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2019 | Buch

Data Journalism in the Global South

herausgegeben von: Bruce Mutsvairo, Saba Bebawi, Eddy Borges-Rey

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South

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This volume seeks to analyse the emerging wave of data journalism in the Global South. It does so by examining trends, developments and opportunities for data journalism in the aforementioned contexts. Whilst studies in this specific form of journalism are increasing in numbers and significance, there remains a dearth of literature on data journalism in less developed regions of the world. By demonstrating an interest in data journalism across countries including Chile, Argentina, the Philippines, South Africa and Iran, among others, this volume contributes to multifaceted transnational debates on journalism, and is a crucial reference text for anyone interested in data journalism in the ‘developing’ world. Drawing on a range of voices from different fields and nations, sharing empirical and theoretical experiences, the volume aims to initiate a global dialogue among journalism practitioners, researchers and students.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. A New Dawn for the “Developing” World? Probing Data Journalism in Non-Western Societies
Abstract
When all is said and done, technology has continued to play a critical role in unveiling new thinking in journalism research and practice. But up until now, very few have talked about data journalism in non-Western contexts—at least not in an academic setting, leaving many wondering whether it exists. The watchword “data journalism” has continued to gather pace as journalists across the world are increasingly turning to numerical figures and data gurus to boost their innovative storytelling techniques and methods. This chapter seeks to explore the practical, methodological and theoretical underpinnings of data journalism, critiquing various newsrooms’ growing reliance on structured pieces of data at the expense of traditionally structured news stories. This chapter does not seek to challenge notions or suggestions that data journalism is a Western phenomenon but it will bring critical, up-to-date deliberations and developments that have dominated an upsurge of discussions and dialogues surrounding what others consider an emerging form of journalism. The chapter provides a historical analysis of data journalism aligning itself to key developments in non-Western contexts before discussing current and impending opportunities and challenges. The chapter establishes data journalism’s inherent potential but argues that its sustainability lies in its aptitude to comprehend the functions and role of journalism in a given society. Data journalism is, after all, journalism.
Bruce Mutsvairo

