The difference between data journalism and regular
journalism is that data journalism uses data to visually explain events in an
appealing way to the public. When something happens there are automatic reports
on the event. Regular journalists fight to be the first to publish a story on
the event. By doing so, it gives them the upper hand, and a high audience
number.
Journalists would have to go through training to be able to
learn the right ways to use data and eventually become a data journalist. A lot
of questions would come up and data journalists need to be prepared to answer
any question that would be thrown their way.
Data is more than just numbers and statistics. Over time it
evolved from being a set of numbers on a spreadsheet to something more tangible
for people to understand. The digital age has made it possible to create
various infographics and other visual forms for people to understand
information. Data could also be considered a puzzle – especially when looked at
by aspiring data journalists. Data journalists need to figure out how to put
the data they are given together before publishing it to the readers.
Today there is a high rise in personal blogs, people
reporting through twitter and their other personal accounts, and other forms of
“citizen journalism”. Before this was seen as a threat to the world of
journalism, but it is an opportunity for data journalists.
What data journalists do is they compile all of the
information and combine it in a visual that shows the event through all angles.
There are eyewitness events, facts, and opinions from various sides that enrich
the story.
Data journalists are also able to tell a story in a way that
offers valuable information to the public in a short compressed form. It is
also easy to understand.
The way that journalists compile data is by using different
programs to gather and combine information from various sources. There are
sources that go unnoticed from the amount of options that there are on the
internet. Through data journalism, even the ignored sources are used as a base
to writing stories. Data journalism also forms connections between different
perspectives or stories on the same event.
After gathering all of the information and combining them,
data journalists then create infographics. These infographcis are an easy
display of the information to the public. They also explain how a story is
relatable to the people. The people can also make their own connections via the
information given.
Of course, data journalists need to keep in mind that their
reports, like any other, will attract skeptical readers with their own opinions
and criticism on the information given. But the advantage that data journalists
have over regular journalists is that they have more power over shaping the general
story. Data journalists are able to form the mindset that people could take
based on their information.
The reason behind why data journalists are able to shape
stories that that they offer a promise along with the infographics and visuals
that they use. Regular journalist reports will state the information of the
event and very limited information on anything else that could be related. Data
journalism adds another element. What they do is offer a sneak peak into the
future. You can see a general idea of how thing will continue in the future
regarding various statistics.
The ability to give an idea of the future is extremely
helpful in regards to translating hard information in a visual form. Data
journalists can take an event, like a riot, and create an infographic giving
all kinds of information. If the information were to be written out it would
take lines upon lines to explain each detail. Data journalists are able to
report the total number of people involved, casualties, fatalities, any
property damage and more in one image.
Apart from the ability to show information in an easy way,
it also translates information in a visual form that makes sense to the
readers. There are many situations that are hard to understand just by reading
about them.
