Quartz to open source two mapping tools by Caroline Scott.
From the post:
News outlet Quartz is developing a searchable database of compiled map data from all over the world, and a tool to help journalists visualise this data.
The database, called Mapquery, received $35,000 (£22,900) from the Knight Foundation Prototype Fund on 3 November.
Keith Collins, project lead, said Mapquery will aim to make the research stage in the creation of maps easier and more accessible, by creating a system for finding, merging and refining geographic data.
Mapquery will not be able to produce visual maps itself, as it simply provides a database of information from which maps can be created – so Quartz will also open source Mapbuilder as the “front end” that will enable journalists to visualise the data.
…
Quartz aims to have a prototype of Mapquery by April, and will continue to develop Mapbuilder afterwards.
That’s news to look forward to in 2016!
I’m real curious where Quartz is going to draw the boundary around “map data?” The post mentions Mapquery including “historical boundary data,” which would be very useful for some stories, but is traditional “map data.”
What if Mapquery could integrate people who have posted images with geographic locations? So a reporter could quickly access a list of potential witnesses for events the Western media doesn’t cover?
Live feeds of the results of US bombing raids against ISIS for example. (Doesn’t cover out of deference to the US military propaganda machine or for other reasons I can’t say.)
Looking forward to more news on Mapquery and Mapbuilder!
I first saw this in a tweet by Journalism Tools.