Data news can provide valuable news about the daily lives of readers globally or in particular communities. Most of them are focused on international or national journalism, yet journalists steven barnett and judith townend argue that “in practice, at the local level, the vast majority of citizens are closely associated with local hospitals, schools, transportation systems, police and electoral commission representatives”
Given this importance, data news is particularly critical in some local stories. There are local journalists from various fields who, based on their professional experience, have drawn up five practical principles and techniques for creating data news, while at the same time telling readers how to use data news tools rationally and effectively to add value to the news。
Focus on specific areas
Data journalists are gradually becoming visible among journalists in various fields, but this is not an industry where anyone can easily “go to work”。
Ben worthy of the university of london said, “if you want to be a qualified data journalist, you need to be a “special” person. Politically, for example, you need to communicate, communicate with and understand how they work. At the same time, you better really love your job.”
In addition to these personality characteristics, it is useful to know the time, techniques and specific data writing formats of local news stories. Time is a particularly important consideration for busy content providers, as websites rarely operate on a full-time basis。
At the same time, journalists working in the local media found that they were able to produce more stories weekly or daily as pressure increased. As a result, journalists and the media believe that it is impossible for them to cover all news within a limited period of time and focus on a particular area, and that faster and better production of content is the rule。
Of course, journalists also need to ask themselves: if the data-driven approach is right, how should it be used effectively
2. Finding a reliable source of information
One way to simplify processes in local media is to use tools such as my society's fixmystreet or seeclickfix. Fixmystreet is a british online website created by mysocity, where users can report, view and discuss municipal issues such as graffiti, road pits and illegal dumping.”
Seeclickfix
Since fixmystreet was established in early february 2007, over 775,000 incident reports have been issued in the united kingdom alone. Mysocity data show that more than 50 per cent of users have never contacted a local committee before. This means that this tool plays an indispensable role in increasing the motivation of citizens to participate in political life, and it has become an indispensable place for journalists to gather news。
3. Reporting cannot be limited to data per se
For journalists, while open data platforms such as fixmystreet can provide very useful resources, they still have other work to do. Data per se cannot be used directly as news stories: journalists need to consider how to organize, analyse, visualize and provide appropriate background information and relevant notes。
Fixmystreet
Everyblock is a super-localized news site whose previous failure was precisely to limit coverage to the data itself. Steve johnson, associate professor at the institute of electronic journalism of the university of montclair, pointed out that one of the fundamental problems of everyblock was that “the reader is not interested in raw data, but only in news events behind the data”
4. Strengthening two-way communication and collaboration
While acknowledging the gaps in their “data first” approach, the everyblock team changed its reporting orientation in 2011 by launching a new version aimed at encouraging dialogue and collaboration in the neighbourhood and focusing on what matters for everyone。
The founder of eveblock, adrian holovaty, said, "we have evolved from a one-way source of news into a website that transfers more power to communities. You are not passively consuming information on this site, and we will provide a platform for you to post it to your neighbours and see who lives near you.”
In addition to the residential news, business reviews, crime reports and real estate rental sales information previously available on the website, it has added a number of new features to encourage users to share and discuss local news and coordinate neighbourhood activities。
Working in this way may require a change in the media, but jeff wrote in his foreword to charlie beckett supermedia:
“it is inconceivable that professionals and amateurs, journalists and citizens can now gather and share more news together. Cybernews is built on a simple, self-evident and even self-serving truth: cooperation is far more effective than one-sided action ... I believe that two-way communication and collaboration are the natural state of the media.”
5. Developing self-appropriate reporting patterns
Data news is at the forefront of the tide, but its use still needs to be assessed like other editorial methods. Journalists need to consider whether, when and how to use data news tools and technologies to enhance coverage. This concept also applies to local news and information spaces - for example, when writing news about elections, public expenditure or holding accounts of state institutions. If they are skilled in using these techniques, local journalists can use data-driven news to cover events, support electoral events, etc。
Journalists should therefore be skilled in their professional skills and in the reading needs of their audiences, and be able to use a combination of methods and media to cover the news。