Africa

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. Data Journalism and the Panama Papers: New Horizons for Investigative Journalism in Africa
Abstract
This chapter argues that data journalism does not epitomize the end of critical and analytical reporting in the journalism profession. Instead, data journalism has sharpened issue-oriented reporting through its ability to distil big numbers and provide insight into a bricolage of things that may be of national or even global public interest. In the social world, it has not only unmasked the complex networks of corruption, but has also been able to provide the forensics of wrong doing through the gathering and filtering of data. The Panama Papers, a dossier of millions of documents detailing illicit financial activities by public officials, demonstrates one such case where digital data journalism has expanded the boundaries of investigative journalism. The Panama Papers also showed new possibilities for partnerships between reporters in the Global North and those in the Global South. In the age of information saturation and complex transnational corruption syndicates, data journalism has occasioned new opportunities that help investigative journalists to probe how the abuse of power manifests in the increasing globalized and de-territorialized networks. In the age of journalism that is driven by spectacle and drama, data journalism represents a return to grounded storytelling that is based on facts.
Last Moyo
Chapter 3. Prospects for Data Journalism in Zimbabwe: Challenges of Engendering a Democratic Society and an Informed Citizenry in the Digital Age
Abstract
New communication technologies have opened up communicative space for a broad range of institutional organizations including government, media, business, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations but also individuals. The ability to generate data from different platforms at an unprecedented speed has also meant that media audiences or citizens are bombarded with an avalanche of information that they have to constantly interpret in order to understand the world around them. This can result in a dizzying experience that does not make people more informed or knowledgeable to make decisions especially in a fast paced social and political environment. More importantly, vast troves of unanalyzed data can also compromise citizens’ ability to fully participate in the democratic process. Journalism has always mediated human experiences by helping citizens to make sense of the world around them. This chapter seeks to show the extent to which journalism in Zimbabwe has taken advantage of data in order to explain the political, economic, cultural, and social environment to citizens so that they are not only better informed but are knowledgeable to make better decisions and be active participants in a democratic political process. The chapter will show that Zimbabwe media is not fully taking advantage of the opportunities that data-driven journalism presents. This is mainly because of the shortcomings in the training of journalism because of limited resources and appreciation of the changes that are taking place in journalism. This can be attributed to the training that most journalists have received or are getting from most of the journalism training institutions in the country. These training institutions are limited or have no capacity to train journalists on how to incorporate the massive data outlay that has become an unavoidable feature of twenty-first century journalism. An additional challenge could also emanate from the failure and inability of most organizations to capture, organize, and present data in a manner that makes it useful to journalism. While this is not an excuse for Zimbabwe’s media to fully take advantage of available data, the failure by most organizations to adapt to the demands of the information age through investment in data storage and retrieval systems has exacerbated the situation. All these factors mean that a lot of data that is ceaselessly generated by both individuals and institutions both public and private, is going to waste as it either sits locked in vaults or servers while these same organizations keep on generating more data without it being put to public use and helping citizens to make informed decisions. On the other hand, journalists fail to engage with the data resulting in the failure of journalism to provide complete information, which data-driven journalism can provide. The chapter will show that in as much as it can be easy to be buried in an avalanche of data, data-driven journalism can contribute to a more informed citizenry and can help policy makers to make better and less costly decisions. Above all this, data-driven journalism can also help in cutting costs as many organizations including the media spend a lot of limited financial resources looking for information that might be available already.
Cleophas Taurai Muneri
Chapter 4. Hobbling Across Bumps and Grinds: A Study on the Possibilities of Journalistic Reinvention Through Data Journalism in Rwanda
Abstract
All around the world, media scholars and journalists alike are enthused by data and computational journalism which they consider as an indispensable spice that gives journalism its true flavor by allowing numberless possibilities of telling compelling stories thanks to a wide range of digital information. This research aims to provide a picture of data journalism in Rwanda, a country often acclaimed for its recent technological and regulatory developments that have substantially transformed the media landscape in areas of freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of the media. The regulatory framework in Rwanda promotes data access but journalists do not take advantage of it. Precisely, the study sought to delineate whether and to what extent media professionals manipulate data and visualize their stories and what effect this process has on their daily work. The findings gathered through online interviews with media professionals and content analyses of five publications point to an embryonic practice of data journalism whereby journalists literally hinge on statistics fetched from outsider institutions and predominantly presented with no analysis. While the majority of interviewees display strong commitment towards the practice, news houses seem reluctant to embrace it due mainly to the hurdles pertaining to the media itself such as limited resources and management will; journalists’ lack of skills and motivation; as well as the intrinsic character of the data-reporting practice including the fact that it is a complex and time-consuming process.
Dominique Nduhura
Chapter 5. Data Journalism in Nigeria: Interrogating the Nigerian Mainstream Media’s Data-Driven Reporting of the Elections of 2019
Abstract
This chapter interrogates how data journalism practices are being appropriated and centred in Nigeria’s mainstream media. It uses the Nigerian elections of 2019 as an illustrative anchor to explore whether and how journalists in Nigeria are incorporating data in their reporting, particularly during periods of ‘data deluge’ as elections in the country. The chapter argues that not only are the various data journalism trainings, which some of these journalists have participated in, beginning to yield results, but it is also leading to the creation of ‘new’ departments within the newsroom, known for instance, as the ‘Data Desk’ in one of the sampled media organisations. The study finds that there is a sense in which data-driven reporting is enabling journalists to reinforce their credibility as the society’s arbiter especially during elections when fake news is rife. The chapter concludes that data journalism, beyond the visual and statistical representations that it entails, might be becoming an important resource for journalists in the country to ensure a fairly accurate representation of events as they unfold, particularly in times of elections.
Motilola Akinfemisoye-Adejare
Chapter 6. Data Journalism in the Age of Big Data: An Exploration into the Uptake of Data Journalism in Leading South African Newspapers
Abstract
The growing capacity to generate large quantities of data as a result of rapid technological change in the recent past has meant that increasingly, journalists everywhere are under pressure to find new ways of handling this information deluge, processing and packaging it in ways that allow ease of access for their readers. These data blizzards have been further intensified by the ever-expanding social media networks that keep churning out large volumes of information at unprecedented speed, making gathering, processing and packaging information in visualisable form all the more important. The rise of data journalism is in part a direct response to this, as it provides journalists the critical tools to manipulate data on complex issues such as national budgets, election manifestos and national census for innovative storytelling. This chapter explores the emergence of data journalism in South Africa and analyses its uptake by three leading mainstream newspapers—The Star, a national daily broadsheet; The Daily Sun, a national daily tabloid; and the Mail & Guardian, a widely respected weekly investigative paper. Using the so-called GuptaLeaks (a terabyte of email data on the links between the Gupta brothers and members of President Zuma’s government and family) as a reference point, the chapter analyses the extent to which the selected newspapers deployed data journalism to build the story of mass corruption that has come to be known as “State Capture.” It explores rationales for adoption or non-adoption of data journalism, as well as the different ways in which data journalism is affecting traditional newsroom practices through interviews interviews with a small sample of journalists and the selected papers.
Dumisani Moyo, Allen Munoriyarwa

