Data Journalism The old journalism in the digital age
date
Apr 8, 2011
slug
2011-data-journalism-the-old-journalism-in-the-digital-age
status
Published
tags
journalism
data journalism
Guardian
digital
information
type
Post
ogImage
summary
Data Journalism: Uncovering Hidden Facts Through Visualizations in the Digital Age
Journalism changes, but journalism remains the same. Telling good stories and raising facts that go unnoticed by the public's attention has always been the primary task of journalists and newspapers (or news agencies in general). The Guardian, which has stood out a lot in recent years in managing the digital switch sweeping journalism from end to end, is a great example of this: its blog about data journalism.
The Guardian took the lead in discovering the digital world just over ten years ago when it began to move in the direction of the Scots Trust, the entity maintaining the newspaper, the need to migrate to the digital. Defying all competitors (and even the BBC, which due to its origins in TV radio should have started the change, only making the turn intensely years later). The avant-garde bore fruit and the Guardian today is a show of data journalism (if you have doubts, see the Wikipedia definition).
The Guardian's work is basically to gather scattered facts and present them under unusual visualizations. Today, this kind of work is not only becoming increasingly possible but also increasingly necessary, because the general public is only moved when it takes a punch in the face. Taking a current example, at this link you can see how the Republican scoundrels of the current American Congress should be ashamed to prevent the reform requested by Barack Obama, since this increase in debt capacity skyrocketed under a Republican, President Reagan and his Reaganomics.
The Guardian is not the only one. El Pais and other Spanish newspapers (like Marca) are excellent in infographics, much more visually spectacular. What's cool about the Guardian is the way the information and investigations give rise to the matter (while infographics, even though fantastic like this one from 2007, are not so based on information).
Brazil is far behind in this, and few initiatives emerge from the exploration of data visually. A cool project is Check This URL, which aims to show who the donors are in electoral campaigns in information companies. The bad thing is that it still...doesn't work and needs technical refinement. The initiative and idea, however, are first-rate. Journalism is gaining space on all sides. Writing is just a slice of new business. But the principle is always the same: tell me what I don't know and need to know in a cool way.
PS: between the time of publishing and the the creation of this blog, the amount of tools like the one mentioned in the text multiplied. Curious? Take a look here.