DataN - Big Data, Small Newsroom
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DataN is a project that lowers the barrier for smaller newsrooms to integrate data journalism into their daily operation. This project was jointly conducted by New York University's Studio 20 graduate program and Foreign Policy. Please visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up of the project.
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DataN - Big Data, Small Newsroom
- 1. #studio20 Kuang KENG Kuek Ser | Partner: Foreign Policy DataN Big Data, Small Newsroom Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 2. #studio20
- 3. #studio20
- 4. #studio20 DataN Problem Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 5. #studio20 DataN Problem Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 6. #studio20 Design Training Modules Tools Documentation Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 7. #studio20 Design Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 9. #studio20 Findings Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 10. #studio20 Easy-to-use, Customizable, Open Source Tools Will be used in FP stories Minimal time Coding skill not required Customized to fit house style Findings Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 12. #studio20 Results Findings Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 13. #studio20 DataN Visit http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo for a more detailed write-up on the project
- 14. #studio20 Person1 Their title Person 2 Their title Etc. Thank you to: Person Their title Person Their title Etc. http://bit.ly/1AlgaEo (more detailed write-up) @kuangkeng kuangkeng@gmail.com Emma Carew Grovum Homepage Editor, FP Ben Pauker Executive Editor, FP Prof Jay Rosen Program Director, Studio 20 Zoe Fraade-Blanar Adjunct Professor, Studio 20 Li Li Liew my wife
Editor's Notes
- Today, data journalism has become a buzzword in the media industry, and many newsrooms are scrambling to use data in their stories. However it doesn't mean everybody can produce good data journalism. Let's look at some of my favorite data charts.
- I'm not sure cutting a head into slices helps to present data.
- And I’m pretty sure chart does not help when your math is wrong.
- How do we avoid these bad charts? Of course we need people who know data journalism in the newsroom, however currently the way to produce data journalism is very resource intensive. Big newsrooms like NYT have over 1,200 editorial staff, and the graphic department that produces data components alone has about 40 members, but for small newsrooms like Foreign Policy, the whole newsroom has only 40 people, equal to only one department in the Times. There's a huge gap in the industry. To narrow this gap, I develop DataN.
- Data N is a program that lowers the barrier for smaller newsrooms to integrate data journalism into their daily operation. It helps them to produce more credible, engaging and comprehensible journalism.
- Together with Foreign Policy, we developed training modules, selected and customized a set of tools, and prepared documentation for each tool. We integrated all these material into a website that the journalists can refer to when they want to work with data. Here’s a quick view of what we've built.
- How we build this program? First we asked the journalists, what do they need and what problems they face? Most of them told us 2 problems: time and visualization of data. With these feedback in mind, we designed and ran the project. Tonight I want to share 2 key findings in this project.
- The first is flexible and customized training modules. In a small newsroom, time is an issue, it is extremely hard to gather everyone at the same time for training.
- We broke our training material into small pieces that can be mixed and matched into different modules for different groups of journalists. We conducted quick training sessions in small groups.
- Second is tools. Journalists are not only busy, most of them don't like coding. So we need to select tools that - are easy to use and require minimal time - don't require coding skill - can be customized to fit the housestyle - will be frequently used in future stories
- After the training, some of the journalists put the tools and skills in use almost immediately. Here are some examples.
- From the feedback, out of 13 journalists we trained, almost half said they've have learned something useful, 4 said they still have questions, which I think is good, and 3 of them felt that it was too basic, that's even better. Also, 90% of the journalists were interested to have more advanced training. That's very very positive feedback. From here, we can see that a one-time training is never enough. We need long term support. That's something I want to develop after graduation.
- DataN is not just designed for Foreign Policy. It could be applied to other small newsrooms, not only in US but other parts of the world. It lowers the barrier to produce DJ, and accelerates the development of DJ in the newsroom. I believe every newsroom should have its own DataN.
- If you want to build a DataN for your newsroom, I would be more than happy to help. You can visit my homepage for more details about the program. I want to thank Emma, Ben, Jay, Zoe, and all my classmates in Studio 20 for your support, thank you.