ABSTRACT This article provides analysis of the growing data journalism subfield using data gathered from a cross-national survey of journalists in 68 countries. The study makes two contributions to the literature, first offering a test of a typological framework for categorizing data journalists based on their work routines and conditions, and second exploring similarities and differences between journalists working in Global South settings versus those in the Global North. The analysis provides empirical support for conceptual claims of contrasting paradigms revolving around traditional journalistic practices versus more computational approaches to using data in news production. At the same time, we find that rather than aligning neatly with one or the other professional or epistemological paradigm, data journalists tend to employ a wide range of practices, with variations in degree of adoption of individual approaches contingent on specific work contexts. Journalists in countries of the Global South, for instance, are likelier than their Global North counterparts to adopt strategies such as using non-expert sources of information to produce stories based on data. Overall, the data suggest a maturing global data journalism field characterized by broad diffusion of standardized practices that feature some regional variation likely tied to differing data access regimes.