As calls for change grow louder in light of the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report and in the run up to COP26 conference in Glasgow this November, it’s time to focus on how data visualization can help people grasp the challenges that lie ahead.
In March 2020, environmental journalist Helena Carpio, leaned out of her window to see Caracas filled with smoke. Something was burning, but no one knew where and there was no official news on what was happening. She started to investigate, and the resulting project analyzed two decades of satellite data on hotspots to explore the when, where, and why of forest fires in Venezuela and across Latin America.
Our weekly project that maps the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter found several environmental projects this week, including a climate disaster in Germany, air pollution in South Asia, and deforestation in Brazil. We also feature more data-driven coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, an investigation into Bulgarian coal plants, and a guide to creating appealing data visualizations based on simple charts.
How do you increase your readers’ interest in climate stories? Two award-winning projects from the online team at Norway’s NRK offer insight that could help newsrooms increase impact and engagement in climate coverage.
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.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban. As the US prepares to withdraw its troops later this year, our NodeXL #ddj mapping found an interactive project by Al Jazeera showcasing the impact of a conflict that has directly claimed the lives of an estimated 241,000 people. In this edition, we also feature a story about the difficulties some Russian students have getting to school by IStories, an investigation into deaths related to gold mining holes by InfoCongo, and a visual vocabulary for data projects by the Financial Times.
The Earth Journalism Network has supported thousands of journalists around the world, building a model of editorial and financial support to investigate the most urgent story of our time — climate change.
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.
In this chapter for a new book on the role of civil society and journalism in sub-Saharan Africa, the head of policy for Sweden’s Fojo Media Institute argues that sustainable societies require a kind of journalism that addresses the sustainability challenges facing the planet.
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.
