustration, make it part of the challenge
Interactive

15. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
• Curb frustration, make it part of the challenge
• Deal with resistance, lack of understanding
Interactive

16. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
• Curb frustration, make it part of the challenge
• Deal with resistance, lack of understanding
• Talk tech to non-tech people
Interactive

17. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
• Curb frustration, make it part of the challenge
• Deal with resistance, lack of understanding
• Talk tech to non-tech people
• Other priorities, budgets, timelines
Interactive

18. Challenges
• Do more with less
• Understand culture, communication
• Curb frustration, make it part of the challenge
• Deal with resistance, lack of understanding
• Talk tech to non-tech people
• Other priorities, budgets, timelines
• Disruption of breaking news, all hands on deck
Interactive

19. How?
“Hardest part of software is neither design nor
software, it's culture. Our job is to change the way
people think.” Aza Raskin
• Communication
• Connecting the dots
• Social maps
• Take the best of the past, bring it into the future
• Listen! Ask questions.
Interactive

20. Thank you!
@shazna
snessa@ap.org
Interactive