The Graduate School of Journalism’s emphasis on new media technologies has brought Google to Morningside Heights.
The J-School announced Thursday the selection of Krishna Bharat to be a Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at Columbia. Bharat, the founder of Google News, is a developer of formats for online journalism and is considered a visionary computer scientist.
The selection of Bharat is the latest in a series of initiatives signaling the J-School’s commitment to integrating new media into its curriculum. The J-School announced in the spring a new division called the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, which administrators say will officially open in nine days. The J-School also recently introduced a dual-degree program in journalism and computer science.
Bharat’s most famous project, Google News, is an automated news aggregator that sends about 1 billion clicks each month to news publishers’ websites. The service has 72 editions in 30 languages, covering more than 50,000 news sources.
Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center—and a recruit from the British daily newspaper The Guardian—praised the choice of Bharat on Thursday. “He’s an extremely interesting thinker on news taxonomies and informational technology,” Bell said. “It’s fantastic that he’s going to be associated with the school.” She credited Bharat for “bringing journalism to new audiences.”
Bharat will continue to work for Google.
“In founding Google News, Krishna became a real pioneer in making professional journalism more widely accessible than ever before, and he continues to be one of the leading thinkers about how news and information is disseminated digitally,” said Dean Nicholas Lemann in a statement. “We are excited that he will be here to exchange ideas with our students and faculty.”
Some students are avid users of Google News and said they were excited by Bharat’s selection. Svetlana Didorenko, Journalism ’11, said that she turns to Google News many times a day. “It’s the best place for me if I’m looking for something specific. I would just like to hear him [Bharat] talk,” she said.
Yet Bell suggested that some J-School faculty may not welcome Bharat—or his brand of online journalism—so warmly. She said some may view Bharat as the symbol of traditional print media’s demise. But Bell rejected the legitimacy of these notions, arguing that Google’s presence in journalism should be admired.
“We can’t blame things on Google,” she said. “But there are many issues to be debated.”
Bronwen Tomb, Journalism ’11, said that news aggregation is simply a part of journalism today. “I think it’s interesting, it’s happening, and we should look into it,” Tomb said.
Bell added, “He’s going to engage our issues, things the J-School is interested in. We should approach everything with an open mind.”
Sarah Darville contributed reporting.
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