Asia and Oceania

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Dancing with Chains: A Case Study of Data Journalism in China
Abstract
In authoritarian China, where journalism is under censorship and access to information is limited, doing data-driven journalism means extra challenges. However, China’s data journalists seem to have been dancing with chains. Data journalism is increasingly an effective vehicle for news media to tell stories with complexity, unveil the truth, and uphold social justice. Data journalism is thriving in China, the chief practitioner of which is Caixin Media’s data group, which won the Global Editors Network (GEN) 2018 Data Journalism Awards in the “Best Data Journalism Team (large newsroom)” category last year. Caixin VisLab’s winning of this award marks the first time a China-based media outlet has won a well-recognized competition in the field of data journalism, symbolizing the first-class status of China’s data journalism on the global stage. This chapter presents a case study into the emerging practice of data journalism in communist China. It is based on a content analysis of the data-driven news works produced by Caixin VisLab since its establishment in 2013, as well as a review of documented background information regarding the general development of data journalism in the country. It is also sourced from an in-depth interview with Zhimin Huang, founder of Caixin VisLab, who is commonly called “China’s first person of data journalism.” This chapter identifies and examines actors, data access conditions, practices, and the required tools and skills in Caixin’s data news. It addresses the subject matter from several perspectives pertinent to data journalism in China, including (1) development and status, (2) source and content, (3) the challenges of working data in a tightly monitored media environment, (4) divergence from the Western standard practices, and (5) opportunities and prospect.
Roselyn Du
Chapter 8. Data Journalism in the Philippines: New Trends, New Practices for Old Media Organizations
Abstract
The last few years have seen an explosion in data-driven journalism practice in the global South. As data journalism becomes more prevalent in professional journalism practice in the Philippines, it is increasingly important to capture the experience of local news organizations as they adapt and transition towards this emerging trend. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the development of data journalism in Philippine media companies, specifically focusing on some of the oldest news organizations: ABS-CBN Corp., GMA Network Inc., the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Drawing from in-depth interviews with senior journalists at these participating companies, the study explores how data journalism is perceived by journalists and editors and its implications in news management and/or the organization in general. We analyze changes and challenges in local journalistic practice as these intersect with traditional news values, organizational objectives and norms, organizational communicative practices in the newsroom, story selection and storytelling techniques, and strategic audience engagement mechanisms. Efforts towards cooperation and collaboration between and amongst news organizations over data sources and data analysis approaches are also explored. Some differences and similarities will be drawn from our experience vis-a-vis global North practice, including but not limited to the state of information access and data availability in the Philippines and the level of data literacy and the news consumption culture among Filipinos that also influence organizational practice.
Karol Ilagan, Cheryll Ruth Soriano
Chapter 9. Data Journalism in the Pacific: Practices and Perceptions
Abstract
To date research about data journalism has been primarily focused on how it is practised in US and European contexts. This chapter will present the results of a study into the emerging practice of data journalism in the Pacific. It will be based on a study that combines content analysis of data journalism published in newspapers from six Pacific nations, documenting the extent and types of data journalism being practised and qualitative data sourced from interviews with editors and senior journalists working in the region. The study will also incorporate input from journalism educators and students at the University of the South Pacific based in Fiji, with campuses spread throughout Oceania. The existence of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Pacific Media Assistance Scheme; the Melbourne-based not-for-profit Asia Pacific Journalism Centre (established in 2003 to strengthen the capacity of the news media sector in the region) and foreign aid programmes focused on media capacity building evidence widespread understanding that media organisations in the Pacific face a number of challenges. Evaluation studies have identified a number of these problems including low wages, poor working conditions and lack of access to appropriate technology, as well as social structures that can inhibit journalists from holding powerful community members to account (Wake, Pacific Journalism Review, 22(2), 35–48, 2016). Given these circumstances it is not surprising that uptake of data journalism in the region has been slow. Research on the uptake of journalism in university journalism programmes in Australia in 2016 found that key inhibitors to the incorporation of data journalism were the lack of familiarity with the required skills and a lack of time to upskill, in addition to difficulties caused by students having low or mixed numeracy skill levels. This study will test whether similar issues are limiting the uptake of data journalism in the Pacific in educational settings, as well as in newsrooms.
Kayt Davies, Shailendra Singh
Chapter 10. Towards Data Journalism in Russia?
Abstract
In Russia, data journalism is a topic discussed both in newsrooms and in academia. Absence of relevant practices means absence of relevant theoretical framework. Addressing this conceptual gap, this chapter discusses the results of the survey of data-driven Russian media practices to answer the question about the main features and the subject of data-driven journalism as it is in Russian media. The chapter focuses on quantitative methods of content analysis of the leading Russian media to describe the subject of data-driven journalism. The main features of development of data journalism in Russia will be presented as a result of content analysis of publications of seven leading Russian newspapers and magazines (2014–2016) and discussed by media experts to specify Russian data journalism (2016–2018). Data journalism in Russia as a maturing field is a litmus test for maturity of not only journalism, but also the national media system, the state and the civil society.
Alexandra Shilina, Marina Shilina

