data graphs
Credit: image from Pixabay

From being considered a specialism or the skill that made some reporters gain the nickname of 'newsroom unicorns', data journalism is getting closer and closer to becoming just... journalism.

Paul Bradshaw, who runs the MA in Multiplatform and Mobile Journalism at Birmingham City University, outlines 10 principles for data journalism "as it enters its second and third decades" in this post on Medium.

Journalists should look for data even when it is not immediately available, Bradshaw writes. They should also aim to find and open up the type of information that can "give a voice to the voiceless", and use data to hone in on the human story.

"[Data] connects one person’s story to 100 others like it; without data, a bad experience is merely an anecdote."

Check out this list of 18 data sources for journalists, including information on political influence and government spending.

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