Professional Ideals of Data Journalists Around the Globe: Congruencies and Divergences Between Role Conceptions and Narrated Role Performances

ABSTRACT

This study combined an online survey with data journalists from 62 countries with content analysis of Global Editors Network Data Journalism Awards entries to explore and compare normative role conceptions and narrated role performance of these specialized type of news workers. The results reveal that political and audience-centric professional roles assume the same centrality in data journalists’ normative frameworks around the world. We detected a congruency in role conceptions and narrated role performances related to the civic role, but a discrepancy between the two ideals when examining the watchdog role. Contrary to how data journalism has been associated with objectivity, this study found that advocacy is a prominent professional role in the normative and performative compass of data journalists. Factors that influence the idealized professional roles of data journalists are critically discussed within the framework of journalistic awards scholarship and cross-national work.

KEYWORDS:

• Data journalism
• computational journalism
• journalistic roles
• role conceptions
• role performance
• journalism awards

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Major waves of email invitations were sent to data journalists who had entered GEN, GIJC, and IRE/NICAR awards contests in May 2019, June 2019, September 2019, and February 2020. To increase our participation, we sent invitations via membership listserv and social media of the following international organizations that focus on data journalism: Global Editors Network and their Data Journalism Awards network; Global Investigative Journalism Network and its regional programs; European Data and Computational Journalism Conference and Data Harvest; Centre for Investigative Journalism; Investigative Reporters and Editors and NICAR; International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism; African Investigative Publishing Collective; Code for Kenya; Inter American Press Association; RECAP Asia; Balkan Investigative Reporting Network; ThaiPublica; and the Cambodian Center for Independent Media.

2 This study has been approved by the University of Houston IRB review, with IRB ID: STUDY00001543. The informed consent from subjects was waived.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Houston [grant number: 000178050].