Journalism In A Data Society

Over the past decade, data has had an immense impact on the world. It has overhauled the technology industry, made immense shifts in the business and medical sectors, and even altered the way government functions. The media industry is no exception. This paper hopes to explore how the immense growth of data has affected reporters’ legal risks and legal rights. More specifically, it will examine how data has changed the legal risks for reporters’ newsgathering. For example, in the past decade there has been an increased risk of prosecution of journalists under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The paper will also investigate how the data society has affected leaks and leak reporting. It will examine how the data boom has swelled the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process—and instigated the government to monetize its own data—and make journalists pay for information that should be free under the federal statute. Lastly, it will delve into the entangled relationship between robotics, AI, data, and the newsroom. In essence, this project hopes to understand how journalism responds to the growing changes in the information society.

Project lead: Victoria Baranetsky