Storylab Lessons: A Collaborative Project Between Courses in Journalism and Media Technology

This article examines Storylab, a collaborative learning project between the journalism programme at Stockholm University and the engineering programme in media technology at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, designed to combine journalistic storytelling with pervasive media technology. The aim of the study is to identify and reflect on the challenges associated with the approach. The methods used are a survey and semi-structured interviews with the students. The analyses draw on research concerning the current main challenges for the news industry and journalism educators. The results show that Storylab was highly appreciated, and provided students with useful skills for their professional lives. However, not all groups worked well together, and some students wished that the collaboration had been more extensive. Differences in motivations and priorities were mentioned as restraining factors. Therefore, it is argued that for a sustainable media landscape, journalists and engineers must collaborate, and that this cooperation can be brought about during professional training.