Communication professor Nick Diakopoulos grew up in a family of journalists. His father worked for years at the Providence Journal in Rhode Island, and his older brother also shared his experience in the industry. Following in their footsteps seemed natural to him, he said.
“I was ready to get interested in journalism,” Diakopoulos said.
Instead of creating leads and graphs, he pored over lines of code at the age of six. He was fascinated by how technology was perceived through the lens of the media, as evidence of its enduring connection to journalism.
While studying computer engineering at Brown University, Diakopoulos began researching how computers manipulate images, video, and media. In 2017, after arriving at Northwestern University, Diakopoulos' two worlds merged to create the Computational Journalism Lab.
The Computational Journalism Lab, part of the School of Communication, is an interdisciplinary research group that investigates how advances in algorithms, automation, and AI are impacting the delivery and consumption of news. Diakopoulos — Undergraduate students from a variety of research areas, along with approximately 12 other PhD students, design and collaborate on a variety of self-curated research projects.
“My goal for this lab was to bring together students from different disciplines to work on computational journalism,” Diakopoulos said. “This is kind of my research program on how these computational powers are changing the media ecosystem.”
Sachita Nischal (4th year) computer science and communication The PhD candidate joined a computational lab to investigate how news distribution leads to the spread of misinformation. She has focused her research on building tools for reporters to increase interest in news online.
Nischal said he designed a digital helper that ranks scientific articles by newsworthiness categories to help reporters discover new story ideas. Nischal is currently working on a tool that breaks down complex terminology in scientific articles in a way that makes it easier for readers to understand.
“It's helping science communicators communicate with the public,” Nischal said. “What we're trying to do is ground the language model's responses more precisely.
Members of the computational lab meet several times a quarter to present their ongoing research, receive feedback from Diakopoulos, and host social gatherings. This is more than just an “education forum,” he says.
Members of the lab recently produced a study on the use of generative AI in news production and published a paper report in the Associated Press. Approximately 300 journalists and newsroom members responded to the survey, citing the increased use of generative AI.
Another member, Julia Barnett, a third-year doctoral student.candidate for A computer science and communications expert, he previously worked as a senior data analyst at The Washington Post. Barnett said her research focuses on social data and artificial ethics.
Barnett said the lab provides her with not only a classroom but also a social home.
“Ph.D.'' “Research is a fairly solitary job that anyone can do, and at least at Northwestern, the lab is a really social element,'' Barnett said. “We work in the same space. And we share the same methods and the same kinds of interactions.”
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