Middle East

Frontmatter
Chapter 11. Data Journalism and Investigative Reporting in the Arab World: From Emotive to Evidence-Based Journalism
Abstract
Data journalism in the Arab world is increasingly becoming a tool for uncovering the truth as a backbone to solid journalism that is leading to social change. As part of the global south, Arab investigative journalists are finding that learning the tools of data journalism could become the only way to assist them in producing successful investigations. However, there are some challenges to such journalism, which include accessing the data required for their investigations. Freedom of Information (FOI) laws are restricted and information is hard to find. This chapter looks into some of these challenges and how Arab reporters are finding particular methods of discovering data could work better within their cultural climate than standard methods found in Western journalism. This is based on a larger project that explores a theoretical framework for investigative journalism that is more suited to countries of the global south, outside Western models of journalism. Evident from the early days of Arab journalism, in the 1930s and 1940s in Egypt, the Amin Brothers attempted to liberalise the press and revolutionise reporting methods; they did so through a Western lens. Along with a free press, they advocated Western-style democracy, Western liberalism and free enterprise (Jehl Mustafa Amin, Liberal editor jailed by Nasser, dies at 83. The New York Times, 16 April [Online]. http://​www.​nytimes.​com/​1997/​04/​16/​world/​mustafa-amin-liberal-editor-jailed-by-nasser-dies-at-83.​html. Accessed 20 Nov 2014, 1997). Yet within the tightly monitored Arab media environment, and given the vastly different political, social and cultural context in which Arab journalism operated, such concepts were not easy to apply. In practice, Arab journalism was forced to diverge from the Western model, but it did so, and continues to do so, in an ad hoc fashion. There is still no efficient, culturally appropriate model for Arab journalists to work with. The chapter will address this deficiency, exploring how a model of data journalism can be developed systematically outside Western frameworks.
Saba Bebawi
Chapter 12. The Status of Data Journalism in Iranian Media
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to investigate the status of data journalism in Iran’s media, in which library, content analysis and interviewing methods have been used and the sampling method has also been widely available. In this chapter, while reviewing the history of infographics and its status in the Iranian media, as well as the analysis of theses defended in this field, the position of infographics and data journalism in Iran will be studied and suggestions will be made for their development.
Data journalism is a type of journalism that is developing despite the various challenges in Iran, and its further development requires more support from the government and governmental organizations, providing information and data through the system of free access to information (foia.​iran.​gov.​ir) and the creation of databases and more freedom in using data and information, more interaction of media with data analysis companies, more media directors’ attention to the field of data journalism and investment in this field, the presence of more data analysts in the media and public relations, mastering of data extraction software and so on.
The volume and number of infographic works, as well as the theses and books produced in this field, and the tendency of various organizations, especially governmental organizations, are indicative of the increasing spread of infographics in Iran.
Although infographics has an established background in Iran and its print type has a history of more than 140 years, its use in modern form dates back to about 15 years ago.
It is time that the Iranian media, with more attention to data journalism, cross the level of small data, have the ability to use and have access to different types of data, especially medium data and Big data, and provide their audience with more hidden and visible information.
Maryam Salimi
Chapter 13. A Desert Flower
Abstract
In the Arab region, data journalism is like a desert flower: a beautiful surprise in a mostly arid land that can take root in imperfect conditions. Data journalism is rare in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region yet oddly contrarian: it surfaces in unexpected, even repressive locales and fails to gain traction in nations where freedom of expression is more accepted. The purpose of this chapter is to identify what distinguishes data journalism in the Arab region and identify the conditions under which it has sprouted. This study is based on 16 interviews with data practitioners in the five nations, an ethnography at the region’s most influential news organization, and field observation. Data journalism in the region is both similar to and different from its cousins in the Global North. In any nation, data practice requires technical expertise and tools as well as numerical literacy. Sufficient equipment and expertise are absent in some Arab nations, though grant-funded organizations have provided computers and training. The fruits of data journalism are more often produced for digital formats than for broadcast or print, which in the Arab region is both a limit (coding skills are rare and legacy platforms ascendant) and an opportunity, as some data journalists have used the internet to circumvent official meddling. Yet what differentiates data in the region is less availability of skills than limitations on journalism practice both real and imagined. Those restraints are not just official; they involve self-censorship and the low career status afforded journalism. Equally important is role perception and a belief that nationalism requires loyalty and passivity as information conduits over detachment and an embrace of knowledge production. Such factors are as much societal as journalistic and preclude efforts to apply a Western template to detain the Arab region.
Norman P. Lewis

