Charles Berret
console 

[ about ]

About

Writer and researcher who builds and studies information systems for text, data, and images. Working across data journalism, visualization, cryptography, and AI, my work concerns the systems that shape what people can know, verify, communicate, and conceal using different media technologies.

Biography

[ profile ]

I am a writer, researcher, data journalist, and content engineer based in New York. My forthcoming book from MIT Press, Cryptographic Amnesia, traces how cryptography moved from the margins of everyday life into the infrastructure of communication and political life. The same question, of who gets to know what and how they can prove it, runs through my work on SecureDrop, newsroom data practice, critical visualization, collaborative photogrammetry, digital typography, and the teaching of computational journalism. I currently write and edit with Google Fonts, build independent software including Kettle and Studio Isruna, and keep up my own long-form writing. I hold a PhD in Communication from Columbia University and have taught journalism, visualization, ethics, and the digital humanities.

Experience

[ timeline ]
2025 - 26

Enigma

Senior Content Manager

Built the content and communications desk for a business identity data company, joining original reporting with editorial systems for research, production, and competitive intelligence. Promoted from Content Lead.

2022 - 24

Linköping University

Postdoctoral Fellow, Critical Data Visualization

Researched critical data visualization across Computer Science and Gender Studies; developed and taught a graduate course on gender and diversity in engineering.

2018 - 22

University of British Columbia

Postdoc, Computer Science · Visiting Assistant Professor, Journalism

Conducted research on data sensemaking, visualization, and newsroom practice; taught 10 courses on visualization, ethics, and investigative reporting.

2019 - 22

Global Reporting Center

Digital Security Lead

Trained journalists in operational security and source protection; operated a SecureDrop system.

2018 - 21

Institute for Investigative Journalism

Data Editor

Led data gathering for a team of investigative reporters; the Tainted Water collaboration won the 2019 CAJ Data Journalism Award, announced in 2020.

2017 - 18

Google

Writer, Google Fonts & Google Design

Feature writing on open-source typography; edited technical documentation for Android developers.

2016 - 17

Brown Institute for Media Innovation

Research Fellow

Conducted archival research at eight sites for Cryptographic Amnesia; mentored journalists and artists on digital storytelling.

2015 - 16

Tow Center for Digital Journalism

Research Fellow

Authored the first published study of the SecureDrop whistleblowing platform.

Education

[ degrees ]
2018
PhD, Communication - Columbia University
2010
MS, Journalism - Northwestern University
2007
BA, Philosophy - University of Michigan

Skills

[ capabilities ]

Working Approach

My projects combine archival research, interviews, data analysis, and software. I use code not simply to automate production, but to make sources, assumptions, and editorial decisions easier to inspect.

Research & Reporting

Archival research, interviews, public records, quantitative analysis, data journalism, digital security, and source protection.

Editorial & Technical Systems

Technical writing, content design, reproducible data pipelines, model evaluation, agent orchestration, and editorial quality systems.

Tools

Python, SQL, Databricks, DuckDB, Polars, Altair, Marimo, GraphQL, Git, web scraping, and shell scripting.

Funding & Publication Venues

[ context ]

Funding

Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP); Brown Institute for Media Innovation; Knight Foundation; Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

Journals

Journal of Visual Culture; Journal of Communication Inquiry; Leonardo; IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

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