Convergent Journalism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition

9

Data-driven Journalism

Bob Britten

Introduction

When you hear “data,” you might think numbers. You might also think, “I got into journalism to avoid that kind of thing!” Believe it or not, though, you’re more familiar with managing data than you might think. If you’re cleaning up your room after a long time, there’s a lot to go through. First, you decide what to keep (possessions) and what to discard (garbage). If the “keep” pile is large, you can sort it into more manageable groups: Clothes, books, office supplies and electronics. These may have subcategories: Clothes are dirty or clean; books are yours or borrowed, and so on.

With your piles sorted out, you make conclusions. The books need to go back on the shelf, to a friend or to the library. ...