Letting the Data Speak: Role perceptions of data journalists in fostering democratic conversation

Journalists in democratic societies perceive their role as guardian of the public’s trust. This ethic of social responsibility has been infused into all tasks related to news production—particularly the act of convening debate surrounding salient issues. The entry of data journalists into the newsroom has upended this shared occupational schema. In processing big data for a lay audience, data journalists place greatest emphasis upon their role as translators of abstract and technical knowledge. While these newsworkers still perceive their work as operating in the public good, data journalists are shifting their professional boundaries when promoting conversation around data products—particularly in the social space. This work, based on in-depth interviews with data journalists in America’s top newspapers, illuminates how data journalists perceive their social responsibility role in fostering democratic conversation with the audience.