The Evolution of Data Journalism: A Case Study of Australia

Authors: Wright, S. and Doyle, K.

Journal: Journalism Studies

Volume: 20

Issue: 13

Pages: 1811-1827

eISSN: 1469-9699

ISSN: 1461-670X

DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2018.1539343

Abstract:

This article investigates how and why data journalism has evolved in Australia. Using semi-structured interviews with Australian data journalists, we examine how they view their role in news organisations; the structure of Australian data journalism within and beyond Australian newsrooms; and how their practice has changed and the factors that drive this. This study finds that there has been a decline in larger projects and in exploratory dashboards, as well as in the number of active data journalists in Australia. However, there remains a small core of data journalists alongside some moves to normalise data into everyday reporting. This suggests that rather than purely a story of decline, the ways in which data journalism is institutionalised has started to evolve to cope with these changes.

Source: Scopus