OPINION BY MICHAEL FALOSEYI: Data journalism and accountability in public offices | TheCable
File photo: Seun Akinfolarin, Managing partner and co-founder, Sahara Reporters Civic Media Hub, taking participants through generating data and using simple inforgraphics for investigative journalism‘The devil is in the details’ is a popular idiomatic expression that signifies that those seemingly inconsequential or minute aspects of more extensive information have the most impact.
Data journalism entails finding story angles or pegs from extensive data. It is a new aspect of journalism that requires lots of research and the ability to interpret figures. Professionals and training institutions should be interested in providing competence in data-driven journalism.
But beyond the professional competence in DDJ, government information managers and news sources need to be aware of the changes in the practice of journalism. Their understanding of the changes journalism is going through, and their ability to package their information in such a way will determine how stories about their organisations and businesses will be reported. Public institutions’ information managers need to getacquainted with data journalism.
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Mrs Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, set the example for public officeholders about data journalism when she, as the finance minister, started the publications of the monthly allocations to state and federal government. And that is why most public officeholders need to embrace data journalism by putting the figures out for professionals to make sense of it and write their stories.
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