Number of GIJC panels are dedicated to CAR : Computer Assisted Reporting. You will learn how to digg in databases, analyse the information in homepages and servers, secure your own data etc.
Nils Mulvad was the executive director of the Danish International Center for Analytical Reporting until December 2006. He is the co-author of two Danish textbooks on Computer-Assisted Reporting.
GIJC: In some cases, CAR may seem like an illegal activity , what kind of reflexion should a journalist have before using those tools?
N.M: You’re not allowed to break the law as a journalist, to break in or use hackings methods. But you can find data from hidden sources inside an authority. You should use this material if you don’t break the law. Some things are already public on the web, and you just republish things that are already published.
GIJC: Do journalists receive sufficient education on new technologies?
N.M: You need to take the responsibility yourself to get enough training, there is a tendency to say, when you defined a need, « someone is going to solve it for me ». I wonder if those new methods will be delivered by journalists or IT experts. We need young journalists that are not afraid of going into these things. I would encourage the students to take the lead, they should not rely on anybody else.
GIJC: Why should journalists attend CAR sessions?
N.M: I guess ¾ of all information is stored in databases, and not in the papers and minds anymore. If you want to find information, you should be able to speak the language of where it’s stored.