Hello! ☞ This is an archived version of Al Shaw's personal website. The current site is http://shaw.al.
A bit of news on the personal front today— shortly after the election, I will be leaving TPM, where I’ve been for about two and a half years, first as an intern, then as Associate Publisher and Designer/Developer.
Where am I going?
I have accepted an offer to become a developer on the news applications desk at ProPublica. The “nerds” work to tell stories with software and data-based interactive applications (such as the Dollars for Docs app that dropped this week). They’re also building new tools to cultivate sources and help other journalists around the country do investigative reporting. Along with giving away their stories and publishing their reporting “recipes,” ProPublica also has a strong commitment to releasing their code as open source projects, something I believe in strongly. It’s a really awesome opportunity at the intersection of journalism, programming and design, and I can’t wait to get started!
I’ve worked on some incredible projects at TPM, from 2008 election night coverage to a complete redesign and rework of the front page, to TPM PollTracker (which might now be the biggest poll aggregator on the web with over 14,000 polls). We also have some treats in store for election night 2010. TPM really stands out as one of the best examples of how to do journalism well (and profitably) on the web. Josh has built an amazing organization, which has grown impressively over the time I was there. I’m so thankful to him and his tireless staff for the opportunity to contribute to its success.
By the way, if you’ve got the journo-nerd itch and want to do design and dev at TPM, drop a line to talk at talkingpointsmemo dot com with subject line designer/developer.