Specificity of Information Sources in Data Journalism

For citation: Shilina A.G. (2019) Spetsifika istochnikov informatsii v zhurnalistike dannykh [Specificity of Information Sources in Data Journalism]. Mediaskop 2. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2550

DOI: 10.30547/mediascope.2.2019.9

© Alexandra G. Shilina

PhD student at the Chair of Media Theory and Economics, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University; analyst at the Crypto Venture Capital Paradigm Fund (Moscow, Russia), alexandrashilina@mail.ru

Abstract

This article presents the main results of the study of data journalism publications: specifics of information sources and the degree of autonomy of publications` authors. The hypothesis is being proved that the changes associated with the emergence of the phenomenon of big data in the mid-2010s, causing new ways of searching, processing, analyzing and presenting information, are not fully reflected in the data journalism publications, the use of such information sources in the leading press in 2014−2016 remains minimal – big data are not a mandatory component of publications. Also, big data are not necessarily collected, processed and analyzed by the journalists themselves. The results of the study correspond to proposed separation of "big data" in it accepted understanding, as huge databases and methods for processing them, and "quantitative data"— a hybrid type of data that is the basis of most data journalism publications, and also allows the author to distinguish between "data journalism" and "big data journalism".

Keywords: datification, big data, quantitative data, data journalism.

Notes

Gov.Uk. Режим доступа: https:.gov.uk; YouGov. Available at: https:yougov.co.uk/

Laforme R. (2018) The Next Big Thing in Journalism Might Be Algorithm Reporters. Рoynter, March 15. Available at: https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2018/the-next-big-thing-in-journalism-might-be-algorithm-reporters/

Rogers S. (2011) Data Journalism at the Guardian: What is It and How Do We Do It? Guardian.co.uk. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/jul/28/data-journalism

Rogers S., Schwabish J., Bowers D. (2017) The State of Data Journalism in 2017. Google News Lab. Available at: https://newslab.withgoogle.com/assets/docs/data-journalism-in-2017.pdf

Rogers S. (2008) Turning Official Figures into Understandable Graphics, at the Press of a Button. Guardian.co.uk. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2008/dec/18/unemploymentdata;

Thibodeau P. (2011) Gartner's Top 10 IT Challenges Include Exiting Baby Boomers, Big Data. Computerworld, October 18. Available at: https://www.computerworld.com/article/2497348/data-center/gartner-s-top-10-it-challenges-include-exiting-baby-boomers--big-data.html

UNESCO Future arts, media, and entertainment: seeds for 2020. N.Y., 2011.

References

Appelgren E. (2018) An Illusion of Interactivity. The Paternalistic Side of Data Journalism. Journalism Practice 12 (3): 308−325. DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2017.1299032

Appelgren E., Nygren G. (2013) Data Journalism in Sweden – Opportunities and Challenges. A Case Study of Brottspejl at Sveriges Television (STV). Stockholm: Södertorn University.

Borges-Rey E. (2016) Unravelling Data Journalism: A Study of Data Journalism Practice in British Newsrooms. Journalism Practice 10 (7): 833–843. DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2016.1159921

Borges-Rey E. (2017) Towards an Epistemology of Data Journalism in the Devolved Nations of the United Kingdom: Changes and Continuities in Materiality, Performativity and Reflexivity. Journalism. DOI: 10.1177/1464884917693864

Borges-Rey E., Stalph F. (2018) A Random Walk through Data + Journalism: Assessing the Data Journalism Tcosystem. Paper presented on NODA-2018 (The Nordic Data Journalism Conference), Södertörn University, Sweden, 15−17 Mar. 2018.

Coddington M. (2015) Clarifying Journalism's Quantitative Turn: A Typology for Evaluating Data Journalism, Computational Journalism, and Computer-Assisted Reporting. Digital Journalism 3 (3): 331–338. DOI:10.1080/21670811.2014.976400

Fink K., Anderson C. (2015) Data Journalism in the United States: Beyond the "Usual Suspects". Journalism Studies 16 (4): 467−481. DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2014.939852

Gynnild A. (2014) Journalism Innovation Leads to Innovation Journalism: The Impact of Computational Exploration on Changing Mindsets. Journalism 15 (6): 713–730. DOI: 10.1177/1464884913486393

Hannaford L. (2015) Computational Journalism in the UK Newsroom: Hybrids or Specialists? Journalism Education 4 (1): 6−21.

