Towards an epistemology of data journalism in the devolved nations of the United Kingdom: Changes and continuities in materiality, performativity and reflexivity

This article outlines a general epistemological framework of data journalism in the devolved nations of the UK. By using an original model based on three conceptual lenses—materiality, performativity and reflexivity—this study examines the development of this form of journalism, the challenges it faces, and its particularities in the context of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This research therefore offers unique insights from semi-structured interviews with data journalists and data editors based at, or working as freelancers for, the mainstream news organisations of these regions. The results suggest that data journalism in these devolved nations displays a distinctive character just as much as it reinforces the norms and rituals of the legacy organisations that pioneered this practice. Whilst various models of data exploitation are tested, regional data journalists creatively circumvent generalised organisational struggles to lay the groundwork for their trade and professional community

Unravelling data journalism. A study of data journalism practice in British newsrooms

The centrality of data in modern society has prompted a need to examine the increasingly powerful role of data brokers and their efforts to quantify the world. Practices and methods such as surveillance, biometrics, automation, data creeping, or profiling consumer behaviour, all offer opportunities and challenges to news reporting. Nonetheless, as most professional journalists display a degree of hesitancy towards numbers and computational literacy, there are only limited means to investigate the power dynamics underpinning data. This article discusses the extent to which current data journalism practices in the UK employ databases and algorithms as a means of holding data organisations accountable. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with data journalists, data editors and news managers working for British mainstream media, the study looks at how data journalism operates within the news cycle of professional newsrooms in the UK. Additionally, it examines the innovations data journalism brings to storytelling, newsgathering, and the dissemination of news

Encoding the UX: User Interface as a Site of Encounter between Data Journalists and Their Constructed Audiences

This paper examines how data journalism producers encode their audiences’ user experience – or how they construct meaning within the parameters of a user interface. We argue that interfaces enact data journalists’ perceptual image of their audience, and are therefore a meaningful object of study to explore: (a) the relationship between data reporters and their publics; (b) the tensions that emerge from that relationship; and (c) how those tensions are negotiated. Our combined evaluation of producer and artefact perspectives is based on interviews with 12 data journalism producers in legacy UK newsrooms, and interaction design, and multimodal discourse analysis of 12 stories produced by our informants. Findings suggest that data journalism producers’ efforts to create content that resonates with their audiences have resulted in the diversification of data journalism formats, and a more mature view of interactivity, with producers striving to offer experiences in whose meaning negotiation the reader takes centre stage. The reader is perceived as a co-creator of meaning through the expectation of either physical interaction or cognitive immersion. Yet, the paternalistic element, even in the most discovery-/reader-driven stories, remains stronger, manifesting in a carefully crafted experience and pointing to journalism producers’ traditional self-perception as gatekeepers of information

La nueva convergencia de la musica digital: Imaginarios y prosumo emergente

En la actualidad, la música digital y el cúmulo de prác0cas culturales circunscritas a ella, escapan a regulaciones de orden social, polí0co y legal. A pesar del esfuerzo que la industria musical ha inver0do en mantener el control sobre los procesos inherentes a su producción, distribución y mercadeo, el nuevo usuario ha redimensionado la dinámica de consumo haciendo que el control sobre el contenido pase de la industria a la audiencia y que el flujo de novedosas prác0cas culturales y apropiaciones crea0vas llame la atención de estudiosos e inves0gadores. Diferentes escenarios comunica0vos virtuales como las redes sociales, tubes sites, y redes p2p, entre otros, están facilitando esta transición a nivel mundial y los contenidos que se crean, intercambian, comentan y modifican en estos ámbitos, catalizan una serie de mudanzas (De Aguilera, 2008) de diverso signo que comienzan a cons0tuir los cimientos de una nueva era comunica0va

Imaginario colectivo musical. Convenciones en el proceso de interpretacion del sentido de la musica

Human society has built itself over the years. Social models have been transformed with each new revolution of thinking; those processes, which served the purpose of settling the foundations for a net of relations in every field, led to what we human beings nowadays perceive as our environment. However, not only what is visible at first glance has been built, but also unnoticed, complex abstractions which tacitly give a meaning to numerous elements of everyday life. Many situations happen around us in which thousands of signs are interpreted at an unimaginable speed; it's on these signification systems that conventions are constantly rewritten in a perpetual code update. This is how music in particular stands out as a form of discourse that generates an interpretation. From the study of significance's point of view, music provokes a response on the receiving end, but the answer to how that response is generated is still an issue for heated, passionate discussions among experts

