$1.8M NSF grant supports the study of technology’s impact on journalism

Keren Henderson, associate professor of broadcast and digital journalism at the Newhouse School, is part of a research team studying the impact of technology on journalism. The work is supported by a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Kevin Crowston, distinguished professor of information science and associate dean for research at the School of Information Studies, is principal investigator. He and Henderson are working with colleagues from Columbia University and the Stevens Institute of Technology to explore the technologies journalists use, innovations in computational journalism and how these technologies can support narrative discovery for news workers.

The grant is part of NSF’s Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program, which is focused on research exploring challenges and opportunities for the future of work.

Henderson’s interest in the project comes from her previous work in the journalism industry. “As a former local TV news producer, I am excited to help journalists find innovative ways to tell important stories,” she says.

Crowston and Henderson will perform fieldwork, visiting various newsrooms to understand how journalists utilize existing computational journalism tools. After gaining a better understanding of how these technologies aid current journalism work, they will explore how future tools can accommodate journalists’ needs by partnering with their Columbia and Stevens colleagues to develop new systems for these newsrooms to try.

(Updated July 2022)