Ben Welsh Conference, data editor of Los Angeles Times

Welsh has had years of experience in data journalism. He has worked on several research projects at The Center for Public Integrity, helped produce feature-length documentaries for cable channels like CNN and started out in the world of data journalism working at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR).

These days it is not news to say that data journalism aims to improve the telling of old stories and discover new formats, based on new tools for visualization and statistics. For many media outlets in the United States, Britain and Latin America, data journalism has occupied an important place in the newsroom for years.

This was good opportunity to discuss the path of data journalism forged by the Los Angeles Times: how they’ve built their team, how they structure their stories, with emphasis on particular features especially within the city of Los Angeles, focusing on how they’ve worked on different cases (electoral ballots, crime alerts for Los Angeles neighborhoods, etc.), which have earned them international recognition.

This event was organized by the Media Innovation Lab (Milab) and Degree in Journalism of the School.