2015 Lightning Talks

ONA hosted another round of community-pitched lightning talks, wherein we ask speakers to present a big idea, but keep it short and sweet — five minutes, to be exact.

Arielle Cardona:  Business, meet Democracy: Tools and Practices for Engaging News Audiences while Meeting the Bottom Line – In today’s digital world, can news organizations “have it all?” Can they fulfill their audience’s desire for quality news while also meeting their business needs? We at the Engaging News Project believe they can. Although some organizations find that cat videos get more clicks, the Engaging News Project looks to identify strategies that allow journalists to create substantive news that not only better informs audiences, but also meets their business goals. Our lightning talk will share our research-based techniques on the best practices for comment sections, polls and quizzes, social media buttons and digital news presentation. This talk is aimed at digital news editors and journalists who want to think about how quality news and its place in a healthy democracy can co-exist with profit margins. If you’re interested in improving news, you won’t want to miss this.

Tom Cardoso – Why you should be making Slack bots – Slack is awesome. Most of us still haven’t taken advantage of its biggest, killer-est feature: bots and integrations. In this five minute talk, I’ll show you some examples of how organizations are using Slack, some of the bots we use at The Globe and Mail, and how to set up your own simple Slack bot.

Chris Blow – Designing the Perfect Debunk – When rumors goes viral on social media, how can a news organization debunk and retract information without making the situation worse? As Craig Silverman says, “Lies spread much farther than the truth, and news organizations play a powerful role in making this happen.” This talk shows screenshots of new fact-checking efforts on social media and discusses how newsrooms can accidentally amplify false news even when attempting to debunk it. Specific visual design treatments are recommended for handling false claims carefully.

Sarah Loyd – How Newsrooms Can Think Like An Agile Developer – Journalists are just like programmers, right? Ok, maybe not… but it’s amazing how similar a day in the newsroom can be to the way developers build software tools. After having transitioned from working in a TV newsroom to working at a software company, I have come to really appreciate how Agile Development Principles could be applied to a newsroom. From changing directions quickly, to empowering employees and cooperation among teams… there’s a lot newsrooms can do to shake things up and operate more efficiently day to day.

Matthew Mitchell – 4 Minute Journsec Workout!: Protect Your Sources, Scoops, & Yourselves In 240 Seconds – If the current administration is any measure of things to come, U.S based journalists will face a historic level of surveillance & scrutiny in the future. Reporters will have a hard time keeping scoops under wraps, info from leaking & sources anonymous. This lightning talk will cover you how to protect your online searches & research. encrypt your voice calls & text. protect your laptop & phone data. Keep your files encrypted, safe, & synced! Then go over how to remove your personal identifiable information from the internet. Come with zero knowledge and leave with a 6-pack! The six crucial tools you need to up your security. Without the use of tools & tactics like the ones discussed your technology & workflow will be compromised. It is not a matter of if, but when. Choose this idea to put some weight behind your assurances to your sources and editors that they can not only trust you, but also trust your tech.

Angilee Shah – The case for engagement – Ugh, trolls. That’s all comment threads and Facebook discussion is good for. Here’s why you need to start talking to people in social networks about your reporting. And why it’s imperative that journalists understand that their stories don’t end when you hit “publish.”