Published at Memeburn:
http://memeburn.com/2012/03/data-journalism-where-coders-and-journos-meet/
How do you make sense of a growing data pile spit out by the
internet? The number of journalists who can analyse and write stories
based on this data is still relatively small.
At a time when large
numbers of journalists are being laid off — because print newspapers
are closing or decreasing the number of editors –, however, data
journalism is becoming a great way to get value out of journalistic
work.
Newspapers are also exploring it, and data journalism could
potentially attract more readers to print or online editions. In Europe,
The Guardian’s
data page is an example of how well the form can be pulled off.
The growing interest in data journalism is reflected by reports from the National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting (
NICAR)
conference held in February 2012 in St Louis, USA. NICAR, a branch of
an organisation called Investigative Reporter and Editors (IRE), is the
focal point of data journalism in the USA.
According to
reports about the NICAR conference the atmosphere was vibrant. Alex Howard
wrote:
“At NICAR 2012, you could literally see the code underpinning the
future of journalism written — or at least projected — on the walls”.
“The
energy level was incredible,” said David Herzog, associate professor
for print and digital news at the Missouri School of Journalism, in an
email interview after NICAR. “I didn’t see participants wringing their
hands and worrying about the future of journalism. They’re too busy
building it.”
