Discover new actors of data journalism
Earlier this month, we received 608 projects, from 62 areas/countries, as part of the Data Journalism Awards 2019 competition. They offer invaluable insights on new actors and trends in the field. So we decided to sit down and crunch some numbers for you. But best of all, we wanted to show you some of the incredible data projects we got this year, from countries you don’t hear about that often.
The Data Journalism Awards 2019 records the largest number of areas/countries ever represented in the competition (and we’ve been running it since 2012!). Here is a map highlighting all the countries which took part this year, and the ten countries which sent the most entries:
Newcomers, compared to last year, include Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Mongolia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Israel, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Uruguay. Let’s be honest, we don’t speak enough of these countries in our industry. And that’s what is great about the Data Journalism Awards: it makes us aware of the growing diversity in data-driven journalism.
So here is a chance for you to discover some cool data projects from these countries mentioned above (if you don’t speak the language, I suggest you use the Google Translate browser extension to sort it out):
AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN STAGNATION: THE NUMBERS
Project submitted by Inky Fada (Tunisia)
Want more? All of the entries submitted to the Data Journalism Awards can be found on our website’s Projects page, featuring a search tool and details on how each project was made.
Big players kept on playing this year, small data teams kept on spreading
Now, let’s do some name dropping. 267 organisations are represented in the submissions this year. Among them are large organisations, or usual suspects, often brought up as the “trendsetters” or “leaders of the industry” (all in all, they inspire many journalists worldwide), such as The New York Times (US), the BBC (UK), Der Spiegel (Germany), The Financial Times (UK), La Nación (Argentina), Bloomberg News (US), and ProPublica (US). And yes, they did deliver again this year by publishing projects like these ones:
HOW TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WENT FROM 18 PRODUCTS TO 10,000
Project submitted by Matthew Ericson (The New York Times, US)
But apart from that is something that really makes the value of this competition: the smaller players. Over one-third of the entries came from small organisations this year, and if you want names, here are a few of them: Indiaspend (India), Inkyfada (Tunisia), READr (Taiwan), WeDoData (France), Eltoque (Cuba), and iKon News (Mongolia). And if you want examples, here is some of their work:
INDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE HOTSPOTS
Project submitted by Disha Shetty (Indiaspend, India)
A DATA SUR LA POLITIQUE (“POLITICS THROUGH THE DATA”)
Project submitted by Karen Bastien (WeDoData, France)
SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES SUPPORT FUND EMBEZZLEMENT BY MONGOLIAN POLITICIANS
Project submitted by Bulgan Ochirsukh (iKon News, Mongolia)
Data journalism is growing fast… in Asia
Another great thing that happened this year is that, surprise surprise, the part of the world which submitted the highest number of entries is… Asia, followed by Europe and North America.
Out of all the 608 entries, 30% or 181 are from Asia, a 4% growth compared to 2018. Last year the top region was Europe. In 2017, only 20% of entries came from Asia.
Amongst the great data journalism teams from Asia you should know about are Malaysiakini (Malaysia), Caixin (China), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), READr (Taiwan) and Apple Daily (Taiwan).
Here are some cool examples you should check out:
Project submitted by Aun Qi Koh (Malaysiakini, Malaysia)
THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST ARCADE
Project submitted by SCMP Infographics (South China Morning Post, Hong Kong)
PORTFOLIO OF A TAIWANESE INVESTIGATIVE TEAM
Project submitted by Huan Cheng Lin (Apple Daily, Taiwan Branch, Taiwan)
12 categories, one favourite: Data visualisation of the year
Now here are a few lines for the data nerds, people interested in knowing which categories were the favourites, or simply those of you who’ve applied and wonder how many people you’ll be facing in the battle for your favourite category.
We have 12 categories in the competition this year, and so did we for the past few years. They aim to celebrate investigations, individual portfolios, breaking news coverage, as well as great team work. You can find the full list on our website. But which one was the favourite amongst 2019 participants?
The numbers are in. “Data visualisation of the year” was the most popular category this year. People in this category will see the stiffest competition as it counts no less than 126 entries (that’s 1 in every 5 entries, same as last year).
The category with the second highest number of entries is “Award for innovation in data journalism,” which shows that many people have been experimenting with new technologies over the past year.
The category “Best individual portfolio” got 8% of entries (47 in total) and “Award for student and young data journalist of the year” got 7% (or 42 entries). That shows that data journalism is not only an established desk in newsrooms, it also manages to attract new talents.
Next stop: the shortlist!
Now what? Projects will be reviewed by our Data Journalism Awards pre-jury made of data journalism experts from around the world, and the Shortlist will be announced in May 2019.
The winners of the Data Journalism Awards 2019 will be announced during the ceremony and gala dinner held during the GEN Summit in Athens, Greece, on 14 June 2019.
This year’s prize for our winners? An all-expenses-covered trip to Athens, Greece and the GEN Summit + Data Journalism Awards 2019 ceremony, taking place on 13–15 June 2019.
The data analysis for this article was done by Kuek Ser Kuang Keng, Data Journalism Awards competition officer, and Marianne Bouchart, manager of the competition.
The Data Journalism Awards competition is organised each year by the Global Editors Network, with support from the Google News Initiative, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Microsoft, to celebrate and credit outstanding work in the field of data-driven journalism worldwide.
