最近几个月有很多关于报业发展的讨论：报社究竟是应该探求iTunes那样的商业模式？还是通过小额付费方式向新闻读者收费？它应该起诉Google吗？或是干脆使出所有这些手段？还有人谈到报纸衰败对新闻业产生的威胁。但很少有人讨论一个有可能从根本上改变报纸（至少是一份报纸）运作方式的新东西，那就是纽约时报为其新闻报道发布的开放接口（Open API）。纽约时报从去年就开始讨论这个项目，现在终于成真了。它就和开发者Derek Gottfrid在Derek Gottfrid在纽约时报Open博客上所描述的那样：程序员和开发人员现在可以很方便的访问1981年至今的280万篇新闻（其中87年以前的要收费），并通过28个不同的标签、关键词和字段对其进行分类。
老套的记者们可能会忽略此事，因为它涉及编程，以及API（应用程序接口）之类的术语，与新闻业甚至是媒体都没有实质联系。因此它的意义只能为电脑迷痴们所领会。但要说Adrian Holovaty（Django的开发者，Everyblock的创始人）对我们有所启发的话，那就是从广义上，信息内容，包括新闻在内，只是数据而已。这些数据经过适当的剖析和索引就可以变成绝妙的“原始新闻素材”，它们可以被编辑成数十种，甚至数百种不同的形式的新闻报道。
借助如此大量的信息，对新闻的各种要素（人物、地点、事件、细节）进行处理将揭示新闻里暗含的规律和深层联系。这不但有助于升华现有的报道，还可以带来完全出人意料的新报道。目前还只有报社的研究部门有合适的工具进行这些处理。纽约时报开放API，为所有人都提供了这样工具，探索出记者和研究人员想都没想过的各种项目和思路。从传媒和商业公司的角度，纽约时报将报纸变成一个提供多样服务和功能的平台。这既提升了报纸及其内容的价值，还产生了各种商业许可的可能性，创造了合作伙伴关系—— 更不用说还可以进行成功的市场营销。
这也是Jeff Jarvis《google 将会做什么》一书的核心理念，他的主要观点就是实际上任何商业都能从开放数据中受益,可以在他人对数据的重构和估测的尝试中进行学习。纽约时报利用它的文章数据库搭建了一个支撑平台，这和Google利用地图及卫星图像数据库的方式一样。纽约时报值得人们尊敬，他们探求开放的模式而不是把文章都锁起来按查看次数收费。毫无疑问，长期来看，这种利用方法远比按次查看的策略收益更大。
作者：Mathew Ingram 翻译：Logout，Akanekou from iFanr爱范儿
标签：
Open API,
Everyblock,
纽约时报
译文:
API by The New York Times: Creating A News Platform
There have been many discussions on the development of newspaper industry in recent months: Should the newspapers seek the business model by iTunes or the model of collecting a small amount of fees from their readers? Should they sue Google? Or they might as well use all these resorts? There are also people who talked about how the downfall of newspapers could threaten journalism. But very few people discussed about something new that might fundamentally change the operational method for the papers, namely the Open API by the New York Times that issued its press coverage. The paper started the discussion of the program last year and had it realized now. It is like what the developer Derek Gottfrid described in his Open Blog in the New York Times: Programmers and developers can now conveniently visit 2,800,000 pieces of news from 1981 until now (those of 87 years earlier will be chargeable)，and classify them into 28 categories according to different tabs, keywords and fields.
Experienced reporters might forget about this matter, because it concerns about programming and API (application program interface) terminology, and has virtually no connection with journalism and even media. As such, only computer junkies can understand its significance. But the enlightening words by Adrian Holovaty (developer of Django and founder of Everyblock) to us is that, broadly speaking, information content (including news) is only data. These data will become excellent “original news materials” after appropriate analysis and indexing, and can be compiled into tens or even hundreds of different kinds of news reports.
With information as substantial as that, managing news elements (characters, locations, events and details) will reveal the connection between rules and the depth hidden in the news. That will not only assist in subliming the current reporting, but also bring along the totally unexpected new reporting. Currently only the research department in the newspaper office can have the appropriate tools to perform such tasks. By opening API to the public, the New York Times provides such a tool to all people, enabling them to seek different items and the train of thought which are unthought of even by reporters and researchers. Viewing from the perspective of the media and commercial companies, the New York Times changes newspaper to a platform providing a variety of services and functions. This does not only enhance the newspaper and its content and value, but also produce the possibility of different kinds of commercial sanctions, creating the partnership relationship —— needless to say, successful marketing can also be carried out.
This is also the core idea of the book《What will Google do》by Jeff Jarvis, whose key viewpoint is that, practically any business can benefit from the open data, and learn from the reconstruction and appraisal trial of the data by others. The New York Times uses its article database to build a supporting platform, which is similar to Google using atlas and satellite image database. The New York Times deserves respect from us, as they seek to open to the public and not to lock up the articles and charge fees according to the number of readings. Undoubtedly, in the long run, this method of use is far more beneficial than the tactics of charging fees according to the number of readings.
Writer：Mathew Ingram Translators：Logout，Akanekou from iFanr
