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Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Apartheid Architecture, Night Trains, Conflict Reporting, LGBTQ & Refugee Vaccines

Would you board a night train instead of a plane in order to help protect the environment? European policymakers hope more and more citizens will do so. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from May 3 to 9, found an article by Bloomberg analyzing a plan to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions by rolling out more cross-border rail lines. In this edition, we also feature a multimedia project looking at an architectural phenomenon linked to apartheid in South Africa, a Washington Post story about the true toll of the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico City, and a guide on using data in conflict reporting.

Data Journalism

New Data Tools and Tips for Investigating Climate Change

Wondering how to investigate climate change and where to find the best data? At a recent conference, science reporters from BuzzFeed News, NPR, and ProPublica shared tips on little-known data sources that can make climate change stories both easier to report and understand.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: COVID’s Psychic Numbing, Disappearing Glaciers, Chemical Weapons, Homeschooling Fatigue, Basketball’s Three-Pointers

Homeschooling has presented many challenges to parents and legal guardians of children around the world, with many dissatisfied with the online learning experience. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from April 26 to May 2 found a piece by Voxeurop highlighting that most people in Europe aren’t keen on their kids continuing to study remotely even if provided with the necessary materials and support. In this edition, we also feature an interactive project by the Guardian exploring disappearing glaciers, a look at Stephen Curry’s remarkable basketball records by The Washington Post, and an archive of publications using data sonification to tell stories.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: The Rise of Big Tech, India’s Bad Vaccine Data, Why Data Journalists Need Safeguards

Four of the world’s most influential technology companies are based on the US West Coast. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have had an enormous impact on our daily lives. But how did Big Tech get so big? Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from April 19 to April 25 found a piece by The Washington Post showing how the success of these behemoths has been fueled by hundreds of acquisitions of smaller companies over the past decade. In this edition, we also feature an investigation into faulty vaccine data publicized by the Indian government, a list of the world’s top 1,000 climate scientists by Reuters, and a look at Europe’s growing rail network.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Ramadan Fasting, Volcanic Eruptions, Climate Change Economics, China’s Forced Labor

Driving an electric car and buying solar panels are things individuals can do to help slow climate change. But according to a new study, most people don’t realize that achieving a real impact on greenhouse emissions requires significant lifestyle sacrifices. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from April 12 to April 18 found a story by the Financial Times showing that the best way in individual can reduce their carbon footprint is to have one less child. We also feature an explainer of Ramadan fasting by Al Jazeera, a look into China’s polysilicon factories by Bloomberg, and Chinese tycoon Jack Ma’s jet-setting ways.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Atlas of Emotions, Carbon Recyclers, Football Long Shots, COVID-19 Endgame, Mister Rogers’ Cardigans

To fight climate change, we need to protect sea life. Whales, plankton, and seagrasses have a key impact on the Earth’s carbon cycle. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from to April 5 to April 11, which tracks the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter each week, found a piece by Reuters Graphics explaining how these species interact underwater as well as capture and transform carbon. In this edition, we also feature an atlas of emotions by Google Arts & Culture, a look at the COVID-19 endgame by the Financial Times, and some great board games to inspire data visualization enthusiasts.

Data Journalism

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Shaped Data Journalism

As COVID-19 cases surged throughout the past year, so did data visualizations. Data-minded scientists, journalists, health care providers, and philanthropists discussed how the pandemic and data journalism have shaped each other at a US symposium, and shared new visualization tools.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Global Protests, Baseball Returns, 17-Year Bugs, High-Tech COVID Masks, Vaccine Inequality

The consequences of the global pandemic, including job crises and deepening inequalities, have ignited a new wave of protest movements over the past year. But over the past decade, there were at least 900 protest events that each drew more than 10,000 participants, according to a project by Al Jazeera’s graphics team. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from March 29 to April 4, which tracks the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter, also features an analysis of migration trends by The Financial Times, a story about the next generation of face masks by The Wall Street Journal, and a remarkable sound visualization of COVID-19’s impact in Switzerland using a music box.

