Hacks/Hackers Online #54 – COVID-19 and Us

Hacks/Hackers is a space to talk about the intersection between technology and journalism.

We hope you have been holding up ok during these extraordinary times.

It’s been quiet around the Hacks/Hackers Berlin chapter but we want to change that! There have been plenty of events and online conferences about COVID-19 and even though we would like to avoid the topic, it is unavoidable, given that the pandemic continues to have a firm grip on our lives.

On 10 March we will look at the changes COVID-19 caused us. We will have three short talks of around 10 minutes, a fourth participatory session where we will try our best to check in with you all, with the vibes of the Ankerklause or Prater, BYOB style (bring your own beverage).

Please RSVP with Yes to get the Zoom link for the meetup.

SPEAKERS:
Luise Strothmann (@lus_berlin): How the taz is managing one of the biggest transformations of its history - in COVID times

Luise Strothmann works in editorial development for the taz editors in chief. She joined taz in 2009 as a trainee, then became editor of the weekend edition, where she was in charge of the cover stories and was deputy head of taz am wochenende. From 2017 to 2018 she worked on the taz innovation report, and since spring 2019 she has been responsible for the further development of taz online in the team of product developers. From spring 2021 on she works in editorial development with a focus on strengthening investigative coverage and storytelling online.

Christian Endt (@c_endt): Live-Charting a Pandemic

The challenge for data journalists is not only to keep COVID numbers up to date, but also to respond to ever-changing news situations and debates. New metrics, rules and issues are constantly coming to the fore.
In his journalistic work, Christian Endt analyses data and statistics and writes about them. Mostly it's about political or scientific topics, ideally the intersection of both. He currently heads the data team at the Süddeutsche Zeitung. From April 2021, he will move to Berlin and work as a senior data journalist for ZEIT ONLINE. Let us welcome him warmly to Berlin!

Mia Bennet (@mialomo): Coronavirus Tech Handbook the emergent platform brought about by need

Mia Bennett will talk about the platform created by thousands of volunteers (including journalists, medical personnel, manufacturing staff, and teachers) that helped thousands more understand the critical early stages of the pandemic, what to do and how to stay safe - across multiple countries. She will talk about the successes and failures of using old tech / creating new tech, sustaining volunteers, the issues around emergency resources like CTH.

As always, if you can help us find speakers, hosts or have a burning desire for a specific topic to be covered please contact us.

Kind regards,
Hacks/Hackers Berlin organising team

[image by Nenad Stojkovic]