Data Journalism in the Philippines: New Trends, New Practices for Old Media Organizations

Abstract

The last few years have seen an explosion in data-driven journalism practice in the global South. As data journalism becomes more prevalent in professional journalism practice in the Philippines, it is increasingly important to capture the experience of local news organizations as they adapt and transition towards this emerging trend. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the development of data journalism in Philippine media companies, specifically focusing on some of the oldest news organizations: ABS-CBN Corp., GMA Network Inc., the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Drawing from in-depth interviews with senior journalists at these participating companies, the study explores how data journalism is perceived by journalists and editors and its implications in news management and/or the organization in general. We analyze changes and challenges in local journalistic practice as these intersect with traditional news values, organizational objectives and norms, organizational communicative practices in the newsroom, story selection and storytelling techniques, and strategic audience engagement mechanisms. Efforts towards cooperation and collaboration between and amongst news organizations over data sources and data analysis approaches are also explored. Some differences and similarities will be drawn from our experience vis-a-vis global North practice, including but not limited to the state of information access and data availability in the Philippines and the level of data literacy and the news consumption culture among Filipinos that also influence organizational practice.