Data Journalism

How We Built the Data Visualization That Brought Brazil’s COVID Deaths Close to Home

When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Brazil, a team of data journalists set out to illustrate what the death toll looked like by creating a data visualization that presented something beyond the numbers. The team considered various ways of displaying the story. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how they created At the Epicenter.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Beauty Biz Bias, Suez Blockage, Facebook Fail, Migrants at the Border, Europe’s Theaters

For nearly a week, a giant container ship stranded in the Suez Canal blocked one of the busiest trade routes in the world. The Ever Given, a Rotterdam-bound vessel, was finally freed from the shoreline on Monday, and international media have closely followed the story and the consequences of the blockage. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from March 22 to 28, which tracks the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter, found a visual story by the Reuters Graphics team that illustrated how the incident affected global trade. In this edition, we also feature an examination of bias in the beauty industry by The Pudding, a look into how the pandemic changed society by Al Jazeera, and a guide to drawing data visualizations by DataJournalism.com.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: March Madness, Trafficking Tigers and Fish, Color Palettes, Vaccine Inequality, Domestic Work

A lack of comprehensive data can seriously hinder efforts to track illicit activities. But persistent reporters will always find a way to get a glimpse of the real picture. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from March 15 to 21 found Oxpeckers investigating the trafficking of tigers in Europe and journalist Ben Heubl offering advice on investigating illegal fishing. We also feature an analysis of the global aviation crisis by the Financial Times, a guide to color scales by visual storytelling expert Lisa Charlotte Rost, and a look into the burden of unpaid domestic work by data analyst Hassel Fallas.

Structuring visual narratives, by Gurman Bhatia

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Women’s Careers, Vitamin D, Visual Stories, Electric Cars, Japan’s Ghost Towns

On the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis being declared a global pandemic, outlets around the world looked back on how the coronavirus has transformed our lives. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from March 8 to 14 found a comprehensive summary of how the health crisis unfolded in the United States by The Washington Post, and a look at the COVID-19 crisis in Hungary. In this edition, we also feature The Economist’s interactive tool estimating the risk posed by COVID-19 based on a person’s health, a story about the ghost towns in Fukushima by NPR, and an analysis of the future of electric cars by The New York Times.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Pandemic Cocktails, Pricey Food, Zoonotic Diseases, the World’s Top Songs

If you have tried to mix cocktails at home lately, you’re not alone. Tired of waiting for bars and restaurants to reopen, more consumers have started buying premium alcohol, according to data published by the Financial Times. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from March 1 to 7, which tracks the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter, also found an analysis by Bloomberg showing that global food prices have hit their highest level in six years, an explainer of the connection between bats and virus outbreaks by Reuters, an interactive piece on Atlantic currents by The New York Times, and a musical map by The Pudding.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Solar-Powered Batmobile, Hungarian Money Abroad, Migrants Dying in Qatar, Open Windows & COVID-19

For decades, environmentalists have been dreaming about climate-friendly transportation. The arrival of hybrid and electric cars has brought us one step closer to travelling without damaging the planet. And this year, a California start-up promises to push the technology even further by rolling out the first mass-produced solar-powered car. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from February 22 to 28 features this story alongside an investigation by the Guardian into deaths of migrant workers in Qatar, a cross-border project revealing Hungarian money flowing overseas, and a creative infographic about animals in space.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Mission to Mars, Myanmar’s Protesters, Sand Mining, Journalism in Russia

After going through “seven minutes of terror,” NASA’s Perseverance rover managed to successfully touch down on Mars last week. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from February 15 to 21 found reporting by The Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera, which offers more insight into the rover’s journey to the red planet. In this edition, we also feature a story about the boom in independent journalism in Russia, an analysis of the future of South Africa’s coal mining industry, and a critique of data visualization’s ability to fully convey the realities of large-scale tragedies.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Back to School, Australian Open Underdog, Amazon Oxygen Shortage, Big Tech & Green Energy

How can we get students and teachers safely back into classrooms? For many months, this has been a key question for public authorities, school leaders, and parents around the world. This topic and others topped the data journalism stories on Twitter from February 8 to 14. Check out #ddj stories from The New York Times, NPR, the Financial Times, FiveThirtyEight, and The Pudding.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Biometric IDs, Data Spaghetti, Eviction Avalanche, Remote Working

With countries around the world considering the safest ways to ease lockdown measures, alongside the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in many places, some are finding reasons to be optimistic about the end of the coronavirus crisis. But returning to once conventional daily activities, such as going to restaurants and sports stadiums, is still a distant prospect. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from February 1 to 7 found Voxeurop covering the dangers of adopting biometric IDs and health passports, a look at Europe’s COVID-19 divide by Reuters, an analysis of leaked smartphone data by The New York Times, and a Twitter thread collection of archived data visualizations in various languages.

