News Nerd Jobs - Data Analytics and Journalism

Data Analytics and Journalism

News Nerd Jobs - Tech Skills Journalists Need

The modern world runs on computers. Journalists have the responsibility to dig out information and create stories from it. To achieve that, they need to know how to utilize the computing power. The way data is created and analyzed on the internet is in an association with reasonable coding skills. What is more, the future seems to be clear – it belongs to big data analytics. Journalists who want to stay ahead of their game have to learn some rudimentary coding. It will help them do their job faster and better. The ethical responsibility of every reporter to dig up the truth and tell it to their audience is entirely achievable nowadays with some coding.

Leveraging Algorithms for Computational Journalism

Computational journalism involves using a variety of analytical tools to tell a story. Journalists dig out information in a new way thanks to big data. Not only that, they can write and showcase their stories in a much more different way than ever before. Big data analysis helps investigative reporters discover stories on a local level much faster and more efficiently. That is particularly true for open, free data such as government reports, documents from courts and local authorities. A couple of decades ago, a journalist had to request access to the archives. They had to physically go there and dig into piles of hard-copy documents. On top of that, they needed to know what they are looking for at any moment. That is no longer the case. Large free datasets do not leave anything to chance. The proper analytical tools can reveal stories no one has suspected exist. The notorious Panama Papers, which contained well over 11 million documents, are a prime example of the power of big data. That is why more and more journalists learn about analytics.

Data Journalism and Storytelling

The way data analytics work impacts more than just the flow of new stories. It changes the way journalists tell their audience what they have found. Data journalism is more or less an umbrella term for all tools and methods to approach a story. Data visualization plays a crucial role in the process. The central element of journalism is keeping the audience informed about things that matter. Visualizing the findings from vast chunks of information through infographics, tables, and other tools is a skill every modern-day journalist needs to possess.

Data Journalism is the Future

There is no other way to put it. The amount of data produced daily around the globe is growing. The open access to information the internet provides is indeed beneficial. The sheer numbers, however, could be overwhelming as well, especially without data analytics. If a journalist wishes to stay in the game and provide their audience with new, important stories, they can’t achieve it without the help of data analytics.