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Jun 26, 2014 · 21m · mad

Rachel Schutt, Newscorp // Data Driven #28 // June 2014 (Hosted by FirstMark Capital)

Rachel Schutt · 18m spoken Matt Turck · 42s spoken Elliot Noma · 20s spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

At a Data Driven NYC meetup hosted by FirstMark Capital, News Corp Chief Data Scientist Rachel Schutt explains how traditional enterprise media organizations can build modern, log-driven data architectures and embed data science into newsroom operations, product development, and business strategy.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Matt holds 3.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Matt as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Matt pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:002:06–5:48 · Matt as informed peer 0/10 Rachel Schutt's Academic Background and Career Journey Rachel Schutt presents her academic background at Columbia, her experience at Google, and her transition to News Corp. The segment is a solo presentation, so host expertise and pushback are zero.5:48–11:54 · Matt as informed peer 0/10 Defining News Corp's Global Data Strategy Rachel details the global data strategy for News Corp post-split, emphasizing hands-on coding teams and building data products. As a pure monologue segment, host engagement scores remain at zero.11:54–13:55 · Matt as informed peer 0/10 Log-Driven Data Architecture Versus Enterprise Data Warehousing Rachel contrasts her log-driven data architecture with traditional enterprise data warehouses, noting internal pushback from data warehousing teams. The host does not speak during this presentation segment.13:55–16:57 · Matt as informed peer 0/10 The Data Science Process and Applied Case Studies Rachel outlines the iterative data science workflow and algorithm feedback loops in production products. With no host dialogue, host metrics are scored at zero.16:57–19:55 · Matt as informed peer 0/10 Data Integration in Journalism and Newsroom Operations Rachel discusses applying data science to newsroom operations and investigative reporting. The host remains silent throughout the monologue, resulting in zero host activity scores.2:06–5:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Rachel Schutt's Academic Background and Career Journey Rachel Schutt presents her academic background at Columbia, her experience at Google, and her transition to News Corp. The segment is a solo presentation, so host expertise and pushback are zero.5:48–11:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Defining News Corp's Global Data Strategy Rachel details the global data strategy for News Corp post-split, emphasizing hands-on coding teams and building data products. As a pure monologue segment, host engagement scores remain at zero.11:54–13:55 · Guest teaching 3/10 Log-Driven Data Architecture Versus Enterprise Data Warehousing Rachel contrasts her log-driven data architecture with traditional enterprise data warehouses, noting internal pushback from data warehousing teams. The host does not speak during this presentation segment.13:55–16:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Data Science Process and Applied Case Studies Rachel outlines the iterative data science workflow and algorithm feedback loops in production products. With no host dialogue, host metrics are scored at zero.16:57–19:55 · Guest teaching 2/10 Data Integration in Journalism and Newsroom Operations Rachel discusses applying data science to newsroom operations and investigative reporting. The host remains silent throughout the monologue, resulting in zero host activity scores.2:06–5:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Rachel Schutt's Academic Background and Career Journey Rachel Schutt presents her academic background at Columbia, her experience at Google, and her transition to News Corp. The segment is a solo presentation, so host expertise and pushback are zero.5:48–11:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Defining News Corp's Global Data Strategy Rachel details the global data strategy for News Corp post-split, emphasizing hands-on coding teams and building data products. As a pure monologue segment, host engagement scores remain at zero.11:54–13:55 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Log-Driven Data Architecture Versus Enterprise Data Warehousing Rachel contrasts her log-driven data architecture with traditional enterprise data warehouses, noting internal pushback from data warehousing teams. The host does not speak during this presentation segment.13:55–16:57 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Data Science Process and Applied Case Studies Rachel outlines the iterative data science workflow and algorithm feedback loops in production products. With no host dialogue, host metrics are scored at zero.16:57–19:55 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Data Integration in Journalism and Newsroom Operations Rachel discusses applying data science to newsroom operations and investigative reporting. The host remains silent throughout the monologue, resulting in zero host activity scores.2:06–5:48 · Matt pushing back 0/10 Rachel Schutt's Academic Background and Career Journey Rachel Schutt presents her academic background at Columbia, her experience at Google, and her transition to News Corp. The segment is a solo presentation, so host expertise and pushback are zero.5:48–11:54 · Matt pushing back 0/10 Defining News Corp's Global Data Strategy Rachel details the global data strategy for News Corp post-split, emphasizing hands-on coding teams and building data products. As a pure monologue segment, host engagement scores remain at zero.11:54–13:55 · Matt pushing back 0/10 Log-Driven Data Architecture Versus Enterprise Data Warehousing Rachel contrasts her log-driven data architecture with traditional enterprise data warehouses, noting internal pushback from data warehousing teams. The host does not speak during this presentation segment.13:55–16:57 · Matt pushing back 0/10 The Data Science Process and Applied Case Studies Rachel outlines the iterative data science workflow and algorithm feedback loops in production products. With no host dialogue, host metrics are scored at zero.16:57–19:55 · Matt pushing back 0/10 Data Integration in Journalism and Newsroom Operations Rachel discusses applying data science to newsroom operations and investigative reporting. The host remains silent throughout the monologue, resulting in zero host activity scores.

