Before I hop into my definition of ‘data journalism’ and its implications- I’d like to point out two concepts from the reading that caught my attention.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from these cases was the recurring presence of multimodality. More often than not, these companies are attempting to integrate other media into the storytelling experience rather than eliminate it.
I stop to point this out because, in my opinion, people tend to think about digital reporting as somehow replacing traditional journalism- and clearly these cases want to challenge this idea. Rather, they’re embracing other forms of media to tell even richer stories. In data journalism, we’re often experiencing the combination of photojournalism, traditional reporting, real-time mapping, audio reporting, etc., and I think it’s pretty neat to see media converge in this way.
The second thought was something I picked out of the BBC article. Strangely enough, it was one of the reasons as to why they employ the use of data journalism in the first place. As the article says, data journalism “help(s) the reader to better understand a complex issue.”
For me, data journalism has always been something that provides more data, more information, and more context to a story. I didn’t (and probably still don’t) think of it as a tool to help break down complex ideas. It makes sense, though: the more you have, the better you can filter and distill relevant elements of a story.
> But what exactly is ‘Data Journalism’?
Although I’m half-tempted to scribble down “infographics”, smash the publish button, and gleefully scamper off to my weekend- that wouldn’t be wholly accurate. (Can’t blame me for wanting to, though.)
The way that I see it, data journalism is a form of storytelling that involves the use of facts and figures to make a point. When used effectively, it not only offers information to the audience but it compels them with that information. Why? Because the supporting data is transparent, reliable, and most of all, comprehensible.
It utilizes various elements, often interactive, to depict information in a way that gives the user an understanding of the big picture, even if the data set is tremendously large. Needless to say, articles, videos, charts, graphics, forms, surveys and even infographics can be considered elements that contribute toward data journalism.
> What’s the role of data journalism in the future?
Ah, the million dollar question.
… Will data analytics and coding become required course curriculum for aspiring journalists in 2020?
… Are traditional journalists expected to integrate data into their content?
… Is mega data really poised to upset the innards of the reporting world?
These are really neat ideas, but much to my dismay, I don’t have the answers.
What I do know is that data journalism is performing a function that is rarely seen within journalism: it’s providing transparency on both sides of the fence. It’s giving a massive level of access to information that audience isn’t used to. No longer does it have to be, “show me the figures,” because the article is the figures.
Likewise- the level of detail, the absolute dead-pin precision that this type of reporting affords is nothing less than staggering. As technology continues to evolve -as our tools to relay information undergo profound transformation- so too must the methods in which we relay information to one another.
That’s why, perhaps, this isn’t something limited to simply political reporting or foodie infographics. It (data journalism) has the potential to bring light upon every corner of our storytelling- from the feedback on the opening night of an opera to the evening news. And, as media and technology continue to converge, data will remain obscenely abundant.
If you think about it, it’s ever-so-slightly poetic: since its inception, the internet has been a vehicle that has enabled and enriched the ways in which we’ve communicated. Year after year, we continue to develop faster and faster ways to call forth information from the siren that is the world wide web. We’ve been determined to make this technology swifter, more mobile, and more interactive than ever thought possible before.
… Isn’t it about time our storytelling caught up.