The Lab — a joint effort between Medill and the engineering school at Northwestern University — has just released this new tool (named Timeline, directly enough) for quick timeline construction. No need for Ruby, Python, or anything more complicated than JavaScript; the material lives in JSON, which most low-level hackers can figure out a way to output from their data stores.
Here’s Rich Gordon writing on the new tool at IdeaLab, and here’s Mike Silver with the official Lab announcement. Key bit there:
Publishers with compelling story ideas for timelines can get free help in building timelines from a team of Medill students working with Wise. Student support on the project is underwritten by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Publishers of all sizes — ranging from small neighborhood sites to large media companies — are eligible for the assistance. For more information, drop us a line at knightlab@northwestern.edu.