speaking balance: gold is Matt, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Matt 16.5% · guest 83.5%0:00 · Matt 16.5% · guest 83.5%3:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Matt 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Matt 8.9% · guest 91.1%18:00 · Matt 8.9% · guest 91.1%21:00 · Matt 71.8% · guest 28.2%21:00 · Matt 71.8% · guest 28.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 20:36 Refusing to comment on phone-hacking compliance

When an audience member asks about legal compliance following a phone-hacking conviction, Rachel shuts down the line of questioning, stating she would rather not comment further.

 Hardest push from Matt ▶ 20:56 Host abruptly ending the session

Following an uncomfortable compliance question, host Matt Turck steps in to quickly conclude the interview, citing strict time limits.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:15 Educating on raw logs versus enterprise data warehouses

Rachel explains why rolled-up reporting cubes in traditional data warehouses destroy valuable temporal signals compared to working directly with raw logs.

 Matt holds his own ▶ 0:00 Host framing News Corp's progressive data hiring

Host Matt Turck opens the session by showcasing his industry awareness, pointing out that News Corp hiring a high-profile statistician like Rachel speaks volumes about legacy media transformation.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicMatt as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementMatt pushing backWhy
Rachel Schutt's Academic Background and Career Journey 0210 Rachel Schutt presents her academic background at Columbia, her experience at Google, and her transition to News Corp. The segment is a solo presentation, so host expertise and pushback are zero.
Defining News Corp's Global Data Strategy 0210 Rachel details the global data strategy for News Corp post-split, emphasizing hands-on coding teams and building data products. As a pure monologue segment, host engagement scores remain at zero.
Log-Driven Data Architecture Versus Enterprise Data Warehousing 0320 Rachel contrasts her log-driven data architecture with traditional enterprise data warehouses, noting internal pushback from data warehousing teams. The host does not speak during this presentation segment.
The Data Science Process and Applied Case Studies 0200 Rachel outlines the iterative data science workflow and algorithm feedback loops in production products. With no host dialogue, host metrics are scored at zero.
Data Integration in Journalism and Newsroom Operations 0200 Rachel discusses applying data science to newsroom operations and investigative reporting. The host remains silent throughout the monologue, resulting in zero host activity scores.

Statements from this episode (8)

Opinion
Schutt: Most interesting data problems are now at traditional companies
“So, I think the broader message here is that some of the most interesting data problems now are at traditional companies,”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 1:47
Opinion
Schutt: Universities fell short in preparing students for data science careers
“I didn't feel that that was really being done at the universities that they fell short in teaching students in ways that actually helped them thrive.”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 2:51
Insight
Schutt: Modern data strategy debates mirror 1990s technology adoption debates
“I believe that probably 20 years ago there were probably similar debates around embracing technology and needing a technology strategy and hiring CTOs and what that, what, how to make technology a core part of the DNA”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 7:30
Disclosure
News Corp data team prioritizes investing in people over software tools
“We believe in investing in people rather than tools, and so we use open source tools”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 8:14
Disclosure
News Corp requires its data scientists, engineers, and even designers to code
“The data scientists have to know how to code, the data engineers have to know how to code, the designers code.”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 8:42
Insight
Schutt: Traditional reporting cubes lose key patterns in data
“The traditional databases are just snapshots in time and a lot of interesting patterns in the data are getting lost when you rolled up, when you roll up into these traditional reporting systems or reporting cubes.”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 12:31
Disclosure
Schutt: News Corp processes raw logs tactically per problem
“Instead our approach has been more tactical where we're more comfortable in dealing in the chaos and in dealing in these raw logs at the log level. So we process what we need in order to process to solve the problem we need to solve in the moment.”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 13:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schutt: WSJ newsroom is surprisingly open to collaborating with data science teams
“I haven't experienced a separation of church and state that I expected to experience between the newsroom and the business. Ah, that the newsroom especially where I've been spending a lot of time at the Wall Street Journal recently, Have been really extremely …”
Rachel Schutt Jun 26, 2014 ▶ 17:28
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