Data journalism around the globe

Need a vacation but can’t imagine the outer darkness that is you without your work? Why not take it with you to exotic northern Europe.

In “Data Journalism Around the Globe” panelists trotted out some of the best  data projects coming from our cousins on the continent in the German, Danish and Scandinavian press.

Many of the notables included crowdsourced projects like a Finnish mapping of places where people felt unsafe. Sebastian Mondial demoed Frag den Staat, a Teutonic forebear to FOIA Machine, which helps journalists and citizens query government agencies and track results of information requests. Another project visualized the wide-spread plagiarism of several prominent political figures with a litmus test strip that represented page on page how much of each person’s doctoral thesis was forked from other sources.

Nils Mulvad made the case that data journalism is gaining critical mass overseas with the formation of independent centers for investigative reporting. “Suddenly CAR is everywhere,” concurred Helena Bengtsson. Now more than ever there are great opportunities for trans-oceanic cooperation on data project, said Nils.

And for those NICARians whose drinking habits can support a twice annual event, the inaugural Nordic CAR conference is scheduled for late this year. Bring your Swedish phrasebook.