The New Reality: Exploring the Intersection of New Documentary Forms and Digital Journalism

On October 10th, an international group composed of key players in the fields of interactive documentary and journalism including award-winning documentarians, journalists, scholars and technologists explored the potentials and drawbacks of integrating interactive and participatory documentary practices with serious journalism. Our goal was to assess the current state of thinking, chart the most pressing questions that will bring us into the future, and develop a research agenda at the intersection of new participatory documentary forms, interactive digital storytelling and innovative journalistic practices.

Conference Agenda

MacArthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is one of the nation's largest independent foundations. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.

MIT Open Documentary Lab

Drawing on MIT’s legacy of media innovation and its deep commitment to open and accessible information, the MIT Open Documentary Lab brings storytellers, technologists, and scholars together to explore new documentary forms with a particular focus on collaborative and interactive storytelling. The Lab understands documentary as a project rather than as a genre bound to a particular medium. In the spirit of MIT’s open courseware and open source software movements, the Open Documentary Lab is collaborative and committed to sharing knowledge, networks, and tools. The Lab is catalyst, partner and guide to the future of reality-based storytelling.