Julius Troeger, the first P5 Resident

P5

ProPublica's Pair Programming Project, or P5, invites newsroom developers (as well as code-knowledgable CAR reporters and graphics editors) to come work with us for 3-5 days, either on a project they've been working on, or on a project of ours.

The project's mission is to grow the pool of people who are doing news application development and newsroom coding in U.S. newsrooms.

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Why

Here's what you'll get of being a P5 Resident:

• You'll learn how to make your data tell a story.
• You'll be mentored by some of the best newsroom developers in the world.
• You'll learn to apply your coding skills in a news environment.
• You'll learn how to organize your work like we do: data management, software deployment, and the other details of running code on the internet that used to be somebody else's job but is now yours.
• Your project will be "edited" by award winning developer-journalists. You'll get feedback that will make you and your project better. And if you're lost, we'll try to help you find your way.

Who

P5 Residents are people who know how to code and are working at a news organization. Students and coders who want to switch to working in a newsroom are welcome to apply, though we're especially keen to bring in people with established connection with a newsroom.

Programming proficiency is a prerequisite. If you're bringing in a project you'll be writing your own code, so while we're a Ruby/Javascript shop, what you write your own projects in is entirely your choice.

What

You'll learn a ton but it's not a classroom setting. You'll sit with us and hack all day, and you'll get some time and mentorship to make your project awesome.

Where

The fellowship is in New York City. We prefer your newsroom to pay your travel and lodging, but travel stipends are available if you need one.

When

The residencies are short -- 3-5 days. We accept one resident per month and the application deadline is rolling.

How

P5 residencies are competitive. To apply, fill out this easy form. If you have any quesitons, email Scott Klein.

Examples

Here are some examples of the work P5 Residents have done:

After gathering data and reporting for a few weeks ahead of his residency, one resident learned how to import his data into PostGIS and start doing geospatial queries. He left having written a basic Rails app with our advice and tutelage, ready for further reporting and refinement.

Another recent P5 Resident learned how our Free the Files project worked and took the code back to his newsroom ready to be deployed in a new setting.