Data-driven journalism soars
News outlets rush to add to digital arsenal
A thousand attendees at an annual conference for data-loving journalists packed a Marriott in Baltimore this month, reveling in the overflowing job postings and employers’ sudden embrace of their obsession.
Data-centric journalism, once the domain of computer geeks, is coming to the forefront. With easier-to-use technology, more data-savvy journalists are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Heartened by social-media buzz about such stories and prodded by competition hungry for unique content, news organizations are recruiting talent and expanding their menu of stories derived from sophisticated number crunching, explanatory narratives and interactive graphics.
“There’s more information now available through more people faster than ever before,” says Almar Latour, executive editor of The Wall Street Journal. “There is a lot more flexibility in displaying and telling stories.”
Data crunchers have been in media since the 1980s, as computer-assisted reporting gained traction among editors looking to gain an edge. But the lack of computing power, dearth of talent to handle data and heavy costs kept the endeavor in check. “Many tried to make all of their staff more data-literate, but found limited success,” says Rich Gordon, a Northwestern University journalism professor who has launched a program to lure software-savvy students to journalism.
But a confluence of factors mainstream this arcane branch of journalism. The recovering economy is spurring more news business investment, with venture capitalists pouring money into digital journalism and creating openings for savvy data geeks.
Software that processes data and creates attractive graphics is cheaper, if not free. Cloud technology has lowered the price of storing loads of data.
Among competitors with datamining in mission statements:
uFiveThirtyEight.com. Nate Silver, the journalist best known for this pursuit, today plans to launch his new ESPN-backed site, a byproduct of the fame earned for his eerily accurate prediction of President Obama’s victory in the 2012 election.
uThe Upshot. The New York Times, which hosted Silver’s site until they parted ways last year, will replace it with The Upshot, a policy and economic analysis blog that will emphasize data and graphics and will be headed by the paper’s former Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt.
Vox. com. A brainchild of former Washington Post policy blogger Ezra Klein and published by Vox Media, Vox will launch this year as an explanatory site that aims to make news more digestible by roasting it “to perfection with a drizzle of olive oil and hint of sea salt,” according to its website. Data and graphics will be integral parts. Vox Media raised about $40 million in venture capital shortly before signing Klein.
The Washington Post will launch an economics blog by reporter Jim Tankersley. “We’re going to tell stories about big things in people’s lives that demand policy response,” Tankersley says. “Data (will) help us animate those stories.”
The Wall Street Journal has several data journalism initiatives on tap. Mike Siconolfi was named investigations editor to preside over a new group that will combine investigative reporters and data reporters under one roof. “Expanding our data-reporting capability in a data-rich age is a priority,” wrote Gerard Baker, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, in announcing Siconolfi’s appointment.
The Internet lets news entrepreneurs launch sites quickly and without upfront investment. The success of Web-based organizations that found a market with a unique approach — investigative force ProPublica is an example — encouraged others to follow.
That the Internet is awash with mindless click bait creates running room for news outlets to make a mark by offering journalism steeped in evidence, says Alexander Howard, a data journalist who is a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. “A lot of people still want to know facts.”
The push to ease handling of data has enhanced other layers of storytelling. A small but growing number of newsrooms are assigning teams of reporters and coders to create “data applications” — software written to allow readers to manipulate and handle data on their own. In a well-received project, NPR tasked its team to comb through data and create an application for parents of disabled children to locate wheelchairfriendly playgrounds.
The task of presenting massive data in engaging graphics — data visualization, in industry speak — has also moved up on the priority list. “You’d have these investigative teams of reporters and editors who talk a lot about (the stories),” says Miranda Mulligan, executive director at Northwestern University’s Knight Lab, which teaches digital journalism. “But when the time comes to involve photographers and graphics, a lot of the decisions were already made.”
Editors are pushing for conversations to take place earlier, and designers have help from an array of software that makes it easy to produce maps, time lines and audio-embeds relatively quickly. “The more you see that readers understand it and share it,” Mulligan says, “and you see more and more of it go viral, newsrooms put more resources into it.”