Diving into Data: Pitfalls and Promises of Data Journalism in Semi-Authoritarian Contexts

Abstract

This paper calls for greater scrutiny of data journalism as a practice in the semi-authoritarian context of Zimbabwe. Based on in-depth interviews with practising journalists in Zimbabwe, this paper answers two main questions: In what ways is data journalism practised in the Zimbabwean context? To what extent are newsrooms in Zimbabwe “tooled” and capacitated for data journalism practices? We note that data journalism is widely understood by individual journalists in this country but paradoxically less practised due to many challenges. By answering these two questions, we sustain an argument that data journalism appropriation in semi-authoritarian contexts can be instrumental in promoting monitorial democracy and reversing media decadence. In such a political context, which suffers from a democratic deficit, data journalism can cushion journalists from state-sanctioned harassment by “presenting facts to authorities” and reinvigorating “persecutory” practices like investigative journalism.