The Case for Data

Now, most broadcasters are more excited about people than numbers. So perhaps we should make a case for caring about data.

Data will help us find the story
Interactive graphics and maps aren't just a way of storytelling, but story finding. 

Doing our own analyses can help us find the exceptional cases that make sense to report on; the tidbits others would have missed.  

This is an act of discovery that can help drive original storytelling. To be sure, CBC already has some reporters doing this, but we need to build more capacity across the network.

Here's a good example (albeit, from a competing network) of how data prepared first for the web led to original stories on other platforms.

Global journalists obtained and mapped data on drunk-driving infractions by postal code. Their online maps showed the audience—and reporters—which areas stand out. This generated a variety of stories; in the Maritimes a TV reporter went to the mayor of the place with the worst drunk-driving record, and asked what was happening. 

As this Poynter article puts it, visualizing data can help reveal a story's shape.

Data visualization is hot (and sticky)
In and outside journalism, there's a bit of a trend on right now for data visualization and infographics. The amount of data available is growing exponentially, along with computing power to do something with it.

And the result has an audience.

One of the most-watched TED talks ever (with 3.8 million views) is a Swedish statistician giving a twenty-minute lecture about global health — using awesome graphics.

In journalism, the best data visualization gets shared around the world. A top recent example: the Guardian's project tracking how misinformation spread on Twitter during the UK riots.

One more sign of the tipping point is the January 2012 announcement of a new data journalism award sponsored by Google.

Even those who are growing tired of the explosion of infographics acknowledge their popularity: 

"If you put [Infographic] in a blog post title, people are going to click on it, because they straight up can’t get enough of that crap."

We don't think that's just because it's new and different. At a time when a growing segment of public discourse is dominated by who is loudest—regardless of the facts—we think our audience is hungry for this kind of understanding and context.