History of Data Journalism at The Guardian

Summary

This script explores the evolution of data journalism, tracing its roots back to the Guardian's first issue in 1821. It highlights early data presentations, such as a table of Manchester schools, and discusses the political significance of such information. The narrative progresses through time, showcasing various forms of data visualization used in newspapers, including ASCII art, maps, and charts, to convey complex information in an accessible manner. The summary also touches on the use of graphics for reassurance during WWII and the rapid data visualization capabilities in modern journalism, exemplified by the mapping of meteorite events post-2013.

Takeaways

• 📰 The concept of data journalism is not new; it has been a part of The Guardian's journalistic practices since its inception in 1821.
• 👀 The first edition of The Guardian in 1821 featured a data table listing schools in Manchester, highlighting the political nature of data even in early journalism.
• 🔢 Data journalism's purpose is to provide valuable insights that inform public opinion and contribute to societal progress.
• 📊 The use of graphics and visualizations to represent complex data has been a part of The Guardian's storytelling since the early 1900s.
• ✍️ The Boer War and World War I saw the newspaper using innovative techniques like ASCII art to depict military strategies and battles.
• 🗺️ Maps and diagrams were crucial in visualizing military actions and places unfamiliar to the readers, aiding in understanding the geographical context of war.
• 📈 The Manchester Guardian Commercial supplement used proportional or stacked line charts to represent complex financial data in an accessible manner.
• 🛠️ World War II-era graphics served as reassurance techniques, visually demonstrating the support and resources being provided to the UK by its allies.
• 🚀 The 1957 launch of Sputnik sparked extensive coverage, with The Guardian using diagrams to explain the satellite's orbit and significance.
• 🌐 Modern data journalism at The Guardian leverages digital tools to quickly map and analyze large datasets, such as the 2013 meteorite event near Moscow.
• 💻 The evolution of data journalism reflects technological advancements, from manual methods to interactive digital visualizations that engage audiences.

Q & A

What is the historical significance of the first edition of the Guardian in 1821?

The first edition of the Guardian in 1821 featured one of the earliest examples of data journalism, with a table listing every school in Manchester, the number of children in each, and the cost. This was politically significant as it was 60 years before compulsory education, and it provided valuable insights into the state of education among the laboring classes.

How did the Guardian present data in the early 20th century during the Boer War?

During the Boer War, the Guardian used innovative techniques to represent data visually. They created graphics made up of type, essentially ASCII art, to depict the structure of new South African tactics and the layout of military actions, as photographs were not yet commonly produced for the paper.

What role did data visualization play during World War I in the Guardian's reporting?

Data visualization during World War I in the Guardian was used to illustrate military actions and the progress of the war. For instance, a chart from the Battle of the Somme depicted the groundwork of what was still to come, showing the Allies' advances and the difficult terrain they faced, providing a visual understanding of the war's progress to the readers.

Can you explain the use of data visualization in the Manchester Guardian Commercial in the 1940s?

In the 1940s, the Manchester Guardian Commercial used data visualization to represent complex financial data in an easy-to-understand way. An example given was a proportional or stacked line chart showing the assets of London clearing banks, highlighting the importance of color in differentiating and explaining data.

How did the Guardian use data visualization as a reassurance technique during World War II?

During World War II, the Guardian used data visualization to reassure the public. A graphic from 1943 showed symbols representing 10% of military equipment and food production from America, visually demonstrating the support the UK was receiving and aiming to reassure people about the availability of resources.

What was the significance of the visual representation of Sputnik in the Guardian in 1957?

The visual representation of Sputnik in the Guardian was significant as it depicted the technological advancements of the time. The paper included diagrams to explain how Sputnik stayed in orbit, showing the speed required to stay above ground and orbit the planet, reflecting the public's curiosity and the media's role in explaining complex space concepts.

How has the speed of data visualization in the Guardian changed from the past to 2013?

The speed of data visualization in the Guardian has significantly increased. In 2013, after the Russian meteorite event near Moscow, the paper was able to quickly map 54,000 meteorite events from a database due to the availability of longitudes and latitudes, showcasing the efficiency and speed of modern data visualization techniques.

