#79 Professor Matt Carroll: An Investigative Journalist and a Former Member of the Spotlight Team

#79 Professor Matt Carroll: An Investigative Journalist and a Former Member of the Spotlight Team

Recently, Rahul and Sourish interviewed Professor Matthew Carroll, a Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University. Mr. Carroll was also a Research Scientist at MIT’s Media Lab for Civic Media, where he helped graduate students create tools for newsrooms as part of the Future of News Initiative. Moreover, Mr. Carroll worked as a member of the renowned Spotlight team, for which he and his team won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003 for their coverage of the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal. The story was turned into the movie “Spotlight,” which won an Oscar for Best Picture.

From a young age, Mr. Carroll was a creator, the idea of writing and easily disseminating ideas appealed to him. This passion coupled with his gregarious personality, he became entranced with journalism early in his life, seeking to “help people learn more about the world around them.” He began his career at the Boston Globe where he was thrust into the world of investigative journalism. After leaving, he joined the MIT Media lab which was especially transformative for him due to the people he met. While intuition may dictate that as one delves into further specializations, one would interact with increasingly similar minded people, Mr. Carrol had a different experience at MIT where he met many polymaths, each bringing a different perspective to discuss. The dichotomy of their passion and interest for media and the evident lack of experience thereof was actually an unexpected benefactor by enabling them to think from novel perspectives, free from any precedents or traditions. Now, Mr. Carrol is a professor of Journalism at Northeastern University, teaching from his own experience. One example of a class he teaches today is Storytelling With Numbers. The premise follows that most consumers do not actually want to buy a product, rather they are more interested in the mission. For example, most are not drawn to Apple products from their quantitative specs but instead fall to the “think different” mission at Apple, thereby bringing a purpose to the product. Humans remember feelings over numbers. On this principle, Mr. Carroll teaches how to craft a story around omnipresent numbers, a quintessential skill of the fast-paced and data-driven 21st century.

As both a student and educator, Mr. Carroll emphasizes the importance of being able to change perspectives; even through his life, the field of journalism has gone through drastic changes. Due to the current pandemic, changes to the manner in which the world functions are being made in a drastic way. Journalists are able to approach stories differently than tradition due to the application of technology and our changing environment.

Regarding advice to local companies, Mr. Carroll recommends to first cover your bases, such as “how is the town being run, how are my taxes being spent.” The field of journalism is much wider than a strict portrayal of facts; using that information to engage people in communities and the democratic process is essential in fulfilling the potential of journalism. Additionally, he urges to keep representations of data simple, personally recommending a bar chart since it conveys the point accurately and directly. But on the contrary, he recommends exploring new techniques to find data representations that fit your style.

On the topic of Spotlight, Mr. Carroll does say there were some misrepresentations concerning time but overall, the purpose and motive remained the same. He especially applauds productions since the spreadsheet “shows the tedium of creating a database by hand but also showing the power of the database when it is finally compiled.” Comparing this scene to the majority of journalism, it can be boring at times due to the amount of digging to get crude information. However, this information gains value when a plot is wrapped around it, the more exciting aspect of journalism in Mr. Carroll’s eyes.

Finally, when asked about advice to the current generation of high school students, Mr. Carroll recommends to “learn as many tools as you can and pick up as many skills as you can.” Even though they may seem obsolete or nonessential at first, they will enable you to look at things from different perspectives, promoting general progress as a thinker. In general, “keep asking more questions.” Don’t be afraid to ask, keep digging, and do not take no for an answer.

You can watch the full interview here.

Author: Srikar Parsi

Editor: Ayan Lateef

Interviewers: Rahul Kavuru and Sourish Jasti

Graphic: Sraavya Penumudi