[ddj] Defining datajournalism

Thu Oct 13 16:58:22 UTC 2011

Ah, well. Now I understand; I was wondering about the destinction
between datajournalism and ddj.

I would choose digital journalism over data journalism in this case to
avoid misinterpretations.

Lorenz

Am 13.10.11 16:47, schrieb Nicolas Kayser-Bril:
> Hi Lorenz,
> 
> Thanks for spreading the conversation in German!
> 
> I agree with you that it's better when data plays a real role in the story,
> whatever the form. Now, stories made with CAR (or even stories with a couple
> of figures in them) have been described as "datajournalism", as well as
> serious games that didn't have anything to do with data proper. That's why I
> proposed a distinction between data-driven journalism, that represents your
> definition, and datajournalism, that stands for "innovative stuff in
> journalism that involves computers".
> 
> Given how afraid traditional publishers are with all things digital, I
> thought it might help to have a concept they wouldn't look down to.
> 
> Best
> 
> nicolas.
> --
> Datajournalist since 2007
> nkb.fr <http://nkb.fr?m>
> +336 50 57 53 80
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 3:58 PM, Lorenz Matzat <matzat at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>>
>> I wrote about this discussion a blog entry in German:
>>
>>
>> http://www.datenjournalist.de/neues-von-der-definition-des-datenjournalismus/
>>
>> What I would like to add: For a data-article (as a product of
>> datajournalism) - be it an interactive visualisation or whatever - I
>> find the used data has to have a role in the story itself. Doing CAR or
>> relying and researching in tables or numeric data is nothing new for
>> journalism. And most articles etc. are using bits of numerical data or
>> statistics - but that's not datajournalism.
>>
>> For me datajournalism is a journalistic product where the data plays a
>> main role. Be it as the database for an app etc. or  the discussion or
>> story about the data itself plays a significant role. And best is, when
>> the underlying data is published as raw and open as possible alongside.
>>
>> So one question is, where does datajournalims start? Is CAR datajournalism?
>>
>> Lorenz
>>
>>
>> Am 11.10.11 21:45, schrieb Tim McNamara:
>>> Unstructured data are actually where I think journalists are able to
>>> really excel. Leaks are their traditional fodder.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 12 October 2011 05:12, marco Laucelli <mlaucelli at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi all, sorry for the delay of my answer.
>>>>
>>>> Nicolas, I completely agree that getting close to real-time is a
>>>> pan-journalisma topic. However my point was that the instrumentation of
>> the
>>>> world - producing mostly structured data - and the massive adoption of
>>>> social/mobile networks by people - unstructured data - points out a good
>>>> opportunity to get close to real-time. And, in my opinion, this is a
>> very
>>>> good opportunity to approach that pan-journalism challenge from d-driven
>>>> journalism.
>>>>
>>>> I will try to write a proposal to include an unstructured data paragraph
>> in
>>>> the entry, and I'll share with all of you for feedback. Ok?
>>>> Thanks a lot for your views and comments.
>>>> Best regards,
>>>> Marco.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 2011/10/6 Nicolas Kayser-Bril <n.kayserbril at gmail.com>
>>>>>
>>>>> Marco,
>>>>> Many thanks for your input.
>>>>> There's no wonder we don't have the same definition: Scholars haven't
>> been
>>>>> able to agree on a universal definition for journalism for the past 50
>>>>> years! (which is perfectly normal as Adrian Holovaty, Bob Woodward and
>> the
>>>>> anchor on Rossiya1 don't have anything but this name in common). That's
>> why
>>>>> I prefer using "information management".
>>>>> Concerning the quest for real-time information, I believe it is a
>>>>> pan-journalism issue. After I realized that the entry about journalism
>>>>> didn't mention timeliness at all, I've added "in a timely fashion" at
>> the
>>>>> end of the definition ("Journalism is the practice
>>>>> of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad
>>>>> audience in a timely fashion.")
>>>>> As for unstructured data, you're absolutely right that structuring
>>>>> heterogeneous bits of data is part of data-driven journalism (say, when
>> you
>>>>> OCRize a scanned paper to obtain an XLS file). Do you want to add a
>>>>> paragraph about it in the DDJ entry?
>>>>> best
>>>>> nkb.
>>>>> --
>>>>> Datajournalist since 2007
>>>>> nkb.fr
>>>>> +336 50 57 53 80
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 5:41 PM, marco Laucelli <mlaucelli at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>> this discussion is very exciting to me, and I would be happy to get
>> your
>>>>>> feedback on the following, that is just a summary of my thoughts of
