Sensor journalism at #djuk17

@Maid_Marianne @HeiDaHQ | #DJUK17 1
SENSOR JOURNALISM
AN INTRO GUIDE + CHAT
Marianne Bouchart,
Founder and Director of HEI-DA
DJUK Conference 2017

@Maid_Marianne @HeiDaHQ | #TechCamp 2
[ HI EVERYONE! ]

[ WHO AM I? ]

Why am I here?
WHY AM I HERE?

WAIT A SEC… THIS PROBLEM ISN’T SPECIFIC TO
AFRICA, LET’S GO GLOBAL!

IN THIS SESSION WE WILL:
➔ Learn what’s sensor journalism
➔ See examples from around the
world
➔ Answer some of the questions
you may have about sensor
journalism
➔ Contribute to the Sensor
Journalism Toolkit (group chat)

WHAT’S SENSOR
JOURNALISM?
“Sensor journalism can be defined as the use of
sensors to generate or collect data, then analyzing,
visualizing, or using the data to support journalistic
inquiry.”

QUESTION FOR YOU:
What sort of data can
you collect with
sensors?

Sensors can be used to
detect just about any
physical element.

AIR QUALITY WATER QUALITY TRANSPORTS
TEMPERATURES LANDSCAPE ACCESS TO
MEDECINES

THREE SENSORS YOU MAY
ALREADY KNOW ABOUT
AND OWN

An accelerometer detects changes in gravitational
acceleration in a device it's installed in, such as a
smartphone or a game controller, to determine
acceleration, tilt and vibration.

A photosensor detects the presence of visible
light, infrared transmission (IR) and/or
ultraviolet (UV) energy.

“GPS units inside phones gets a ping from a satellite up in
space to figure out which part of the planet you’re standing on
(or driving through). They don’t actually use any of your
phone’s data, which is why you can still see your location when
your phone has lost signal, even if the map tiles themselves
are a blurry, low-res mess.”
SOURCE: DAVID NIELD OF GIZMODO

NOW, LET’S LOOK AT EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE: #BREATHE
BY INDIASPEND
A REALTIME AQI (Air
Quality Index)
MONITORING
INITIATIVE

Source: presentation by
Govind Ethiraj at GIJN
2017 conference

2017 conference (found
here)

EXAMPLE: SAFECAST

EXAMPLE: LOSING
GROUND BY PROPUBLICA

EXAMPLE: SPEEDING
COPS BY SUN SENTINEL

EXAMPLE: CHRONICLE
CROSS-COUNTY STUDY REVEALS
RISKY LOAD OF 'AIR TOXICS'

EXAMPLE: CICADA
TRACKER BY RADIOLAB

EXAMPLE:
SHOTSPOTTER VIA THE
WASHINGTON POST

BONUS EXAMPLE:
XMINUTES USES
SENSORS TO PRESENT
NEWS ACCORDING TO
THE READERS
LOCATION, MOTION AND
INTEREST

WHERE DO YOU GET SENSOR DATA?

TO DO SENSOR JOURNALISM YOU CAN:
- USE EXISTING SENSOR DATA
- COLLECT DATA BY PUTTING SENSORS AROUND
- COLLECT DATA FROM SENSORS DEPLOYED BY
THE GENERAL PUBLIC

EXISTING DATA:
OPENAQ

EXISTING DATA: WORLD
RESOURCES INSTITUTE

EXISTING DATA:
NASA EARTH DATA

EXISTING DATA: AQICN

LIST OF SOURCES

COLLECT DATA

2017 conference
COLLECT DATA

WHAT DOES THE
TECH LOOK LIKE?

IT ALSO LOOKS
LIKE THIS

OR LIKE THIS

QUESTION:
WHAT KIND OF
SENSOR DATA
IS USEFUL FOR
WHAT KIND OF
STORIES?

Source: Taxonomy of
sensors by Punkish.org

WHAT TOOLS AND
RESOURCES ARE USED IN
SENSOR JOURNALISM?

OPENSTREETMAP
FOR (CROWDSOURCED)
MAPPING

EXAMPLE:
PHARMACARTE

CARTO
FOR MORE
MAPPING

PUBLIC LAB
FOR COMMUNITY
PROJECTS AND DIY
TECHNIQUES

MANYLABS
FOR PROJECTS
AROUND SCIENCE,
TECH AND CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT

OPENSENSORS
AS AN EXAMPLE
OF HOW SENSORS
ARE USED BY
BUSINESSES

WHAT DOES SENSOR DATA LOOK LIKE?

WHAT DOES SENSOR DATA LOOK LIKE?
MOST OF THE TIME, LIKE ANY OTHER
TYPE OF DATA

IT MAY REQUIRE EXTRA RESEARCH TO
UNDERSTAND THE FORMAT (BUT
NOTHING TOO DIFFICULT)

EXAMPLE: AQI for Lucknow, India
for the past year

WANT TO LEARN
MORE?

CHECK OUT
#SENSORJOURNALISM
ON TWITTER

REMEMBER I TOLD YOU ABOUT OUR
PROJECT TO BUILD A SENSOR
JOURNALISM TOOLKIT?

WHAT’S OUR PROJECT ABOUT?
An easy-to-use sensor journalism toolkit that empowers journalists by
helping them understand, find or gather datasets using sensor tech.

WHY ARE WE DOING IT?

FOR ALL JOURNALISTS, EVERYWHERE
IN THE WORLD. FIRST IN ENGLISH,
THEN IN OTHER LANGUAGES.

WHAT’S IN THE TOOLKIT?An online platform gathering:
- A Sensor Journalism Handbook in
English and French
- A Sensor Guide
- A template to visualise data from
sensors
- A ready-to-use SMS query system for
to help journalists push alerts to the
public
- A forum

+ A PILOT
PROJECT
At launch, the Sensor Journalism
Toolkit will also feature pilot projects
showcasing the usefulness of this
initiative and the possible outcome of
sensor-driven journalism.

WHERE/WHEN WILL IT START?
We are looking for partners around
the world for a launch in 2018.

WE NEED HELP

SKILLS WE’RE LOOKING FOR
- Developer/programmer
- Designer
- Sensor geek
- Project manager
- Data journalist

MEDIA PARTNERS

TECHNOLOGY
PARTNERS

FUNDING

NOW, LET’S CHAT

1.WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT COME TO YOUR MIND WHEN THINKING
ABOUT SENSOR JOURNALISM?
2.WHAT SCARES YOU ABOUT IT? WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT IT?
3.WHAT’S THE PRIORITY: FAST, ACCURACY, COST, VERIFICATION?
4.WHAT SHOULD THE TOOLKIT LOOK LIKE?
WHAT SHOULD IT FEATURE?
5.WHAT ISSUES DOES SENSOR JOURNALISM BRING? ETHICS, PRIVACY, ETC.

Email: mbouchart@hei-da.org
WANT TO GET
INVOLVED?

Contact:
Marianne Bouchart
Founder and director,
HEI-DA
mbouchart@hei-da.org
@Maid_Marianne

Sensor journalism at #djuk17

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