Data Journalism During COVID-19: “This is the biggest story as a data journalist that I’ve ever encountered.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, data journalism has come front and center. It has proved to be a reliable and effective way to communicate information about not only the spread and magnitude of the coronavirus but also how individuals can do their part to flatten the curve. This week, Nightingale spoke with two journalists whose work has stood out even amidst an “infodemic.”
The titular quote came from our interview with John Burn-Murdoch, a data journalist for the The Financial Times who created the widely circulated log scale charts. He spoke with Jason Forrest about creating the visualization, how it has changed over time, how the nature of his work has changed during the time of COVID-19.
Tricia Aung interviewed two members of the Reuters graphics team about their coronavirus coverage. They covered the design process, making hard decisions about data, and how they consider their audience when creating visualizations. Along with the Burn-Murdoch interview, the conversation sheds light on what it’s like for data journalists when the biggest story in the world demands your services.
You can find both interviews and the rest of Nightingale’s coverage of COVID-19 here.
Ekta Khanchandani published an analysis of global park mobility rate during the age of social distancing, which offers an interesting opportunity to compare the approaches of different governments to mitigate the spread. Check out Theresa-Marie Rhyne on how to create a harmonious blue color gradient using Adobe Color and Viz Palette, and my interview with the cofounder and editor of the literary project Territory.
Nightingale has something very special planned for next week. In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we will publish earth-related data-visualization content all week. Data viz can enhance our appreciation of the planet, illuminate our relationship to it, and call us to action to preserve it. After all, we only have one and it means the world to us. Check back on Monday for our centralized Earth Week hub so you can keep up with all of our articles as they come out.
And as always, you can pitch your own ideas to Nightingale at pitchnightingale@gmail.com.