>> what
>>>>>> DDJournalism means to me. In the usual definitions of Data Journalism
>> I've
>>>>>> found, as those cited in your previous mails, there are at least two
>>>>>> important aspects I find lacking:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1) Getting closer to real-time: As the technology is evolving the
>> world
>>>>>> is becoming more and more instrumented and interconnected, as a
>> consequence
>>>>>> there would be a large amount of data created and transmitted in
>> real-time,
>>>>>> involving interactions and transactions among people, devices and
>> physical &
>>>>>> logical entities. The ability of developing capabilities to monitor
>> that
>>>>>> data traffic and detect noticeable events - based on data - seems to
>> be one
>>>>>> of the future scopes of Data Journalism. In the future it seems to me
>>>>>> important considering News Media and journalist being able to detect,
>>>>>> contextualize and rapidly analyze data-events and translate them into
>>>>>> interesting news. Very simple example of this could be traffic events,
>>>>>> emergencies, etc... Some would be noticed and published by public and
>>>>>> private entities, but the technical ability and the skills to do so
>>>>>> independently should be  in my opinion - one of the objectives of
>> future
>>>>>> journalism.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2) Use of unstructured data: there is a tremendous focus - in what
>> refers
>>>>>> most common DDJournalism references - on structured data, and in
>> particular
>>>>>> on structured data coming from public entities (Open Data). It seems
>> to me
>>>>>> very important for the future DDJournalism being able to capture
>> relevant
>>>>>> and noticeable information from unstructured data and in particular
>> from
>>>>>> digital conversations such those being held in social networks. The
>> ability
>>>>>> of structuring that information, and combining it with structured data
>> is
>>>>>> crucial - in my opinion, again - to get complete insight of what is
>>>>>> happening behind data. I think that any definition of DDJournalism
>> should
>>>>>> take into account seriously unstructured data.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've put my views on the different flavors of DD Journalism in a chart
>>>>>> explaining the conceptual links between time-scales and the data
>> sources for
>>>>>> DD Journalims. I'm currently working on a definition of the underlying
>>>>>> conceptual architecture - tech capabilities, processes & skills - to
>> support
>>>>>> those different flavors. I would really appreciate any feedback on
>> this, and
>>>>>> I'm completely open to collaborations for this purpose.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks in advance for your interest.
>>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>>> Marco.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2011/10/6 Nicolas Kayser-Bril <n.kayserbril at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> #done
>>>>>>> Changelog:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Creation of entry Datajournalism
>>>>>>> Complete overhaul and change of meaning of Database journalism
>>>>>>> Creation of Structured journalism, which redirects to Database
>>>>>>> journalism
>>>>>>> Re-creation of the page Computer-assisted_reporting, which, in my
>>>>>>> opinion should be merged with data-driven journalism
>>>>>>> Proposal of a merger of Computational Journalism with data-driven
>>>>>>> journalism
>>>>>>> I've also tried to clarify and wikify the Data driven journalism
>> entry,
>>>>>>> but that'll take time.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> All contribution/feedback/edit war welcome!
>>>>>>> nkb.
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Datajournalist since 2007
>>>>>>> nkb.fr
>>>>>>> +336 50 57 53 80
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 12:12 PM, Nicolas Kayser-Bril
>>>>>>> <n.kayserbril at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Mirko, Tom,
>>>>>>>> Many thanks for your feedback! It concurs to the idea of
>> datajournalism
>>>>>>>> as a byword for 'new stuff in information management', starting from
>> data
>>>>>>>> collection and how to envision a story to interactive apps.
>>>>>>>> I'll include your points in the Wikipedia entry!
>>>>>>>> Best
>>>>>>>> nkb.
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> Datajournalist since 2007
>>>>>>>> nkb.fr
>>>>>>>> +336 50 57 53 80
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 11:29 AM, Tom Kronenburg
>>>>>>>> <tom.kronenburg at zenc.nl> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Dear Nicholas,
>>>>>>>>> I will publish a report on open data and datajournalism on the
>>>>>>>>> ePSIplatform.eu
>>>>>>>>> In it, I recognize 4 types of activities that i consider
>>>>>>>>> datajournalism. (naturally, with any definition you draw lines that