Latin America

Frontmatter
Chapter 14. Data Journalism in Latin America: Community, Development and Contestation
Abstract
As the emphasis of data journalism research shifts to the Global South, one region that remains relatively under researched is Latin America. Arguably a space that has pioneered data journalism practices, and that has enormous potential for social change and development, Latin America has excelled in many areas related to the field—La Nación in Argentina has, to date, one of the most innovative and successful data journalism units in the world. Yet an absence of Latin American data journalism research from mainstream scholarship creates an opportunity to further explore the developments and evolution of data journalism in this continent, looking at the particular features that make Latin American data journalism distinct and unique. This chapter, therefore, aims at mapping data journalism practices in the four Latin American regions (Central America, the Caribbean, the Andes and the Southern Cone), to subsequently reposition it within the broadest discussions on the field, recontextualising its contribution into debates on the role of this journalistic practice in the Global South.
Eddy Borges-Rey
Chapter 15. Journalism and Civil Society: Key to Data Journalism in Argentina
Abstract
There is no tradition of quantitative journalism in Argentina. Mostly local NGOs have led initiatives for access of information in the last decades, which in many cases were the background of some articles in mainstream media. So data journalism in the country is usually associated with public journalism. The exception is La Nación Data, a special investigative unit in a local newspaper, identified worldwide as an important reference in data journalism. In recent years, La Nación has been recognized for many innovative contributions to digital journalism. The investigation based on leaked emails from the minister of transportation in 2010 was a key moment for the newspaper, considered since that moment a powerhouse of Latin American data journalism. But it is still the only media in the country with a data journalism unit. Many factors can explain the limited development of this journalism model in other media, especially the La Nación Data’s success and local recognition of its contribution to society and profession. From a social point of view, we can mention the tradition of secrecy in politics, the scarcity of open databases and the lack of a law of access of information till 2016. But the professional culture is the main obstacle. In general, watchdog journalism was a declining model in the last decades due to hostile political climates, weak professionalization and lack of resources in newsrooms to develop investigative reporting. Additionally, data journalism requires a quantitative perspective and an interaction between programmers and journalists. We propose to analyze in detail the factors of social context and journalistic culture in order to explain the situation of data journalism in Argentina.
Adriana Amado, Raquel Tarullo
Chapter 16. Data Journalism in Chile: Towards a Critical Appropriation
Abstract
Like other waves that come from the Global North, Data Journalism begins to be seen by journalists in Chile (though not only here) as a trend that needs everyone’s attention. Therefore, they believe it is convenient to be prepared for its arrival. Despite this, the use of big data is still far from becoming a common practice in Chilean journalism. Two possible ways to explain this include the weak presence that the journalism watchdog model has in Chile (Mellado et al., Palabra Clave, 20(1), 14–46, 2017) due to the closeness that Chilean political journalism has historically had with the elites, an aspect characteristic of the recent dictatorial past, and because of the important instabilities that the media system continues to face. However, governmental, political and economic systems are already used to advanced levels of data for the interpretation and analysis of public comments that appear in social networks. Then, the use of big data has generated a big gap in the capacity to use data processing between the political and economic powerbases, and Chilean journalism. In consequence, we are in the presence of a journalism that is underutilizing big data for investigative practices and this chapter seeks to use journalism theory to explain why this is the case. Data Journalism represents a double challenge for journalism practice and theory in Chile. For practice, because we must evaluate the capacity of Chilean media structures to formalize technological, editorial and professional spaces characteristic of Data Journalism. Theoretically, journalism studies have been understood in Chile (as in the rest of the Global South) as a model whose great social responsibility is to publicize (in the Habermasian sense) the affairs of the State.
Rodrigo Araya, Claudio Elórtegui Gómez
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Data Journalism in the Global South
herausgegeben von
Bruce Mutsvairo
Saba Bebawi
Eddy Borges-Rey
Copyright-Jahr
2019
Verlag
Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-25177-2
Print ISBN
978-3-030-25176-5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25177-2