Introduction
Data journalism is a fast-changing phenomenon. By the time you read this book, several developments, left out in the volume, would have taken center stage. Indeed, in non-Western societies, changes in journalism have largely been driven by technological changes. From the use of satellite images that uncovered former Botswana President Ian Khama’s secret mission to divert public funds and build himself a luxury compound to the BBC’s use of forensic analysis and satellite maps to quantify the involvement of Cameroonian soldiers in the killing of unarmed women and children after a provocative 2018 viral video, technological innovations have fronted fundamental changes in African journalism. In Asia, several countries, especially those that have adopted the Freedom of Information legislation, including Indonesia or Philippines, have seen data journalism flourishing while in others like Vietnam, the transformative train has adopted a tortoise-like pace. In Latin America, technological advancements have drastically changed the journalism ecosystems, playing a prominent role in exposing the abuse of power as well as developing opportunities for social and political mobilization. These characteristics are shared in other regions of the world including the Middle East, which nearly ten years ago overwhelmingly gained widespread popularity, becoming the center of international attention when citizens of various countries in the region took to the streets in a series of anti-government protests to demand an end to dictatorships. Technology was again credited for triggering the Arab Spring, which others dubbed the “Facebook Revolution” (Bebawi and Bossio 2014).
This volume seeks to methodologically and theoretically analyze the emerging wave of data journalism in non-Western societies. It does so by examining trends, developments and opportunities for data journalism in the aforementioned contexts. It is a very important book as it is believed to be the first to critique the rising adoption of data journalism with a special focus on the Global South. The volume therefore identifies a gap that the editors believe will offer an opportunity to discuss theoretical and practical implications of data use in journalism not just in the Global South but across other regions as well.
Studies exploring data journalism are plentiful (see for example Borges-Rey 2016; Parasie and Dagiral 2013; Appelgren and Nygren 2014). Borges-Rey (2017) has even gone as far as making an attempt to develop an epistemological base for data journalism. Its arrival heralds an opportunity to rethink journalism (Rogers 2013). Several definitions have been put forward, the most recent of which has been advanced by Kalatzi et al. (2018, p. 37), who define it as “the process of extracting useful information from data, writing articles based on the information and embedding visualizations.” To understand its purpose, one has to equate it to accountability, which knows no geographical boarders. While the demand for accountability continues to grow, it is hoped that data journalism will have a role to play in fulfilling this demand. Accountability or, as Halonen (2012, p. 18) calls it, “democratic accountability” is data journalism’s first mission and as several of this volume’s chapters will show, those in non-Western societies are slowly getting used to that reality. Both Halonen along with Schellong and Stepanets (2011) believe that governments supportive of data transparency are more likely to be seen as more competent and accountable. Furthermore, the availability of data could be a key element for journalism innovation (Gynnild 2014), a development that promotes commercial and entrepreneurial opportunities (Hammell et al. 2011). But while data journalism should potentially be every journalist’s dream, it must be noted that it comes at a price and this explains why large-scale investments in this innovative branch of journalism have tended to be Western-centric. It appears as though data journalism thrives where there are large investments. Needless to say, even in the West, for example, studies in Sweden (Nygren and Appelgren 2013) have shown that data journalism is fairly an emerging phenomenon.
Data journalism in the Global South faces many challenges. To expect newsrooms that are already struggling to even pay salaries to their own journalists to invest in it appears practically imprudent. In fact, it appears quite sensible that anyone interested in data journalism needs to first invest in journalism. Besides, to be recognized as a data journalist, one needs access to data, which in some regions of the world is a “big ask.” Some countries hardly have any data or if they do, they just don’t give it to journalists or anyone for that matter. Under such circumstances, one therefore wonders if investing in data journalism should be obligatory. This argument resonates well with De Maeyer et al. (2015, p. 434)’s conclusion in reference to non-Western newsrooms that “the existence of data as the raw material of data journalism is not a given.” To make matters worse, data journalism requires a cross-disciplinary collaboration of various professions such as programmers, developers, designers, computer scientists and statisticians. These are not to be found in all countries, especially in the newsrooms located in the Global South, whose priorities appear different from those located in the West. Strengthening that viewpoint is Radchenko and Sakoyan (2014)’s suggestion that even when people embrace data journalism, they still need a community of skilled users in order for it to thrive. This book seeks to capture the current state of affairs in the development of data journalism using non-Western perspectives. It endeavors to provide empirical and explorative accounts focusing on the emergence of data journalism in various societies in the world and on comparative trends, developments and theoretical discussions while also assessing the challenges it faces and the opportunities it presents.
Why This Book?
In an era where comparisons are emerging between the nature of data journalism in European countries and those situated in the Global South (e.g. Cheruiyot et al. 2019), it is important to continue encouraging research into data in non-Western societies. Therefore, there are many reasons why this book’s timing is essential. Firstly, if no one documents evidence of the growing manifestation of data journalism in these regions, then the perception that nothing is happening in these parts of the world will remain intact. The book intends to demonstrate that in countries such as Chile, Argentina, the Philippines, South Africa and Iran, among several others, there is evidence that interest in data journalism is spreading. In a world where the pervasive adoption of technology continues to increase, albeit with several challenges, it is important to highlight how journalism in societies other than the West is thriving. To have contributors such as Maryam Salimi, who made history by becoming the first person to work on a PhD focusing on data journalism in Iran, brings a good dose of authenticity to this collection. The increasing focus on data journalism is a perfect starting point because while it remains a bit of a buzz word for many, there is growing evidence that some non-Western newsrooms have come to terms with its ubiquitary rise. It is obviously a massive challenge to write about data journalism in the aforementioned societies because so far, empirical studies seeking to measure the impact of its development are in the minority. In that regard, the aim of this book is to be the launchpad for current and future discussions covering the emergence of data journalism in non-Western societies.
More importantly, this is the first of what we hope will be a productive succession of books covering the Global South as part of Palgrave’s new book series Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South, to be edited by us, Bruce Mutsvairo, Saba Bebawi and Eddy Borges-Rey. The purpose of the series is to give a voice to journalism research being conducted in the aforementioned region. We would like to draw attention to insightful work being conducted by “lesser known” researchers in this region, some of who rarely get international attention but nevertheless conduct important journalism research. We are also keen to emphasize the importance of North-South conversations and collaborations in terms of journalism research, practice and pedagogy. Our series will not only welcome proposals from the Global South but will be open to journalism research that commits to strengthening cooperation and collaboration between the “developed” and “developing” regions of the world. Our editorial board and international advi...