Three Myths on Data Journalism and How to Overcome Them

Data-driven journalism is an evolving field within journalism. News publications are beginning to integrate data units in the newsroom to help put together charts, data, infographics, and other data visualization elements. And too often traditional journalists are scared of data journalism. There are many myths about what it entails, but they are not all necessarily true. We will tell you about these myths and let you know the reality, in hopes of dispelling any doubts. When all is said and done, you’ll be able to go out there and do some data-journalism yourself.

Myth #1: You need to be a math wizard to be a data journalist.

Math. A subject you either really excelled at in school or something you despised. The word data is accompanied by a connotation that involves tons and tons of numbers.  You don’t have to be a mathematician in order to do data journalism, but a basic knowledge of mathematical concepts is needed. Other than that, there are tools out there that can do the work for you.

For example, Microsoft Excel. This well-known program made specifically for working with data, has simple shortcuts that will accomplish the daunting task of doing math for you. Within each cell, you have the ability to use simple formulas that will help you calculate almost everything, from a simple average to more sophisticated calculations like trends and regressions. Let’s say, for example, that you have a data set that contains the ages of several members of your team.   Cell F1 contains the youngest age and F7, the oldest. Typing =STDEV(F1:F7) will give you the standard deviation of the ages in your data. With formulas like these, you will save time and shake off some of the anxiety you may have about math. And remember, even if you are not great at math, you can still be a data journalist if you’re able to understand the numbers  and find the story in them.

Still need help with Excel? Infogram has a webinar were we show you how to work with Excel to extract insights from your data. Check it out here.

Myth #2: Coding skills are essential in creating simple data visualizations.

Javascript and other programming languages are somewhat like a foreign spoken language. It takes practice and application to really get it down. But as a beginner data journalist, there is no need for coding education in order to analyze or develop data visualizations. You can do it the old fashion way by scraping data off numerous websites, rather than creating elaborate code to do it.

Infogram can help you create interactive data visualizations, even if you have zero coding skills. The charts have built-in interactivity and responsiveness so you won’t need a programmer or coding specialist for that. They’re also easily embedded on your site: just copy and paste the embed code into your story and you are done.

If you are feeling a little ambitious, you can learn coding without devoting a major amount of your life to it. On YouTube, if you wanted to learn some quick coding skills, you can find actual tutorials that will help guide you. Along with YouTube tutorials, there are also websites that will teach you about coding in simpler terms. For example W3Schools, a free web developer website that provides basic skills in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other. The website takes the coding language and translates into an understandable format. With the ‘Do it yourself’ style, you are able to learn at your own pace or grab quick tips to solve an issue at hand.

Myth #3: It takes forever to gather data and present it.

Time is often of the essence. As a journalist, you are constantly on deadline and on the move. So how can you possibly do all of this research and still have the time to present your data? After you have gathered the data, with the help of Infogram, you can quickly present your data in a fun and creative way that will not require a big chunk of your time. The ‘Getting Started with Infogram’ webinar can you help you navigate around Infogram and save you a lot of time that can be spent on writing other stories.

Would you like to experience the full power of data visualization? Try Infogram for Teams or Enterprise for free! With a Team or Enterprise account, you can create up to 10,000+ projects, collaborate with your team in real time, use our engagement analytics feature, and more. Request your free demo here.

As you delve into the world of data journalism, don’t be scared. There are many tools out there that can make your life much easier. With impactful and presentable data, your stories can reach all new heights. Data journalism is not just for data enthusiasts, but for you as well.