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 Use Datawrapper for News Charts: A 2026 Guide
Learn how to use Datawrapper for news charts in . Prepare clean data, choose the right format, add annotations and a source,…
How to Use Jupyter Notebooks for Reporting: Practical 2026 Guide
Learn how to use Jupyter notebooks for reporting with a reproducible workflow covering data sourcing, cleaning, analysis, charts and publishing an…
How to Make Charts in R for Publication: Practical (2026)
How to make charts in R for publication in : pick the right chart, label it fully, design for color-blind readers, and…
How to Set Up a Python Environment for Beginners in 2026
Learn how to set up a Python environment for beginners with venv, pip, project folders, and a quick test, plus fixes for…
How to Use Pandas for Data Journalism: A Practical Guide 2026
Learn how to use pandas for data journalism in : clean, check, analyze, and chart public data, then publish findings that hold…
How to Write Your First SQL Query for a Story (2026)
Learn how to write your first SQL query for a story in with a simple SQLite workflow, clear examples, validation checks, and…
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.