Data Journalism My Favorite Tools

My Favorite Tools with Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Haddad

In this edition of our “My Favorite Tools” series, GIJN spoke with Mohammed Haddad, who leads Al Jazeera’s interactive team, AJLabs, where he uses data to create compelling visual stories. Haddad explains why he is a fan of RStudio, Nivo, Mapbox, and more.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Polarized America, Australia’s Pandemic, Poland’s Toxic Air, the Arab Spring, Life as Lego

Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from January 25 to 31 found interactive projects by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and The Guardian analyzing these events. In this edition, we also feature environmental reporting by The New York Times and The Economist, a Wall Street Journal story on the GameStop Reddit mania that shook stock markets, and a visual representation of 2020 using Lego bricks.

Data Journalism

GIJN Toolbox: Satellite Data, Tracking Usernames, and Facial Recognition

In this edition of The GIJN Toolbox — which surveys the latest tips and tools for investigative journalists — we’ll take a look at the process of analyzing satellite imagery derived from infrared radiation, a technique The New York Times used to cover a West Coast wildfire. We’ll also explore the controversial practice of using facial recognition technology, how to request NASA satellite data, a new document search tool from Google, and more.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: A New President, Trump’s Twitter Insults, Germany’s Elections, Flying Green

As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, much of the international media coverage was focused on an inauguration like no other. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from January 18 to 24 found a Washington Post analysis of the president’s first address to the nation and a Bloomberg project visualizing the enhanced measures put in place to deal with concerns about security and the coronavirus.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: From Newsroom to Netflix, Inside the Capitol Riot, Vaccine Data, Facebook for News

As governments around the world continue vaccination efforts and extend lockdowns, some experts argue that more data is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of immunization campaigns and mobility restrictions. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from January 11 to 18 found outlets in Germany and the United Kingdom analyzing government measures to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this edition, we also feature an insightful interview with former Washington Post journalist Aaron Williams, an interactive timeline of the US Capitol riot by ProPublica, and a refreshing data visualization project by The Pudding.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: National Geographic Maps, Capitol Riots, Flu vs. Coronavirus, Happiness Index, Black Market Data

Scenes of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump storming the US Capitol building dominated news headlines and filled social media feeds last week. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from January 4 to 10 found Reuters producing a play-by-play summary of what happened, and FiveThirtyEight examining the stark difference in reaction by the authorities to the Capitol mob compared to Black Lives Matter protesters. Also in this edition, we feature National Geographic’s cartography archive, Data Crítica’s investigation into under-counting of Indigenous COVID-19 infections, and The Markup’s analysis of the impact of Facebook’s political ads.

Data Journalism

GIJN Toolbox: CrowdTangle, Echosec, and Searching Social Media

In this second edition of the revamped “Toolbox” series, GIJN walks readers through how to use Echosec and CrowdTangle to discover content posted to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. We also discuss the now-defunct Facebook graph search and ways to still crack the case regardless.

Data Journalism

Data Journalism Top 10: Hawaii’s Disappearing Beaches, Stolen Paintings, Investigating Disappearances, Herd Immunity Calculator

Hawaii’s scenery can be breathtaking, with cliff-rimmed white-sand beaches and surf-worthy waves. But our NodeXL #ddj mapping (Dec. 28-Jan. 3) found ProPublica highlighting dramatic erosion of the island state’s beaches over the past century. Also in this edition, we feature an interactive graphic to calculate the time to achieve COVID-19 herd immunity based on the US vaccination rate, a global vaccine distribution tracker, Federica Fragapane’s visualization of stolen paintings, and a compilation of 2020’s best data visualization lists.