Top 10 in Data Journalism
Forbidden Stories' Pegasus Project exposé

Data Journalism Top 10: Pegasus, Silencing Reporters, Europe Flooding, Diversity Mapping, K-pop

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Our NodeXL mapping from July 12 to 18, which tracks the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter each week, found a series of articles resulting from the collaborative project that analyzed an unprecedented leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers selected for surveillance. In this edition, we also feature an insight into Facebook’s data wars by The New York Times, an interactive piece by Al Jazeera on how the holy city of Mecca has expanded, and a colorful project by the Washington Post on the rise of K-pop.

News & Analysis
Times of India newspaper on Indian newsstand

How Advertising Fuels Media Capture in India

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The roots of today’s increasingly captured media in India lie deep and go back a couple of decades to the seemingly innocuous newspaper business practices of India’s largest media company, Bennett Coleman & Company, founded in 1838. The resulting, industry-wide cap on newspaper subscription prices in India has, over time, created a very unhealthy, near 100-percent dependence on advertising.

News & Analysis

How COVID-19 Compounded Journalism’s Mental Health Crisis

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After more than a year of living with a pandemic that shut down the world, lockdowns are beginning to lift for many across the globe. But for many journalists – a number of whom are already struggling with traumas of their own in a beleaguered industry known for its hostile and pressure-cooker environments – concerns are mounting about an impending mental health crisis brought on by a year of mass isolation, uncertainty, and endless dread.

Top 10 in Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: China’s Gene Data, Norway’s Terror, India’s Sugar, Space Tourism

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Ten years ago, terror attacks in Norway claimed the lives of 77 people and seriously injured at least 40. Our NodeXL mapping from July 5 to 11 found an interactive timeline piece by Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang telling the story of a tragic event that impacted an entire nation. In this edition, we also feature an investigation by Reuters into a Chinese company harvesting genetic data from pregnant women, a series on gun violence in Chicago by The Trace, and a look at “silent” Russian politicians by IStories.

El Salvador

Under Attack: El Faro’s Gutsy Reporting in Latin America

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Since 1998, El Faro has fought for accountability in El Salvador, a Central American country saddled with stubborn poverty, a history of civil conflict, and pervasive criminal gangs. But after decades of investigating criminal organizations, corruption, and illegal practices by security forces, the newspaper might be facing one of its greatest challenges yet.

surveillance

Tips to Uncover the Spy Tech Your Government Buys

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In June, a French court indicted executives from two surveillance companies on charges of complicity in torture in Libya and Egypt, following revelations by journalists about their alleged technology sales to repressive regimes. In a series of interviews, investigative reporters shared tips and tools that newsrooms around the world can use to uncover the spyware and monitoring systems their governments are buying.

data journalism

Tips for Building a Database for Investigations

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Whether investigating human rights abuses, money laundering, or even public officials’ conflicts of interests, reporters are increasingly developing their own databases for investigative projects. Here are a series of tips drawn from the experiences of a number of international journalists and from the author’s personal experience gathering and creating data sets for investigative stories.