Study On The Development Of Data-driven Journalism In The Age Of Big Data

With the red-hot “digital” war, the impact of big data becomes more and more violent. Apple, Google and Microsoft, which were originally engaged in different fields, began to step into each other’s “fields”. The data explosion not only gives rise to changes in people’s living style, but also promotes the great reforms in people’s thinking and behaviors. As the flourishing industry in the age of big data, data-driven journalism is an emerging news report mode, which mainly presents the news events in more intuitive, vivid and interesting way(breaking through the traditional table mode, and displaying the data in image) with discrete data analysis and mass media(especially the new media, for instance, mobile phone, network, etc.) based on the real and effective data. It aims to satisfy the increasingly growing demand on reading efficiency, and bring convenience for the audiences to read the news comprehensively and deeply in the global perspective. It is characterized by strong visibility, depth and interaction. The production process is relatively refine, and the production not only includes the traditional news audio and video, picture and character production, but also covers the social science research method, data capture and acquisition of computer science, processing, visibility, plane interactive design of aesthetic design, network programming, new media art, etc. The big data news pays attention to “tell stories with big data, and in relevant data, it mainly displays the internal value of news from horizontal and longitudinal way”, which may not only be convenient for the audience to understand the overview of news comprehensively and profoundly, but also realize the unification of news in time and space in the simplest way. The datadriven journalism makers would tell complicated stories with intuitive, concise, beautiful and vivid graphs, reveal the correlation between the news events and individuals, and bring lighter and efficient reading experience for audiences.The big data news is characterized by the bi-directional interaction and visibility, as well as strong predictability. The news message in data-driven journalism is the integration of information related to regions all over the world, and readers can read the news in global perspective. Each piece of data-driven journalism shall be the relater of a story, illustrating the development of news from all aspects and perspectives. Meanwhile, it would tell the audience the core information in the most concise way. The data-driven journalism is characterized by new mode, new contents and new interpretation. Nevertheless, it is the innovation in thinking, and the new thinking requires that the tremendous changes in the mode of transmission and interpretation. In the past, the journalists grasped the dominant right in news release, and they could carry out the “intangible” processing for news according to the selection of information. At present, the data-driven journalists mainly present the “big data” related to the news to the audience and allow them to interpret. In the future development, the data-driven journalism would provide a broader platform to the audience, and allow audience to participate in the news production. When the audiences click and read the data-driven journalism, they can send their feedbacks to a platform by aiming at the contents of each plate, and it can be the related photos, videos, or individual comments. In this way, when other audiences see this news, they would see both the news edited by the journalists, and the information released by the audiences. Meanwhile, the comments, photos and characters released by audiences in the news plate would also become the data of other users. Each browse and forward would realize the secondary communication of data. It also suggests that the data in the age of big data is “live data”. Today, the audience information as feedbacks may be a part of the news of tomorrow. “Big data” may prevent the personal data from being separated, and instead, it may be the data within the world. All dynamic data of individuals(covering all aspects of the life) would become the cell in big data, as well as the basis of the big data analysis, impacting the big data. Based on such type of data, it may reflect the lives and habits of people clearly. Through accurate data analysis, the data-driven journalism may provide the urgently needed information according to the orientation and hobbies of audiences. It will not only bring conveniences to their lives and work, but also offer more scientific and individualized options to the decisions.The data-driven journalism develops rapidly, and it has already been applied by the mainstream media in China and foreign countries. In foreign countries, several internationally famous media, including the Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, CNN, etc. have launched related business. In China, the data-driven journalism also develops vigorously. In the television media, CCTV takes the lead in setting up the programs, such as “about spring transportation, about the two meetings, about the employment” etc. for telling the behind story with big data, and proposing the solution to problems in the first time, so as to bring convenience for audiences to deal with all kinds of problems in a more scientific and optimized way. In the network media, the “Digital Way” of Sohu, “illustration of news” of Sina, and “numbers” of Netease, are all devoted to the data, for offering brand new experience of “news reading”. It can be predicted that in the future, the impact of data-driven journalism would be further extended. Seen from the internal influence, the application field of data-driven journalism would be expanded continuously, no matter the traditional media(television, newspaper and magazine), or the new media(mobile phone, network) would increase the application frequency of big data news. Seen from the external impact, the data-driven journalism would be accepted by more audiences, from the newspaper reader of the elder generation to the new generation of mobile phone news reader. They can read the data-driven journalism from different platforms or channels. Meanwhile, the occupation span of such audience is quite huge, and many audiences would not be limited to the seniors of news, and they would be businessmen, politicians, white-collar worker, etc.Although the data-driven journalism has been widely applied, the theoretical study is still in the budding stage. The data-driven journalism is the new field in communication studies. The study on the development of data-driven journalism based on the views of communication would not be favorable for the data-driven journalism, but also provides multi-aspect new value in the theoretical construction of communication.It shall be noticed that in the process of data-driven journalism development, it is also confronted by great threats and challenges, for instance, how to avoid the fuzziness of data, the open transparency of data in data-driven news, crimes of human resource crisis that may be caused by data, etc. These problems shall be face up to and solved gradually in the development of data-driven journalism. The data-driven journalism still has a long way to go. Aiming at this status, all elements of the datadriven journalism are deeply analyzed with scientific research method based on the theory of communication. Detailed analysis and illustration is carried out from time to space, and from the transmitter and transiting channels to the audiences. Meanwhile, according to the existing data of big data and data journalism, the main problems in the current data-driven journalism communication are analyzed, corresponding solutions are proposed, and future development of the data-driven journalism is predicted, aiming to provide references for the development of data-driven journalism.It cannot be denied that the data-driven journalism has a bright prospect, and the data analysis, utilization and sharing would certainly become the mainstream of the future news development. However, there are tremendous risks in the development process. The huge commercial value of the big data and imperfect data management may give rise to more problems, such as the lack of social responsibilities, the human resource crisis of data age, the expanding knowledge and cultural difference, recombination of social relation, loss of individual privacy, etc. which would be faced up by the data-driven journalism in future development. How to eliminate the damage and gain profit turns to be the emphasis of current studies, for it is not only related to the life quality of people, but also the significant link of government decision. As a result, it shall be solved urgently.