Data journalism and news apps
Where the newsroom meets the codebase
Hack The Press is a quiet workbench for journalists, newsroom developers and designers: long, practical guides to the data work, the news apps and the tools behind them.
From the workbench
Latest guides
How to Grow a Newsletter Audience Organically (October 2026)
How to grow a newsletter audience organically : a seven-stage playbook covering signup pages, flagship issues, referrals, partnerships and the metrics.
How to Set Up Email Analytics Without Invading Privacy in 2026
Learn how to set up email analytics without invading privacy in : drop the tracking pixel, measure clicks and replies, set retention…
How to Fund an Investigative Project: A Practical Guide (2026)
How to fund an investigative project: build a real budget, compare grants, crowdfunding and memberships, and keep editorial control. Updated .
How to Build a Membership Program for a Small News Site 2026
Learn how to build a membership program for a small news site: benefits, pricing, platforms, a launch campaign, and how to measure…
How to Apply for a Data Journalism Grant (2026)
How to apply for a data journalism grant in : find the right funder, frame a public-interest data story, build a realistic…
How to Write a Freelance Contract for Interactive Work (2026)
How to write a freelance contract for interactive work in : scope, milestone payments, revision caps, IP assignment and exit terms, with…
Beats and toolchains
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Why this site exists
Written for the newsroom’s tech floor
Hack The Press is for the people who build news products: reporters who write code, developers working inside newsrooms, and designers deciding how a story gets read on a screen.
The guides here take the long route through the data, the interfaces and the toolchains, and they explain the reasoning the way a colleague at the next desk would.
Spotted something wrong, or want a tool covered? Get in touch.