Journalists need to change the way they think if they want to tackle the technological challenges that are coming.

The emergence of digital platforms, in particular social and mobile computing, has already disrupted the industry in terms of business models and practice. But the idea that traditional journalism has managed to exploit the affordances of digital media is a myth. Instead, big media has tended to add digital output to its product offerings rather than rethink journalism from a digital perspective.

The NewsCubed project is about how design methods might be used in journalism practice to create a space for innovation. A key part of the project is the NewsCube, a 3D storytelling tool developed using a design methodology.

The NewsCube aims to solve the problem of researching or telling complex stories. This can be tricky because there are often multiple perspectives, documents, and evidence, scattered in various places. The cube shape means all the parts and points of view in a story can be curated on interactive surface and audiences can explore the narrative from various points of view.

The project is supervised by Dr Stephen Viller and Dr John Harrison.