Imaginario colectivo musical. Convenciones en el proceso de interpretación del sentido de la música

La sociedad humana se ha construido a sí misma con el pasar de los años. A cada nueva revolución de pensamiento, los modelos sociales se han modificado; como resultado, los procesos que tenían como finalidad establecer los cimientos de una red de relaciones de todo ámbito desembocaron en aquello que los seres humanos percibimos en la actualidad como nuestro entorno.Sin embargo, no sólo se ha construido aquello que se aprecia a simple vista, sino también otras complejas abstracciones que han pasado desapercibidas pero que dan sentido de manera tácita a numerosos elementos del vivir cotidiano. A nuestro alrededor, miles de signos son interpretados a velocidades inimaginables. Sobre esos sistemas de significación se reescriben las convenciones en una eterna actualización de códigos.Es así como llama la atención en particular el caso de la música como discurso que genera una interpretación. Desde la óptica del estudio del significado, la música despierta una respuesta en la dimensión encargada de comprenderla, pero el cómo se genera esa respuesta sigue siendo objeto de acaloradas y apasionadas discusiones entre los teóricos.La intrincada relación de conceptos generados y reforzados en el tiempo por medio de la interacción social construyen nuestra interpretación musical. Por ello, y para comprender en su totalidad el proceso, repasaremos estudios como el de “Social Constructionism”, enfoques cognitivos, Generativismo, Social Representation o Interaccionismo Simbólico para enmarcarlos en el campo de la experiencia de la música y acercarnos a la comprensión del fenómeno del imaginario colectivo musical

Data journalism sustainability: An outlook on the future of data-driven reporting

During its period of rapid growth, data journalism was poised to position journalism as society’s watchdog once again. But despite eager predictions, its rate of adoption outside large news organisations remains low, limiting the consolidation of data journalism to a normative practice. Through Scenario Network Mapping, this article seeks to outline the possible futures of data journalism practice by determining its sustainability in the current climate of journalism austerity. Results suggest three possible scenarios: 1) As a skillset, data journalism will soon be regarded as essential for every professional journalist 2) As a genre, data journalism will remain a niche storytelling format but will ultimately find its way into smaller newsrooms due to decreasing limitations 3) Due to financial and personnel limitations, data journalism will be abandoned by the mainstream media, who will outsource data analysis to non-legacy actors. Within this context, it remains to be seen whether data journalism can continue innovating in order to remain competitive in the constantly evolving ecosystem of today’s news production

Periodismo de datos iberoamericano: desarrollo, contestación y cambio social. Presentación

As the emphasis of data journalism research shifts to the Global South one region that remains relatively under researched is Ibero-America. Arguably, a space that has pioneered data journalism practices and with enormous potential for social change and development through open data, Ibero-America has excelled in many areas related to the field: La Nación in Argentina has to date one of the most inno- vative data journalism units globally. Also, La Nación, together with the Spanish newspaper El País, were, together with the Guardian, the New York Times and the Spiegel, the first news organisation that extracted and published information from WikiLeaks’ War Logs. Finally, Spain is one of the most open societies in Europe, and a global example for open data. Yet, an absence of Ibero-American data journalism studies from mainstream scholarship, creates an opportunity to further explore the developments and evolution of data journalism in this geographic region. In this vein, this special edition of Icono14 aims at repositioning Iberian American data journalism within the broadest discussions on the field, recontextualising its contri- bution into debates on the role of this journalistic practice in the Global South

La televisión móvil: el estado de la cuestión

El presente artículo recoge el estado de la cuestión de la investigación realizada sobre televisión en movilidad. Aunque la televisión para móvil es ahora mismo un objeto sobre-investigado, en el fondo sabemos poco acerca de ella. Sobre todo, desconocemos en qué medida podría desencadenarse la apertura de un nuevo abanico de hábitos socioculturales en torno a la experiencia televisiva en movilidad. Y desconocemos cómo podría ayudar a desempeñar un papel en la promoción de la ciudadanía. Ello mercería un programa de investigación.The present article shows “the state of art” of the research on mobile television. A lot of research has been done and it certainly shed some light; but we still do not know if mobile television is more than a small handheld devise and if it could open up a new market for the content specifically tailored for it, unleash new socio-cultural habits and promote citenzenship among their users. This would deserve a research programme