From Journalism to Data Journalism

There are different types of journalism; among them is Data Journalism. Data Journalism is reporting information by using data.

Thanks to the current digital world, data are more than just a collection of numbers on a spreadsheet. Data are almost any possible topic described with numbers in different forms.

Data journalism isn’t like other forms of journalism. As opposed to having something written and traditional to express news or report information, data journalism uses a more visual approach – infographics.

Journalists use programming to gather and combine information from various sources. They can also use different software to find connections between different documents on the same sources.

Through the different documentation of sources, journalists can then create infographics to help display the information in a way that is easily understandable.

Infographics help explain how a story is relatable. It also helps people absorb a lot of information in a limited space.

For example, during the Olympics, there are charts that tell the people the number of medals won by a country. These infographics are also used to show information in a way that displays the different medals won on a scale relevant to each country. If this information were to be typed up, it would take a lot of space to write out each statistic for each country.

Infographics allow people to view the information quickly, in various ways, and in a small space.

Data is more than just information that journalists use for their stories, it can be the source, and the tool used to tell the story. You should keep in mind that any information given will be questioned, but the way it is presented will shape the way that people use it.

Journalists should use data as a tool to be able to verify the information given in their stories. There are news stories the second something happens from a bunch of different sources. Data journalists can collect and filter all these different sources of information, and compile them to create something that views the event through all sides.

Data journalism offers a new perspective on things as it creates the shape of the story. Journalists change their main focus from being the first to report a story and publish it to the public, to being the ones that tell what the story could mean.

Data, and the growing number of sources and “citizen journalism” should not be seen as a threat but as an opportunity.

This allows journalists to show different viewpoints and different affects based on the background of their sources. Journalists can also create personalized calculators that help the readers come up with their own decisions on various topics.

These topics could range from anything from buying a car to watching a movie.

Data journalists are able to analyze the way complicated situations are, and the different dynamics to them. These situations could be riots or problems in the workplace, and give a visual report that help people understand what is going on at an easier rate.

Another positive asset to using infographics is that visuals are easy for people to remember. People are also able to obtain information at a faster rate. The images can also give people more clarity and understanding on the issue at hand.

Apart from the things that data journalism offers to the public, it also gives an edge to the journalists behind them. It forces people to become more knowledgeable in figuring out information and how to transform that information to something visual. That skill is not found with everyone. Data journalism offers a future perspective to things as they happen. It’s more than just reporting on the event at hand, it also offers insight on what could happen next.

For people interested on taking that step from regular journalism to data journalism they have to be willing to go through the proper training. They have to be trained in learning how to work with data in any possible situation or in regards to any type of question that could be asked. Working with data is harder than just dealing with numbers and statistics, it is a puzzle that people need to learn how to assemble before displaying it to the public.