Not “just the facts”: Challenging assumptions in cross-national data journalism

Access to online data sets and free, data-visualization software programs that don’t require coding skills has given journalism students the ability to produce charts, maps, and graphs quickly. Maps that used to require weeks of software training and expensive programs to create can now be produced in less than an hour. However, students must learn to question their own biases when using these powerful tools—particularly when reporting on the unfamiliar. Working in an international context illuminates these assumptions and helps students learn the need to challenge their inherent biases habitually in using data to visualize “the other.” Courses This lesson is appropriate for undergraduate or graduate classes that teach skills such as reporting, digital storytelling, international reporting, global journalism, and data visualization. The international focus broadens students’ critical thinking about ethics and representation. Objectives This lesson introduces students to data analysis and visualization using a blend of skills acquisition and ethical questions meant to stimulate cross-cultural critical thinking. It helps students explore the power of data to reinforce or challenge assumptions and reinforces the idea that data are not neutral. Students learn the importance of contextualizing data and building understanding before analyzing or visualizing. This lesson also aims to help students challenge stereotypes they might have about one another’s cultures. By working in cross-national teams, they learn to explore biases and question assumptions as they create the visualization together.