The Power of a Data Driven Journalism

Data driven journalism has been increasingly used by journalists for a long time, but it has been the past decade that has seen its power emerge as a significant force in the journalism landscape. In fact, data journalism now has its own Wikipedia page.

Data driven journalism combines journalistic reporting with statistical analysis, and the process has become widespread. For instance, many newspapers now use data visualisations, such as heat maps and scatter graphs, in their reporting. The Guardian uses them to show where the biggest problems are in the UK and across the world.

There are many reasons why this form of journalism is effective. First of all, data visualisation techniques can be used to explain complex ideas to people with different levels of knowledge or training. Secondly, data journalism is increasingly being used to inform the news agenda and shape media coverage.

Some examples include:

  • Google News Lab (GNL) project, which analyses trends in the news to try and predict the future.
  • Data journalism project “Citizen Journalism in the UK”. This looks at how people use technology to report crime.
  • Data Journalism Project (DJP) has been created by the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which aims to provide a platform for independent, data-driven investigative journalists.

In terms of impact, data journalism is already making a difference to the news agenda. For example, when data was used to estimate the number of victims of the Manchester Arena attack, it helped to shape the response of the authorities.

With the rise of social media, the power of data journalism is set to grow further. For example, Twitter can be used to measure how effective politicians are in engaging with the public, and Google can be used to determine how much exposure people get online.

All this means that data driven journalism is changing the way we read and understand the news, and we are likely to see the development of similar tools for analysing and explaining the data we are increasingly surrounded by.

So what does this mean for journalists? As you might expect, there is a need for journalists to be able to gather and analyse the data to inform their stories. But that doesn’t mean that data journalists are a new breed of journalist.

In fact, data journalists need to possess the same skills as journalists in other fields. They need to be able to use statistics, data visualization techniques and the internet to conduct thorough research and write articles. The key difference is that their research isn’t always focused on an individual case. Instead, they are interested in trends and patterns in the data, which means they have to work more independently.

The most obvious way that data journalism will affect journalists is that it will allow them to be more creative and find innovative ways to tell stories. A good example is the GNL project, which allows journalists to predict the future based on the data they are collecting.

In the past, journalists relied on traditional sources of information to find the facts about a story. However, many of these sources were unreliable and biased. With data driven journalism, journalists can build up their own sources of information. They can use data to create their own models to predict the future, or they can compare patterns of data to historical trends and events.

As well as being creative, journalists are also finding new ways to report. For example, when the GNL project first launched, it used the ‘heat map’ technique to create a visual representation of the most important issues in the world.

It has also led to the creation of more diverse sources of information. For example, a journalist can use data to determine which stories are popular, and they can then report those stories. By using data to focus their reporting, journalists can deliver more relevant information to the public.

Overall, we will see a move away from traditional journalism, towards a more collaborative and multi-disciplinary form. This is in part because of the increasing availability of data, and the ability of journalists to gather and analyse it. However, it is also down to the changing nature of the media.

Skills a journalist requires to understand Data

If we are to be journalists of the future, the skills of a data reporter are essential. In an era where people are producing more content than ever before, this is a must for a news organization.

Data reporter is a job description of journalists that will be needed to produce news stories for the next few decades. This job description has been created by the Association of News Ombudsmen in the UK (ANO) who say that in the future, ‘data journalism is increasingly central to the way journalism works’.

This is partly due to the increasing use of quantitative data in reporting.

The job description says that a data reporter should be able to:

  • Understand the use of data in journalism
  • Communicate effectively about data
  • Understand data and analytics for story development and presentation
  • Interpret data and conduct analysis using appropriate tools
  • Find stories through innovative and imaginative uses of data
  • Work effectively with other journalists, reporters and editors
  • Understand data and its implications for business
  • Write compelling stories based on data
  • Be aware of emerging technologies
  • Have a thorough understanding of research methods and principles
  • Be familiar with a range of digital sources including social media
  • Know how to tell a story that communicates a clear message
  • Be able to present findings and data using creative visuals
  • Be able to work in a team
  • Be creative, innovative and open minded
  • Be well organized and able to work under pressure
  • Be knowledgeable about the use of social media platforms
  • Be able to work effectively in a deadline driven environment
  • Be comfortable working in fast moving teams.

Journalists are responsible for a lot of data, but it’s not all about statistics. There are more qualitative data which are harder to collect and report. In fact, they need to be reported in a new and different way.

If we are to be journalists of the future, the skills of a data reporter are essential. In an era where people are producing more content than ever before, this is a must for a news organization.

Data reporter is a job description of journalists that will be needed to produce news stories for the next few decades. This job description has been created by the Association of News Ombudsmen in the UK (ANO) who say that in the future, ‘data journalism is increasingly central to the way journalism works’.

This is partly due to the increasing use of quantitative data in reporting.

The job description says that a data reporter should be able to:

  • Understand the use of data in journalism
  • Communicate effectively about data
  • Understand data and analytics for story development and presentation
  • Interpret data and conduct analysis using appropriate tools
  • Find stories through innovative and imaginative uses of data
  • Work effectively with other journalists, reporters and editors
  • Understand data and its implications for business
  • Write compelling stories based on data
  • Be aware of emerging technologies
  • Be familiar with a range of digital sources including social media
  • Know how to tell a story that communicates a clear message
  • Be able to present findings and data using creative visuals
  • Be able to work in a team
  • Be creative, innovative and open minded
  • Be well organized and able to work under pressure
  • Be knowledgeable about the use of social media platforms
  • Be able to work effectively in a deadline driven environment
  • Be comfortable working in fast moving teams.

Journalists are responsible for a lot of data, but it’s not all about statistics. There are more qualitative data which are harder to collect and report. According to Delphix, they need to be reported in a new and different way. 

If we are to be journalists of the future, the skills of a data reporter are essential. In an era where people are producing more content than ever before, this is a must for a news organization.

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Ajay Deep

Ajay Deep is a young enthusiast who Loves Chandigarh and is always eager to make this beautiful city even more beautiful. A Mechanical Engineer By Chance and Working in an IT MNC by Choice. A Writer, Photographer and a Budding Entrepreneur. A Designer, Developer and Digital Marketing Expert. In brief : A Jack of All Trades and Master of Few :) You may reach Ajay Deep at ajay@chandigarhmetro.com
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