Document of the Day

Document of the Day: In Defense of Data Scraping

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In a filing to the Supreme Court in the United States, a raft of media organizations including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Associated Press, The Boston Globe, BuzzFeed, The Center for Investigative Reporting, The Daily Beast, Dow Jones, VICE ,and The Washington Post, have argued that the interpretation of the country’s Computer Fraud and Abuse Act needs to be narrowed to avoid “serious constitutional concerns.” In the document, which can be read in full here, the organizations argue that an interpretation of the law by the court of appeals “chills ordinary journalistic activity protected by the First Amendment.”

Transparency

Document of the Day: UK Cities Refuse Public Scrutiny of Accounts

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When the Bureau of Investigative Journalism asked to see a contract between property developers and the North London borough of Haringey, its reporters were disappointed to receive a heavily-redacted document. This was part of a drive by the UK nonprofit to test the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, which gives citizens and journalists the right to access the accounts and related documents of city councils and other local authorities.

Press Freedom

Document of the Day: The World’s 10 Most Censored Countries

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The Committee to Protect Journalists has released its latest ranking of the world’s most censored countries, with Eritrea at number one. This Top 10 list is based on CPJ’s research into tactics to muzzle independent reporting, which range from imprisonment to surveillance and restrictions on internet access.

digital journalism

Document of the Day: Resilience in Difficult News Environments

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Thriving as a digital publisher is a challenge anywhere, but those in lower-income countries and in repressive media environments face additional hurdles. A new report looks at the experiences of 54 digital publishers around the world and identifies factors that contribute to resilience in these markets.

Tools & Techniques

Document of the Day: Annotating “The Case of Jane Doe Ponytail”

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If you read “The Case of Jane Ponytail,” published in The New York Times in 2018, you’re likely to remember it. The award-winning story recounted the life and death of Song Yang, a Chinese woman who came to the United States with dreams of becoming an American citizen, but who ended up dying after falling from a building during a raid on the illicit massage parlor where she was employed as a sex worker. Now you can read the story with annotations by Dan Barry, explaining how he crafted the heart-rending narrative.