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WNYC Names Rhyne Piggott Editor for Data News and Interactive Journalism

WNYC Names Rhyne Piggott Editor for Data News and Interactive Journalism
 

(New York, NY – July 11, 2017) – WNYC today announced that former USA Today and Al Jazeera America multimedia journalist Rhyne Piggott has been named Editor for Data News and Interactive Journalism.

In this role, Piggott will lead WNYC’s award-winning Data News Team, which infuses the station’s heralded local and national journalism with data-driven stories, visuals and interactive features. He will be developing projects on many fronts, including the newsroom’s ongoing areas of emphasis: the affordability of life in New York, local politics and access to the levers of political power, race relations, and the impact of the Trump administration’s policies in our region.

“As we searched for the right person to lead our ambitious Data News Team, we knew we wanted someone who not only had a passion for deep data reporting and cogent storytelling, but who also understood the critical role visual content plays in reaching new audiences,” said Jim Schachter, Vice President for News, WNYC. “I’m pleased to say that we’ve found someone who embodies those values. Rhyne cares deeply about the production of high-impact journalism and making it accessible and engaging across platforms. We’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the legendary newsroom at WNYC and to build on what my predecessor, John Keefe, and his collaborators over the years have created here,” said Piggott. “Data and interactive journalism is inherently a team sport, and I’ve been fortunate in my career to play with some of the best in the business. What’s really exciting, though, is that the practice is still evolving. When it’s working well, the process starts by asking fresh questions based on a deep relationship with your audience and keeping them at the center of every stage of development. I can think of no better place right now to do this kind of work than WNYC.”

At USA Today, Piggott ran the newsroom’s first multi-platform, visual journalism desk and managed the production of several innovative data-driven projects, including one of the first to make extensive use of sensors to collect data. At Current TV, he helped create multi-platform tools that put the audience at the center of the channel’s 2012 election coverage. As part of the launch team that built Al Jazeera America, he created one of the first visual storytelling departments, which focused on in-depth original reporting. His team created several notable projects, such as Terms of Service, a graphic novel about data privacy; In-between in California, part of a series on outdated definitions of poverty; and What’s in a Name?, an exploration of names and identity. He also managed Al Jazeera America’s popular iOS and Android apps.

Piggott has led or played a key role in projects that have won Data Journalism Awards, an IRE award, the World’s Best-Designed Award from the Society for News Design, and many others. Terms of Service is archived in the “Webcomics Collection” of the Library of Congress. He has an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Professor of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University.

 

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