Journalism
is a profession that has been providing a fundamental check and balance to
powerful individuals and institutions for centuries by adopting and adapting
technology to gather and disseminate news. From the 20th-Century computer-assisted
reporting to contemporary data-centric tools, journalists have long sought to understand
the world, tell stories and inform the public. It is no surprise then that
industry buzz surrounding the potential of “big data” – essentially the
junction between the conceptual and methodological approaches to journalism,
social, and computer sciences – is dividing opinion.
One
reason is that big data is an enabler. Data allows people to think creatively, interpret
more comprehensively, and find new ways to approach problems practically. On
the one hand, big data can help drive greater transparency and accountability,
whereby individuals can (re)shape socio-technical systems through linked
content. This idea is particularly relevant for development. For example, the
United Nations has called for a data revolution to support its
post-2015 development goals, mapping out a Global Pulse initiative to predict behaviours
of developing states. While well-intentioned, on the other hand, such programs
and the availability of big data could lead to far more censorship.
Big
data in journalism also requires technological skill, a degree of digitisation
and number-crunching savvy. While technology can facilitate the gathering,
filtering and propagating of news, the time pressures of fast-paced journalism
can create difficulties in thoroughly analysing data for a story, and may
result in mistakes – particularly relevant for developing nations. For example,
the Global Investigative Journalism Network
reports that in a race to deliver news as fast as possible, “the quality of
news has been compromised by an editorial workflow that privileges speed over
accuracy.” At the same time, poor timeliness is not adequate to meet emerging
policy needs. Institutions have responded to the skill-time gap with
interesting approaches. For instance, a data-driven journalism program at Stanford University
blends technology and storytelling through learning how to combine multimedia,
data-intensive and design tools. The aim is to discover the patterns in the
data and develop distinct instruments for better telling stories of social
significance.
Finally,
big data also pervades the debate about privacy. Data privacy, ethics and human
rights have long been issues of interest tightly intertwined with journalism,
national security and private enterprises. Leaks in particular exemplify this
dilemma; from Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks to Edward Snowden’s release of NSA
documents, leaks demonstrate that a lack of trust breeds distrust. The February
2015 SwissLeaks are particularly illustrative of this argument. SwissLeaks was
an investigation carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ) into a tax evasion scheme by the British multinational bank
HSBC. The bank allegedly profited from tax evaders and other clients. The initial reports are incredibly difficult
to comprehend if you do not understand financial jargon or the language, and
this is where big data can fall short, alienating those that are not the target
audience. However, SwissLeaksReviewed released a graphic and
approachable response to the leaks without losing the critical analysis of the
ICIJ’s original report. I strongly think that SwissLeaksReviewed is the
direction that big data needs to continue in, in order to be transparent in the
most important sense – both impactful and informative.
I
see big data in the case of the SwissLeaks as an opportunity to embrace. The value of the big data phenomenon, of “both
the ideation and implementation of computational and mathematical mindsets and
skill sets in newswork – as well as the necessary deconstruction and critique
of such approaches” has huge potential in educating and revealing information to the public. What both the journalism and big data
camps have to offer each other is enormous; drone journalism
is especially exciting field that merges storytelling with the scientific
realm, drawing parallels to Lourdes Garcia-Navarro’s work. Professor Matt Waite’s Drone Journalism Lab
is especially one to watch.
A
succinct summary of the big data (r)evolution can be found in a 2013 post by
European think-tank Bruegel.
Discussion Questions
- What is the role of the fourth estate (news media/print journalism) in holding data-oriented practices accountable?
- Can policies be developed that strike the right balance between privacy and data ownership benefits?
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