# Scott Klein

**Journalism Technology Leader**

[kleinmatic@gmail.com](mailto:kleinmatic@gmail.com) · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kleinmatic) · [openjournalism.news](https://openjournalism.news)

## Summary

Strategist, inventor, and award-winning journalist who builds strong teams and useful products for mission-driven newsrooms. Built DocumentCloud, ProPublica's news applications team, Electionland, AI at THE CITY, and the Knight Election Hub. Now building agent-first tools for the next generation of public-interest information.

## Skills

Editorial Strategy · Product Strategy · Product Management · Product Leadership · Data Journalism · News Applications · AI Strategy & Adoption · Newsroom Technology · Team Building & Management · Investigative Journalism · Collaborative Reporting · Civic Data Products · Open-Source Software · Organizational Strategy

## Experience

### Editorial Consultant — Composition Collective

*April 2026 – Present*

Consulting for news and mission-driven organizations on editorial strategy, product, AI, data, and innovation. The work spans AI enablement, new initiatives, organizational strategy, and how technology can better support journalism — including building agent-first prototypes for the next generation of data journalism.

### Entrepreneur in Residence — Newspack / Knight Foundation

*April 2024 – April 2026*

Recruited by Knight Foundation as its first Entrepreneur in Residence and embedded with Newspack to help newsrooms expand capacity and strengthen infrastructure through the 2024 election cycle, then continued advising publishers on product and AI adoption across the network.

- Designed and led the [Knight Election Hub](https://knightelectionhub.org), directing **$2.5M** in tools, data, services, and local creators to **500+** local newsrooms for 2024 election coverage (Reed Award, 2025).
- Worked across publishers, funders, and product teams to align newsroom needs with practical support and shared infrastructure.
- Advised Newspack publishers (300+) on product strategy, AI experimentation, and workflow design in resource-constrained environments.
- Turned promising newsroom experiments into shared guidance, resources, and collaboration.

### Chief Product Officer — THE CITY

*October 2022 – April 2024*

The first product and data leader at a nonprofit newsroom serving New York City, and a member of the core leadership team responsible for product strategy, civic data products, and newsroom technology through a period of growth and change.

- Led a full site replatform and product overhaul, setting roadmap priorities and managing outside engineering partners; **~20%** audience growth followed.
- Launched civic data journalism and interactive news applications on public health, policing, education, and local elections.
- Conceived and edited an [AI-powered coverage audit](https://projects.thecity.nyc/thecity-coverage-map/) that analyzed **4,000+** stories to map reporting gaps by neighborhood (OJA AI-innovation finalist).

### Deputy Managing Editor — ProPublica

*March 2008 – October 2022*

A founding leader at [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org), serving in progressively senior roles from before launch through national expansion, building and leading teams across data reporting, interactive news, design, engineering, and product.

- Led teams of up to **30** across four departments and developed managers and senior staff who went on to leadership roles across the industry.
- Pioneered news applications as a form of journalism — public-service data products used by millions and widely emulated across the field.
- Co-created Electionland, a nationwide collaboration of **1,000+** journalists and technologists across **100+** newsrooms focused on barriers to voting, and built the collaborative systems that let them report together in real time.
- Started a cross-departmental journalist-protection effort spanning security, IT, legal, and social.

### Co-Founder / Board President — DocumentCloud / MuckRock

*June 2009 – Present*

Led the creation of [DocumentCloud](https://www.documentcloud.org), the open-source platform for analyzing, annotating, and publishing source documents, now part of [MuckRock](https://www.muckrock.com), where I serve as board president.

- DocumentCloud and MuckRock are used by thousands of newsrooms and host more than **110 million** pages of public records.
- As board president, help guide strategy for one of the core infrastructure organizations in investigative and accountability reporting.

### Co-Host — The Data Journalism Podcast

*January 2025 – Present*

Co-host, with Simon Rogers and Alberto Cairo, of a podcast about data journalism, AI, and computational reporting.

## Education

Clark University — B.A. in English, High Honors, 1992

CUNY Newmark J-School — J-Lab AI Builders Cohort, 2026

## Selected Awards as Editor or Contributor

- Peabody Award (2017)
- Reed Award, Knight Election Hub (2025)
- 18 Online Journalism Awards (11 General Excellence wins; 7 finalists)
- 21 Malofiej Infographics Awards
- Global Editors Network Data Journalism Award
- Philip Meyer Award
- IRE Awards
- Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism
- Society for News Design Digital Awards of Excellence