What was the role of stamp duty in the cost of newspapers during the early 19th century?

In the early 19th century, stamp duty was a significant cost factor for newspapers. It was mentioned that a four-penny stamp duty was quite expensive at the time, indicating that taxes on newspapers could be a barrier to accessibility for the public.

How did the Guardian's front pages evolve from the 1821 edition to the 1950s?

The Guardian's front pages evolved from being dominated by advertisements in the 1821 edition to featuring more visual content and photographs by the 1950s. The paper also began to include more complex data visualizations and graphics to represent information more effectively.

What does the script suggest about the evolution of data journalism in the Guardian?

The script suggests that data journalism in the Guardian has evolved significantly over time, from simple tables in the 19th century to more sophisticated and interactive visualizations in the 21st century. The use of data has always been integral to the Guardian's storytelling, aiming to bring stories to life and provide valuable insights to readers.

Outlines

00:00

📰 The Evolution of Data Journalism at The Guardian

The first paragraph delves into the history of data journalism, challenging the notion that it is a recent phenomenon post-2009. It highlights that journalists at The Guardian have been working with data since its inception in 1821, using innovative methods to present information engagingly. The example given is from the first edition of The Guardian, which included a table of data listing Manchester schools, their student numbers, and costs, revealing the political significance of such information at a time before compulsory education. The paragraph underscores the importance of data in understanding societal conditions and driving progress.

05:02

📈 Visual Data Representation in Historical Context

The second paragraph explores the evolution of visual data representation in journalism, starting with the use of ASCII art to depict the layout of the Boer War in the early 20th century. It discusses the challenges of conveying complex information through simple visuals, such as the use of letters and basic typography to create a graphic illustrating military tactics. The paragraph also touches on the use of maps and diagrams to represent military actions and the significance of visual aids in helping the public understand distant and complex events. It concludes with an example of a chart from the Manchester Guardian Commercial, which used color to differentiate between various data points in a stacked line chart, demonstrating the increasing sophistication of data visualization techniques.

Keywords

💡Data Journalism

Data journalism is the practice of using data to inform and enhance news stories, often involving the analysis and visualization of large datasets to reveal trends and insights. It is central to the video's theme, as it traces the history of the Guardian's use of data to engage readers and inform the public. The script mentions the Guardian's early engagement with data since its first issue in 1821, showcasing its evolution over time.

💡Visualization

Visualization refers to the graphical representation of data to make it easier to understand and analyze. It is a key concept in the video, illustrating how the Guardian has used visual elements to present complex information in a digestible format. Examples from the script include the use of ASCII art to represent war tactics and the use of maps and charts to depict military actions and financial data.

💡Education Data

Education data is information related to educational institutions, enrollment, costs, and other related statistics. The script highlights the Guardian's first example of data journalism from 1821, which was a table listing schools in Manchester, the number of children enrolled, and the cost, reflecting the political significance of education data at the time.

💡Compulsory Education

Compulsory education refers to education that children are required by law to attend, usually up to a certain age or grade level. The video script notes that the data on Manchester schools predates the introduction of compulsory education, indicating the progressive nature of the information being reported.

💡Industrial War

Industrial war is a term that describes a conflict where industrial capabilities are heavily utilized to support military efforts. The Boer War mentioned in the script is an example of an early 20th-century industrial war, where the Guardian reported on the invasion of Cape Colony and casualty lists, reflecting the changing nature of warfare.

💡ASCII Art

ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses the characters of the ASCII character set to create images and designs. The script describes how the Guardian used ASCII art to visually represent complex war tactics during the Boer War, demonstrating the paper's innovative approach to data visualization in the absence of photographs.

💡Maps and Military Action

The use of maps in military action is a common practice to visually depict the geographical context of battles and strategies. The script refers to a page from the Guardian during the Battle of the Somme, which used maps to show the progress and challenges faced by the Allies, emphasizing the importance of visual data in conveying the realities of war.

