Featured Long Read

Humanhandworld

Best practices

  • All expertise
  • 16 min

How can journalists connect numbers with people? With in-depth case studies from The New York Times to ProPublica and NPR, contributor Sherry Ricchiardi explains how to humanise the data.

Climate change through a solutions and data lens

How solutions storytelling can engage local communities and bring local reporters together to solve the climate crisis.

New climate metrics for new climate conversations

New metrics and visualisations are being developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers and journalists to reshape how we interpret the climate crisis and its impact on people's daily lives.

Data gives voice to women on climate change

Scientific evidence clearly shows that women bear the brunt of climate change, yet until recently, scant attention has been paid to their plight. In many instances, the data are there, waiting to be discovered.

Kill switch: reporting on and during internet shutdowns

What can data journalists do to report on Internet shutdowns, which are becoming increasingly common by governments? This article provides a guide with real-world examples you can use to raise your voice.

Data drives media coverage of climate refugees

Journalists have taken a stand on how they cover the climate beat. This article uses examples from renowned media outlets to show how data journalism is giving a voice to previously forgotten climate refugees.

How to create data visualisations that serve the public

Have you ever thought about how accessible your data journalism work actually is? This article has some useful tips that can help you make your data visualisations accessible to readers with visual impairments and to the general public.

Putting data back into context

Data are never neutral ‘givens’, but always situated in a particular context, collected for a particular reason -- and it’s crucial that data journalists understand these.

The unspoken rules of visualisation

Designers often follow a set of strict conventions when creating visualisations. Kaiser Fung examines the fundamental rules of data visualisation, why they are important, and when it is okay to break them.

Reporting beyond the case numbers: How to brainstorm COVID-19 data story ideas

While many journalists around the world report the daily infection rate and death toll of COVID-19, audiences are seeking other stories that show the impact of the virus on their lives. How can journalists tell those wider stories with data?

The essential lies in news maps

In order to display three-dimensional world we live in, journalists are forced to distort reality. And every map does so in its own way. Maarten Lambrechts looks at commonly used maps and how to avoid being misled by them.

10 data journalism projects that made an impact in 2020: our ultimate COVID-19 roundup

DataJournalism.com celebrates some of the most noteworthy covid-related data stories of 2020.

Designing data visualisations with empathy

How do you get audience members, much less the journalists presenting a story, to walk a mile in the shoes of a dot? Or a bar chart? P. Kim Bui provides three approaches for achieving empathy in data visualisations.

The essential lies in news maps

In order to display three-dimensional world we live in, journalists are forced to distort reality. And every map does so in its own way. Maarten Lambrechts looks at commonly used maps and how to avoid being misled by them.

Putting data back into context

Data are never neutral ‘givens’, but always situated in a particular context, collected for a particular reason -- and it’s crucial that data journalists understand these.

Spreadsheets for journalism

Many journalists see themselves as “word people” and shy away from writing about numbers. Brant Houston shows how to embrace math with an overview of spreadsheets and functions for beginners.

Designing data visualisations with empathy

How do you get audience members, much less the journalists presenting a story, to walk a mile in the shoes of a dot? Or a bar chart? P. Kim Bui provides three approaches for achieving empathy in data visualisations.

Evidence of a solution: using data to report more than just bad news

While data journalists often produce rigorous reporting about social issues, there is less on responding to the same problems. Brent Walth provides an overview of solutions journalism frameworks, and why they're important for data journalism.

Data journalism on the blockchain

When we talk about blockchain and journalism, the focus is often on trust and sustainability. But the technology also opens up a whole new world of data for journalists to explore.

Data Journalism Blog

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4 things to know about OSINT for environmental investigations

Our latest blog summarises Sam Leon and Ben Heubl's insights into uncovering environmental wrongdoing with OSINT.

Here's what we learned about environmental justice from our podcast series

In our latest episode, we sat down with two journalists focusing on race and environmental justice. The pair explain how data and solutions journalism inform their reporting.

How to approach AI for investigative reporting

How should journalists approach AI from an investigative standpoint? NYU associate professor Meredith Broussard explains how in her keynote talk. Here are 7 takeaways on approaching algorithmic auditing and accountability in your reporting.

5 ways to engage audiences with your climate reporting

Want to improve your audience engagement for climate change coverage? Here are some key takeaways from our latest podcast, where we discuss using visualisation to empower readers on this important issue.

Our Handbooks

Verification Handbook 3

For Disinformation And Media Manipulation

The latest edition of the Verification Handbook arrives at a critical moment. Today’s information environment is more chaotic and easier to manipulate than ever before. This book equips journalists with the knowledge to investigate social media accounts, bots, private messaging apps, information operations, deep fakes, as well as other forms of disinformation and media manipulation.

The book is published by the European Journalism Centre and supported by Craig Newmark Philanthropies.

The Data Journalism Handbook 2

Towards a Critical Data Practice

What is data journalism? What is it for? What might it do? What opportunities and limitations does it present? Who and what is involved in making and making sense of it?

The new edition of the Data Journalism Handbook explores new and innovative ways in which data is analysed, created and used in the context of journalism. And beyond that: it also reflects on the social, cultural, political and economic circumstances in which data journalism is embedded.

The Data Journalism Handbook 1

How Journalists Can Use Data to Improve the News

When you combine the sheer scale and range of digital information now available with a journalist’s "nose for news" and her ability to tell a compelling story, a new world of possibility opens up. Explore the potential, limits, and applied uses of this new and fascinating field.

This valuable handbook has attracted scores of contributors since the European Journalism Centre and the Open Knowledge Foundation launched the project at MozFest 2011. Through a collection of tips and techniques from leading journalists, professors, software developers, and data analysts, you’ll learn how data can be either the source of data journalism or a tool with which the story is told—or both.

Verification Handbook 2

A Guide To Online Search And Research Techniques For Using UGC And Open Source Information In Investigations

Based on the conclusions of the first book, this second edition of the Verification Handbook sheds light on the use of open data and open source information to produce critical journalistic investigations. As new challenges have emerged in the digital sphere, wider opportunities to carry out more comprehensive investigations have arisen as well. The authors of the book take the reader on a walk-through to hone their online investigation tactics, providing them with step-by-step guidance to apply research, fact-checking, and data journalism techniques.

Verification Handbook 1

A Definitive Guide To Verifying Digital Content For Emergency Coverage

The first edition of the Verification Handbook has become a definitive reference for professionals worldwide. This book laid the foundations for the process of digital content verification and opened a necessary debate about the steps to follow for ensuring the accuracy of reporting within emergency situations. Used by educators and journalists of any level, this pioneering book is an essential read for learning about the best-practices for verifying user-generated content and developing appropriate verification processes.

Conversations with Data, newsletters

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October 2023

Issue #103: OSINT for environmental investigations

Our latest Conversations with Data newsletter and podcast explore how to uncover environmental wrongdoing with OSINT and open data.

September 2023

Issue #102: Navigating environmental justice with data

Our latest Conversations with Data newsletter and podcast explore how to cover climate change through the lens of racial justice.

July 2023

Issue #101: Connecting local and climate journalism

Our latest Conversations with Data newsletter and podcast explore how to cover climate change for local communities using data to power your stories.

June 2023

Issue #100: Powering your climate solutions reporting with data visualisation

Reversing audience apathy toward climate journalism is no easy task. In our latest episode, we hear from three experts on using data visualisation to engage audiences on climate change.

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