Driving the Closest Information. Local Data Journalism in the UK

Abstract

This article analyses the rise of local data journalism in the United Kingdom from a triple perspective: the description of four cases, their visions on the situation of this specialty and their perspectives on the theoretical keys of this phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews with the editors of these four projects are the main research method. The results show a complementary media ecosystem, due to their different editorial models and approaches. Journalists mainly compose the project teams, although they collaborate with technical profiles either within the company or through external collaborations. Data analysis is the fundamental task and, therefore, certain knowledge of statistics and spreadsheets, in addition to the conventional journalistic values, remain the main requirements. Local media are going through a critical situation, with little opportunities to invest in innovation, but precisely data journalism can become a solution if it contributes to the stability of the media outlets such as the rest of the newsroom. Therefore, this research aims to show the relevance of data journalism in the present and in the future of local and regional media and, consequently, in the improvement of the closest and most influential information.