💡Proportional Stacked Line Chart

A proportional stacked line chart is a type of chart that displays the proportion of different categories within a whole, using lines to represent the data over time. The script mentions such a chart from the Manchester Guardian commercial supplement, which visualized the assets of London clearing banks, showing the evolution of data visualization techniques.

💡Reassurance Technique

A reassurance technique in media refers to the use of visual or textual elements to instill confidence or calm among the audience. The script describes a graphic from 1943 that used symbols to represent the production of military and food supplies from America, aiming to reassure the British public during World War II.

💡Meteorite Data

Meteorite data pertains to information about meteorite occurrences, including their size, location, and impact. The video script discusses a 2013 Guardian article that used data from the Meteorological Society to map meteorite events, illustrating the use of modern data journalism techniques to quickly and interactively inform the public about significant events.

💡Interactive Data

Interactive data refers to data that can be manipulated or explored by users, often in digital formats. The script mentions an interactive map of meteorite events that allowed users to engage with the data, reflecting the advancements in data journalism that enable more dynamic and user-friendly presentations of information.

Highlights

Data journalism is a relatively new field, with its roots in technologies that emerged after 2009.

The Guardian has been engaging with data since its first issue in 1821, aiming to present it in interesting ways.

The first edition of the Guardian featured a table of data, listing schools in Manchester and their costs, which was politically significant at the time.

The importance of understanding data to form accurate opinions about societal progress was highlighted in the 1821 edition.

By the 1950s, the Guardian was still using innovative techniques, such as ASCII art, to represent complex information visually.

Graphics and visualizations have been used to represent military actions and unfamiliar locations, such as during the Battle of the Somme.

A chart from the Manchester Guardian Commercial in 1916 depicted the groundwork and challenges that lay ahead for the Allies.

Visualizations in the 1940s served as reassurance techniques, showing the public the support and resources being received from America.

The use of color in visualizations has evolved to aid in the differentiation and explanation of complex data.

In 1957, the Guardian covered the launch of Sputnik, exploring its implications and the public's curiosity about space travel.

A 2013 article utilized a database from the Meteorological Society to map and visualize the locations of meteorite events.

Modern data journalism benefits from the speed and interactivity of digital tools, allowing for quick and engaging visualizations.

The Guardian's early use of data journalism demonstrates the historical significance and evolution of presenting data in newspapers.

The transcript provides insights into the techniques and tools used by the Guardian to bring data journalism to life for its readers.

The importance of accurate data representation for informed decision-making and societal understanding is underscored throughout the transcript.

The evolution of data journalism at the Guardian reflects broader technological advancements and changes in media presentation.

