How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Whitney Richardson, an events manager for The Times in London, discussed the tech she’s using.
Q. What tech do you use to put together events?
A. Over the past year, I have really expanded my use of the entire Google suite — and I use its tools for basically everything, especially the Google Drive app on my phone.
From my phone, I can share files with multiple clients with Google folders and I can manage my budget in Google sheets. I’ve used Google forms to quickly collect feedback from attendees of events I produced. For presentations, I use Google slides (and begin brainstorming while on the commute to work). I can video chat with a group of people in different countries using Google video chat and sync all appointments and meetings to my calendar.
For me, it’s a one-stop shop.
What do you like about the tools, and what could be better?
I appreciate being able to store all of my documents in one place and being able to walk into meetings with just my phone and still have my files at my fingertips without logging in to multiple accounts. I’ve gone to high-level meetings with just my phone, and people seem genuinely surprised that I am able to quickly refer to key data points or notes without having a laptop or a notebook in front of me.
I look forward to the day when we have an American version of the popular Chinese app WeChat, where I can really sync all of my day-to-day apps in one place. With all of the recent data security breaches we have had in the past few years (Equifax, Facebook), I also want the assurance of having online services that are impenetrable to hackers.
You were previously a photo editor at The Times. Plenty of photographers are experimenting with new ways to take pictures using drones and virtual reality. What do you think will stick around?
We are in a renaissance period of photography, when technology is ultimately changing the way humans relate to imagery. Photos are no longer used just as a way to capture a moment. They are an actual form of communication.
A while ago, I read an interview with Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, who said he realized early on that people were willing to forgo quality in an image for the ability to quickly share it with their networks. In my opinion, the tools that will stick around are the ones that make capturing and sharing visual information as seamless as possible.
I’ve also been able to find new photographers to hire around the world on Instagram, and love following emerging photographers of color who are using the platform to define and promote their visual aesthetic. I’m currently obsessed with work coming from Nadine Ijewere (@nadineijewere), Yagazie Emezi (@yagazieemezi), Tyler Mitchell (@tylersphotos) and Renell Medrano (@renellaice).
I absolutely love what our photojournalists have been doing with drone video and photography. A few months ago, I worked with my colleague Josh Haner on a story about plans to make the Hoover Dam into a giant battery. Josh was able to capture stunning drone footage over the Hoover Dam, which really allowed viewers to see the massive scale of the structure in a way that made the story come to life.
I am also excited to see where augmented reality and holographic video is headed in the news business. Our recent story on Ashley Graham, which we published during Fashion Week, took my breath away, but it took 100 cameras to record her runway walk in 3-D. This then goes back to the issue of scalability and making these tools readily available for journalists to use for alternative story forms. How can we create tools that make stories like this not a one-off, that more journalists can access to really lift The Times’s report over all?
What do you wish would go away?
I want portable 360-degree video cameras to take a break until we can figure out how to scale them without completely compromising image resolution. I don’t think they have found that sweet spot just yet.
Outside of work, what tech product are you currently obsessed with?
In my daily life, I cannot live without my Bose wireless noise-canceling headphones. I hesitated getting them for a while, but my husband got them for me as a gift and I will never go back to normal earphones. (No more cords!)
I also have several portable mirror sets with LED bulbs, which I pack when I am traveling to help with makeup application and general skin care.
And when my husband and I travel, we love using Airbnb. We have actually gone on a vacation planned around an Airbnb location because we were interested in the living space and wanted to experience it. Like most new businesses in the gig economy, it is shaking up the hotel industry in a good way, I think, and allowing people alternative ways to experience new cities in unexpected ways.
You’re new to London. How do the British use tech differently from Americans (or not)?
The one striking difference I have noticed between living in London and New York is not exactly tech — it’s the efficiency of the bus and train system in London. The Times has done a ton of coverage of New York’s crumbling trains, and there are no clear signs of improvement. The subway and bus system in London runs on time, and there are all sorts of updated indicators on platforms and by certain bus stops for when your transport will arrive (and they are accurate). It has made commuting on public transportation much more enjoyable.
