Assessing the growth of data journalism start-ups as alternative media and their roles in “flawed democracies”

Data journalism start-ups have emerged as viable forces in the news industry in recent years, with their creation of strong data stories that have won global data journalism awards. Such start-ups may be seen to play particularly important roles to safeguard democracy in societies where mainstream media is strictly controlled, taking on the role of alternative media to challenge the status quo. This study examines such start-ups in Asia, a fast-growing region with high Internet penetration rates but declining democracy and press freedom in international indices. This study focuses on India, Thailand and Singapore, listed as “flawed democracies” in the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index, to discover the dimensions and roles of alternative media exhibited by selected data journalism start-ups there, particularly in their organizational structure, form, processes, content, and motive. Results show these organizations as focused not primarily on profits but on creating social change, offering to audiences more critical content and community voices, and playing the roles of interpreter, populist mobilizer, and even adversary. That said, politics and government do not tend to be common topics they cover – rather, systemic faults are revealed through investigations into social issues instead, revealing similarities with broader data journalism practice in the region.