Post on 21-Feb-2017
ACTION!DATA!
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@PaulBradshaw MA Online Journalism
Birmingham City University
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“We are moving from the knowledge/power nexus portrayed
by Foucault to a data/action nexus that does not need to move
through theory: All it needs is data together with preferred
outcomes”
“Geoffrey Bowker
Shangri-La
What is journalism for?
Independence from data
http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/Studies/half-of-uk-university-students-are-losing-marks-for-not-referencing-correctly-survey-finds-a6983716.html
First duty? Public debate?
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Are news values changing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQteT9Bu2w&t=2m
Voice to the voiceless
Who has a voice in data?
Who has a voice in data?
How is data used as a proxy for the voiceless?
Who has a voice in data?
How is data used as a proxy for the voiceless?
How is data used to amplify voices?
First duty? Public debate?http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/oct/29/todays-key-fact-you-are-probably-wrong-about-almost-everything
Truth to power
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DATA JOURNALISM ≠ INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALISM
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Using data to tell stories in the best possible way, combining the
best techniques of journalism: including visualizations, concise
explanation and the latest technology. It should be open,
accessible and enlightening.
“Simon Rogers
Data dystopia
Data dystopia 39.8333333, -98.585522
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/who-watches-more-porn-republicans-or-democrats#.mtoR5PAWV
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Flowing Data’s NYC map offers a great example of how three
mapping traps — seasonal bias, location fuzziness, and tagging
bias — can lead to a map that does not reflect reality.
“Margaret McKenna, http://untappedcities.com/2014/02/20/beautiful-maps-and-the-lies-they-tell-an-op-ed-from-runkeeper/
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/mapping-kidnappings-in-nigeria/
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Data journalism is like sex at university – everyone talks about it;
few do it; fewer still do it well.” “Neil McIntoshhttps://www.journalism.co.uk/news/10-things-every-journalist-should-know-in-2013/s2/a551648/
Acquisition
Cleaning
Loading
Verification
Analysis
Cherry-picking
Presentation
MaintenanceJake Harris
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DATA ≠
TRUTH
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ACTION!DATA!
…Bad data
https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/firing-blind/
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When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good
measure”. “Goodhart’s Law
*
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“My husband couldn’t understand why people were
taunting him and calling him a child molester”
“Texas Tribune
“Statistics are like a bikini…”
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Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” “
Prof. Aaron Levensteinhttp://charonqc.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/guest-post-any-complaints-why-the-ipcc-is-failing-us-all/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-12-01/correlation-or-causation
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HOLY MULTIPLE COMPARISONS
PROBLEM!
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ALGORITHM DYNAMICS!
BIG DATA HUBRIS!
*Abraham Wald http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/counterintuitive-world
Routes
Telling stories
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Having a simple data vis on the page increases dwell time
by a third”“Trinity Mirror Editorial Conference 2014
“Photos give the biggest lift withquotes coming in a close second.
Tweets containing numbers, a video url and hashtags also lead to double-digit boost.”
https://media.twitter.com/best-practice/news-the-impact-of-tweeting-with-photos-videos-hashtags-and-links
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The death of 1 man = tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic“Not Stalin.
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Courts punish people less harshly when they harm more
people.” “Ben Goldacre
Andy Kirk, Data Visualisation
Robot journalism - or computational
journalism?
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DRAMA!
TECHNOLOGICAL!
Daniel Ellsberg + co: more than 1 year
Daniel Ellsberg + co: more than 1 year
=18 years for Bradley Manning leaks
Daniel Ellsberg + co: more than 1 year
=18 years for Bradley Manning leaks
=2880 years for Offshore leaks
=28,800 years for Panama Papers
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If we don’t address software itself, we are in danger of always dealing only with its effects rather
than the causes”“
Lev Manovich
Data integrity, journalist integrity
Fake adverts
Spyware
Backdoors
App permissions
Passwords
Phishing
Rituals of transparency &
culture shifts
Mark Coddington
http://www.buzzfeed.com/johntemplon/how-we-used-data-to-investigate-match-fixing-in-tennis#.eiR89lLA2
Wilson Lowrey http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/1461670X.2015.1052537 http://www.poynter.org/2016/there-are-96-fact-checking-projects-in-37-countries-new-census-finds/396256/
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“This clash of logics has required journalists to reshape forms and practices in order to
regain lost legitimacy, and the fact checking site is a result of this
reshaping [because it takes sides].”
“Wilson Lowrey
Lighthouses
1. How independent? 2. How do we choose? 3. Who has a voice? 4. Myth vs truth? 5. What mistakes do we make? 6. How do we engage? 7. What are (and can) we automating? 8. How do we ensure integrity? 9. What cultures and why? 10. Data as power!
Everybody likes a list
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ACTION!DATA!
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@PaulBradshaw
Thank you. _
MA Online Journalism Birmingham City University