The Brown Institute was delighted to host a portion of the New York Media Lab Summit 2016. The day-long event featured talks, demonstrations and workshops, and was billed as a platform for the best “talent in digital media from universities in NYC and beyond.” Brown organized a session on The New York Times’s coverage of the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Joe Ward, Sports Graphics Editor for the outlet, and Rodrigo De Benito Sanz, a Graphics and Multimedia Editor, spoke to a standing room only crowd of over 100. They explained the special role that Sports plays as a testing ground for new ways to tell stories.
Ward and Sanz gave us a rare view into their creative process, talking us through custom backend publishing systems to unique consumer-facing experiences. And of course, they walked us through their impressive visuals and interactives – it was hard not to appreciate the artistry, visual sophistication and attention to detail. Given the complexity of the Times’s coverage, it’s perhaps not surprising that Ward and Sanz have started preparing for the next Olympic games in PyeongChang, South Korea. They’re only 16 months away!