>> are a
>>>>>>>>> bit arbitrary)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> " There are four basic types of data journalistic activities. All
>> four
>>>>>>>>> types can use PSI, and we will provide examples of how journalists
>> used Open
>>>>>>>>> Data to write their stories. Data journalists use (open) data
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To discover newsworthy facts or stories [from data]
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To discover trends hidden in [large] datasets
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To compile datasets for further dissemination to the public.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To create data visualisations."
>>>>>>>>> 1: is what you might consider CAR (even though i understand that
>> CAR
>>>>>>>>> is as much an umbrella-word as data-journalism).
>>>>>>>>> 2: is different from 1, because the timing is different. I'd say
>> the
>>>>>>>>> first category is about a single event, while 2 is about trends.
>>>>>>>>> 3: is what you call "Database Journalism" or structured journalism.
>>>>>>>>> 4: I have swept together all visualization/interaction stuff in one
>>>>>>>>> category: "Infographics, dataviz, interactive viz (for me the same
>> as
>>>>>>>>> dataviz, although with different tools) - same goes for serious
>> games".
>>>>>>>>> So, basically, i think we agree on the main points that are in
>> there.
>>>>>>>>> I don't really know whether or not distinguishing category's 1 and
>> 2
>>>>>>>>> is important, but for me it feels like they are very different
>> types of
>>>>>>>>> activities. The first is 'searching' through datasets, combining
>> single
>>>>>>>>> lines, whereas trend discovery is much more about statistics,
>> massive
>>>>>>>>> computation and such.
>>>>>>>>> When the report is published, i'll let you know.
>>>>>>>>> Kind regards, Tom
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Tom Kronenburg
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Zenc | Focus op oplossingen
>>>>>>>>> Alexanderstraat 18
>>>>>>>>> 2514 JM Den Haag
>>>>>>>>> KvK:  27190312
>>>>>>>>> Tel:  +31 70 3626944 of +31 6 55778353
>>>>>>>>> Fax:  +31 70 3921835
>>>>>>>>> tom.kronenburg at zenc.nl
>>>>>>>>> www.zenc.nl
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Op 6 okt 2011, om 10:30 heeft Nicolas Kayser-Bril het volgende
>>>>>>>>> geschreven:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Datajournalism has been widely used to unite several concepts and
>> link
>>>>>>>>> them to journalism. Among these are:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Computer assisted reporting and data-driven journalism, where
>>>>>>>>> journalists make use of large databases to produce stories,
>>>>>>>>> Infographics,
>>>>>>>>> Data visualization,
>>>>>>>>> Interactive visualization,
>>>>>>>>> Serious games, in the sense that they take interaction a step
>> further,
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> Database journalism or structured journalism, an information
>>>>>>>>> management system where pieces of information are organized in a
>> database
>>>>>>>>> (as opposed to a traditional story-centric organizational
>> structure).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I also plan to rework several entries, notably:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>>>>>>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>>>>>>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>>>>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>>>>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> @mlaucelli
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>>>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>>>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> @mlaucelli
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>
>> --
>>
>> http://www.datenjournalist.de
>> http://www.opendatacity.de
>>
>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/lorz
>> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lorenz-matzat/31/b00/571
>> Facebook: http://de-de.facebook.com/people/Lo-Rz/100001536331743
>>
>> public PGP:
>> http://gpg-keyserver.de/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x53601B9EB93E01BE
>>
>> Lorenz Matzat
>> Medienkombinat Berlin
>> Köpenickerstraße 187/188
>> 10997 Berlin
>>
>> Tel. (030) 7891 3457
>> matzat at gmail.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> data-driven-journalism mailing list
>> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism
>>
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> data-driven-journalism mailing list
> data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/data-driven-journalism

-- 

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Lorenz Matzat
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10997 Berlin

Tel. (030) 7891 3457
matzat at gmail.com