T-Squared: Born Digital

The Tribune was lucky to be born digital. We traffic in pixels, not ink, and that lets us be nimble, entrepreneurial and fast. Whether you come to the Trib for reporting, videos or events, technology is behind everything you see. And it's the generous support of members like you that helps us stay at the forefront of technology and data journalism.

On the tech front, 2013 was a busy year for the Tribune. We were among the first news sites to go responsive. That means our site is smart enough to present a great reading experience for whatever device you have in your hand – smartphone, tablet or computer. We livestreamed the entire 83rd legislative session and a handful of other breaking news events throughout the year. Live video proved so popular that we now plan to make it the norm instead of the novelty in Texas political coverage.

2013 was also a great year for data at Trib HQ. We were the first to publish a complete, searchable library of CSCOPE's controversial lesson plans. We published dozens of interactivemaps, tracking data like reservoir levels, abortion clinics and election results, and we created easy-to-use interactive tools to help readers understand complex policies, like the Affordable Care Act. With the 2014 election already heating up, our Pencil Brackets are the go-to source for tracking all of the candidates.

Editorially, the Tribune has always been big on transparency. That spirit of openness extends to our technology as well. Throughout 2013 we made our best code available to the open source community. Our tech team spoke at conferences around the country, in Europe and South America. And before the year's end, we'll host a free how-to webinar sharing all of the lessons we've learned about livestreaming.

2014 promises to be one of our biggest years yet for the integration of technology and data. We'll launch two new major data applications for education and healthcare, plus we'll update the plumbing that supports some of our most popular data apps. We'll integrate video, both live and on-demand, much more deeply into our coverage. With TribTalk, our new audience engagement site, we'll upgrade our commenting system to help bring the same level of thoughtful discourse to the online world that we foster in our live events.

Our list of technology innovations and upgrades goes on, but we can't do it without your support. It's Day 3 of our Fall Membership Drive. Will you step forward to support us?