Transcripts

data journalism is something

brand-spanking-new

it relies entirely on the technologies

of the moment didn't exist before 2009

last commonly held view but how right is

it

in fact journalists at Guardian have

been wrestling with data since the very

first issue of 1821 and have been trying

to present that data in interesting ways

to bring those stories alive for the

readers here we have the bound Edition

bound volume the very first editions of

the Guardian from 1821 in the front page

is all adverts is led by an advert for a

lost black Newfoundland dog and adverts

for the local businesses in Manchester

is seven pens which is quite expensive

in those days because four pencil that

was attacked at stamp duty you can just

about see the stamp at the top in the

corner and all the news in those days

was on the inside and in the back and

it's given to couple long time

discussing pieces and here on the back

page is Nessa the first example of

Guardian data journalism it's really a

table of data just a long table data and

the stuff now that wouldn't be

controversial essentially it's a list of

every school in Manchester with how many

children were in each school and how

much each cost girls and boys - 60 years

before compulsory education this was

incredibly political and this was leaked

to somebody known to the editor only

given here as an initial as n age no

document for similar nature has yet been

laid before the public and this is the

key quote here at all times such

information as it contains is valuable

because without knowing the extent to

which education on particularly

education that the laboring classes

prevails the best opinions which can be

formed of the condition of future

progress of society must be necessarily

incorrect I take that to mean that

unless we know and we understand what's

going on in the world through things

like this through data like this then

how can things improve and how can

things get any better

eighty years since the first edition and

front pages all again still adverts

which Carolyn to the 1950s and nicely

one obviously in the middle of the Boer

War and this is the first you know major

industrial war of the 20th century and

the paper is just full of stories as

invasion of Cape Colony and casualty

lists and so on and the first

photographs weren't really pre produced

in the garden for another few years

after this till 1905

so the the layout designers fell back

and kind of ingenious technique for

representing some there's actually quite

visual which the new Brigade structure

new South African tactics from the war

and it's a graphics to ASCII art

essentially a graphic made up of type

all of the elements on here are letters

there's the alphabet or their lines

things were being very very simple and

easy for people to reproduce in a cup a

clear way because it's quite a

complicated thing they were trying to

show where the front half battalion was

the left half the battalion that where

the major goes in those days have firing

lines at the front of a battalion and

the men here represented by these little

these little o's and more text here this

is the earliest graphic I could find go

through the archives a diagram

representation of data if you like war a

military action is one of those areas

that have always produced graphics and

visualization so often you're

visualizing places that people don't

really know about I know it's somewhere

away they've never been that often and

you're trying to show also what's

happening where so traditionally we fall

upon maps and so on and this page from

during the battle of the somme to me

showed both of those kinds of data of

visualization this was drawn in October

1916 no battle summer starting July was

supposed to be over very very quickly I

would have been an enormous kind of

military investment by the Allies and I

hadn't worked and what this shows you is

the groundwork of what was still to come

after all those months of pain and

incredible losses of life they still

have major bits of land and hills and

very very difficult land to get over and

it was the kind of pain that lies ahead

what now lies head of the Allies

advanced and its sections of the lands

you've got a little mouth showing with

its sections of lands you can really

imagine how difficult I would have

looked to people at home after all this

fighting and paying a bloodshed we've

still got to do this so this is chart

from something called the Manchester

Guardian commercial which was a regular

commercial supplement which came out

alongside the paper and this is required

of quite serious stuff about London

clearing banks assets what were their

assets made of this is a proportional or

stacked line chart which we do use

sometimes now but you can see the

importance that and the freedom that

color gives us now with all this kind of

cross hat

and differentiation and explanation

that's kind of required around it they

showed how perhaps these visualizations

are becoming ways of representing data

which is incredibly complicated and

difficult people to understand in a cut

very easy visual way so here we have

something which is quite interesting

because it's a graphic a visualization

as a reassurance technique now 1943

obviously America was in the war and

reckon with all these resources were

setting some of those resources to the

UK and some of these things were

military equipment bombers and tanks and

planes and so on so you can see here

each of these symbols represents 10% of

january to march production the other

thing that we were having as well from

america which we desperately needed was

food again which have very small amounts

that were coming to the UK so there's a

kind of graphic to reassure people that

they're going to be alright and you can

see how those graphics have moved on in

a sense from the ones we were looking at

from 1938 where they were basically

saying to people this is these are the

facts this is how you will be affected

by the war something where they're

basically saying to people you'll be all

right and look here's the visual proof

this is a rather lovely observer from

November the 10th 9:57 and the papers

are much more visual there's brilliant

picture of a volunteer at Farnborough

when we still had a space industry in

the UK and the paper is just full of

courage Sputnik what was going on what

is the motive what does it mean for us a

key question which a lot of people have

been asking themselves how do they stay

up I mean imagine a gun mounts their

tower so high it protrudes beyond where

the atmosphere ends into the vacuum of

space

and see the diagrams see how fast things

have to move to stay above ground and to

keep going around the planet so this is

something just from 2013 they're just

after the Russian meteorite hit near

Moscow and I just shows every meteorite

on that we know about we just got all

the data that we could from the

Meteorological Society which has a

brilliant database had 54 thousand

events on and that data was very good

for this because it had last twos and

longitudes in the data and meant that we

could map it in really about 10 minutes

you imagine how long it would take you

manually to draw 50,000

circles and you've got something

interactive which people can share and

they can

so we have speed on our side now in the

way that I think people would really am

be 20 or 30 years ago

you