This morningGoogle announcedit ’s rolled out an full suite of tool design to make journalists ’ Job easier . Spotted byTechCrunch , Journalist Studiofeatures 13 unexampled creature that pore on things journalists of all different specialties do on a daily basis , like fact - checking , information - combing , and graph instauration . While the tools are part of the company’snews initiative , and aboveboard middling nifty , they absolutely do not make up for Google ’s apocalyptical ads concern that has beenscrewing over news media for a while . Something a$1 billion payoutto intelligence rooms over the next three geezerhood wo n’t really solve .
But countenance ’s talk about the dick first . Two of the new pecker , PinpointandThe Common Knowledge Project(Beta ) , seems to be the two that Google is pushing the hardest for journalists to check out first , even though some of the other tools seem to be more helpful . All this move without saying that , yes , you have to be a journalist to use these tools , and yes you have to submit your info to Google before it will grant you approach . And yes , you have to have a personal Gmail history in club to use these tools .
But Pinpoint , according tothis text file , can facilitate with fact-finding stories , fact - checking , archive search , audio transcription , and writing a bunch of other types of article that would commonly require manually slogging through 100 of page of text . substance abuser can upload files to the tool from their Google Drive or computer , organize them into collections , and portion out them with other people in the newsroom . It seems exactly like how sharing papers and folder work in Google Drive .
Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP (Getty Images)
Pinpoint can also aid users search for text from within images , turn images of handwritten documents into typed text , and automatically transliterate audio files . There ’s also an Explore feature with curated ingathering from different organizations that anyone with sanction access code can view . It ’s small at the moment , but some of the collections include the Mueller Report , FBI files on Ronald Regan , and findings on ICE / CPB kid mistreatment complaints . alas , this feature of speech is currently US - focused , and it ’s not clear-cut when these collections will expand to include external sources .
The Common Knowledge Project use data point fromData Commons , an “ open knowledge depositary that combines data point from public datasets ” like the U.S. Census and the CDC . Right now , the undertaking include only a small subset of information like US demographics , economy , housing , education , and crime , and naturallycome with caveatsthat Google steer out on the labor page . But it ’s a commencement .
you could consider interactive chart that others have made or make your own base on the data that the prick utilise . On my Sir Frederick Handley Page , I see various demographic breakdowns of Los Angeles by race , income , years , education , and other categories . Anyone can see these examples , but if you ’re a journalist who wants to make their own information jell , you will still involve to request access from Google .
An example of how users can search through multiple documents at a time with Pinpoint.Screenshot: Google
Once you have access , you’re able to produce chart as broad or as specific as you need . If I need to look up how many student were enrolled in high schoolhouse in Los Angeles , CA from 2012 - 2017 , I can do that with a few clicks . I can also transfer how I want that datum visually represent : demarcation graphical record , slope , bars , whatever may best visualise the data I want to show . If you need to look up something extremely specific you ’d still ask to do some traditional digging , but this tool is an okay starting full stop . Google ’s Public Data Explorerand theDataset Searchare much better tools for looking up more specific information because they use more datum Set from more post .
Thefull bent of tools include : the Advanced Protection Program ; Data Commons ; DataSet Search ; Fact Check Explorer ; Flourish , a putz for visualizing data point using customizable template ; Google Data GIF Maker ; Google Public Data Explorer ; Google Trends ; a DIY VPN call Outline ; Project Shield to defend against digital censorship ; and tile cartogram Divine Tilegrams .
If you require to see these prick in action before you dive in yourself , the Online News Association ( ONA ) isholding a conference tomorrow , October 15 , in which Google will provide a demonstration of all the tools in its Journalist Studio . But you will have to pay to advert the group discussion , and the session will not be file away afterward , unluckily . However , Google will be control a week - long , free training sessionstarting October 20th as part of itsnews initiativeon Journalist Studio and Pinpoint .
Common Knowledge Project data visualizationScreenshot: Google
These tools are provided to diary keeper for free , which , okay , is decent . But as I bring up earlier , Google ’s monopoly over digital advertizing has ensue in an huge identification number of newsroom layoffs over the last several years . Congressional investigators recently come to this close in their 450 - page story after they finished with a 16 - calendar month antimonopoly investigation of Google , Amazon , Facebook , and Apple . As theWashington Postrecently reported , “ Google improperly skin contender ’ websites and forced its technology on others to reach its pole position in hunting and advertising . ”
Tools are nice . Tools make journalists ’ caper easier , but these tools are n’t going to fix the systemic issues Google has create for diary keeper and newsroom around the world .
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