7 Productivity - Enhancing Apps For Journalists

Digital tools for journalists are very powerful, and some of the best tools fit in your pocket. Read about the top 7 journalist apps to up your news game.
February 26, 2018

What journalism tasks get on your nerves? Which research step is inefficient and slows you down? If you haven't checked in to see how new mobile tech is transforming journalism, we've got some good news for you.

With the newly launched Trint app, you can record audio and upload it to be transcribed by Trint's proprietary AI for a fraction of the time and cost. This recording and transcription app is only available to current web-based Trint customers, but new users will be able to sign up through the app very soon.

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There are many other apps out there that will make a journalist's life easier and more efficient than ever before. We've identified these seven as the frontrunners and favorites of journalists around the world:

1. Nuzzel

Scanning Twitter for emerging stories is common practice for many. While the practice is effective for finding stories ripe for telling, it's not really an efficient one.

Nuzzel offers a way to discover stories that doesn't involve endless scrolling. The AI scans tens of thousands of news sites and generates a daily personalized newsletter for you based on your topics of interest.

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Never feel behind on the latest again

2. Signal

Generally, messages and calls over cell service and Wifi are not encrypted. This means that a government agency with the right gear and access can intercept and collect your communications. And they probably already have.

A 2017 study by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor revealed that most states have some form of citizen surveillance, but it's the residents of developing nations like Brazil and India that are seeing the most severe cases.

Signal encrypts your messages as they are sent and received to make them unreadable by spying eyes. It protects your communications, your sources, and'best of all'it's free to use.

3. Evernote

Evernote, despite being one of the older note-taking apps, is still widely beloved by journalists. The developers have leaned into the needs of the media by streamlining document and resource collection, note-taking in various forms, and collaboration among multiple writers.

Version 8.0 was released in early 2017 and made the platform faster, more searchable, and more versatile when it comes to collecting and organizing research.

4. CamScanner

Despite the adage, you actually can't find anything on the internet. Sometimes the research you need is only available in physical documents or pages of a book.

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A document scanner for journalists

 

With CamScanner, you can quickly and accurately scan any physical text with your phone to create a clear, text-searchable digital document. The intuitive software can even trim the edges of the document so that it doesn't look like a photograph. You can then share, print, or even fax the scan.

5. Asana

Stay on top of all your projects and deadlines with Asana. Designed to keep all your important tasks in clear view and organized, it's a lifesaver when things start to pile up. You can create tasks and add notes, documents, links, collaborators, deadlines, and even series of subtasks. 

If you're a list maker, Asana's linear aesthetic will feel natural to you.

6. IFTTT

If This Then That is a powerful cause-and-effect app that incorporates the world of automation to hundreds of daily tasks for journalists. Here are a few interesting 'recipes' we've found:

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Automate daily tasks for a productivity boost 

Set up a few simple recipes that streamline your processes. You'll be amazed at how just a few can save you a lot of time.

7. Instapaper

Easily save articles you find for offline reading with Instapaper. The app keeps your articles organized, allows you to make notes on them, and lets you read them from any device. It's great when you want to read an article later but tend to forget to go back to it.

Also, don't forget to check out all the IFTTT functions for Instapaper.

How productive are you?

If you're not using your smartphone to streamline daily tasks, we'd love to help you change that.

Shoot us a message at support@trint.com and we'll get you started with our intuitive A.I. and cost-efficient transcription app.


 

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