Data Driven 2017

Four data journalists, four amazing projects. Join Maclean’s Terra Ciolfe, L’Actualite’s Nael Shiab and CBC Montreal’s Roberto Rocha as they demo their favourite data-driven stories from the past year.

Was data journalism meant to start a “revolution”? A recent paper cited by Harvard’s Nieman Lab seems to think so. But was a revolution really the point? And what’s next? Joining us to tackle these questions is New York Times’ Opinions Graphics Editor, Stuart A. Thompson, joined by David Skok, who has spent his career transforming digital newsrooms to adapt to paradigm shifts brought on by technology.

This spring, The Globe and Mail became the first Canadian news outlet to win best investigation from the internationally-recognized Data Journalism Awards. Their groundbreaking investigation, Unfounded, exposed systemic problems around how law enforcement across the country handle sexual assault. Listen to past and present members of the Unfounded team reflect on the investigation almost one year later.

The Paradise Papers. Canada’s Toxic Secret. Despite shrinking newsroom resources, Canada’s investigative reporters have still managed to produce investigations of unprecedented scale. Their secret? A level of cross-newsroom collaboration that would have seemed unthinkable 20 years ago. Toronto Star Investigative Reporter Robert Cribb, Global News’ Chief Investigative Correspondent Carolyn Jarvis and CBC Senior Data Journalist Valerie Ouellet and Reveal News’ Michael Corey talk about balancing budgets, embargoes and egos across bullpens.

The motivations of journalists and open data advocates often run parallel, with transparency, accountability and a focus on social empowerment the driving force behind both vocations. But are both sides missing a greater opportunity to work together as a collective to achieve results? Investigative journalist Martha Troian and open data advocates Kejo Buchanan and Keith McDonald discuss the possibilities.