Holovaty A. (2006) A Fundamental Way Newspaper Sites Need to Change. Available at: http://www.holovaty.com/writing/fundamental-change/

Howard A.B. (2014) The Art and Science of Data-Driven Journalism. Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Columbia University. Available at: https:.doi.org/10.7916/D8Q531V1

Kelly J. (2015) Executive Summary: Big Data Vendor Revenue and Market Forecast, 2011−2026. Available at: https://wikibon.com/big-data-vendor-revenue-and-market-forecast-2011-2026/

Knight M. (2015) Data Journalism in the UK: a Preliminary Analysis of Form and Content. Journal of Media Practice 16 (1): 55−72. DOI: 10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801

Lewis S.C., Westlund O. (2015) Big Data and Journalism: Epistemology, Expertise, Economics, and Ethics. Digital Journalism 3 (3): 447−466.

Manyika J., Chui M., Brown B., Bughin J. et al. (2011) Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and Productivity. McKinsey Global Institute.

Marr B. (2016) Big Data in Practice: How 45 Successful Companies Used Big Data Analytics to Deliver Extraordinary Results. Wiley.

Mayer-Schönberger, V., Cukier, K. (2013) Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think. UK: John Murray.

Meyer P. (2002) Precision Journalism: A Reporter's Introduction to Social Science Methods. 4th ed. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

Parasie S. (2015) Data-Driven Revelation? Epistemological Tensions in Investigative Journalism in the Age of 'Big Data'. Digital Journalism 3 (3): 364−380. 
DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2014.976408

Parasie S., Dagiral E. (2012) Data-Driven Journalism and the Public Good: "Computer-Assisted-Reporters" and "Programmer-Journalists" in Chicago. New Media & Society 15 (6): 853–871.

Radchenko I., Sakoyan A. (2014) The View on Open Data and Data Journalism: Cases, Educational Resources and Current Trends. In: Ignatov D.I., Khachay M.Y., Panchenko, A. et al. (eds.) Analysis of Images, Social Networks and Texts. Cham: Springer, pp. 47–54.

Shilina M.G. (2013) Data Journalism – data-zhurnalistika, zhurnalistika metadannykh – v strukture mediakommunikatsii: k voprosu formirovaniya teoreticheskikh issledovatel'skikh podkhodov [Data Journalism − Data Journalism, Metadata Journalism − in the Structure of Media Communication: on the Formation of Theoretical Research Approaches]. Mediaskop 1. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/node/1263

Shilina M. G., Levchenko V.Yu. (2014) Big Data, Open Data, Linked Data, metadannye v PR: aktual'nye modeli transformatsii teorii i praktiki [Big Data, Open Data, Linked Data, Metadata in PR: Current Models in the Transformation of Theory and Practice]. Mediaskop 1. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/big-data-open-data-linked-data-метаданные-в-pr-актуальные-модели-трансформации-теории-и-практики

Stalph F. (2018) Classifying Data Journalism. A Content Analysis of Daily Data-Driven Stories. Journalism Practice Pages 12 (10): 1332−1350. DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2017.1386583

Valeeva A. (2017) Open Data in a Closed Political System: Open Data Investigative Journalism in Russia. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. University of Oxford. Available at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2017-10/Valeeva_Open%20data%20and%20investigative%20journalism%20in%20Russia.pdf

Vartanov S.A. (2017) Bol'shie dannye v onlayn-SMI: podkhody i strategii ispol'zovaniya [Big Data and the Online Media: Basic Approach and Strategies of Use]. Mediaskop 4. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2375

Weber W., Rall H. (2013) We Are Journalists. Production Practices, Attitudes and a Case Study of the New York Times Newsroom. In: Interaktive Infografiken. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 161−172.