Cover not available

Article published In: Information Design Journal
Vol. 27:3 (2022) ► pp.309–319

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

“I learned it on the job”

Becoming a Data Visualization professional in news media

ORCiD logo with link | University of Lisbon
ORCiD logo with link | ITI/LARSyS, University of Lisbon
Published online: 2 December 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.22004.est
Abstract
Graphs, charts, and infographics have long been a part of newsrooms. Nevertheless, in recent decades, new data processing and graphical representation findings have led to a boom in data and visual journalism. Both professionals and newsrooms have had to adapt quickly to the fast-developing field of Data Visualization while facing an unprecedented crisis. Through semi-structured interviews with worldwide graphic reporters and data journalists, this research delves into academic backgrounds, daily tasks, and design processes to answer the question of how someone comes to design graphics for a living in recent years. One common phenomenon was identified: self-teaching.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methodology
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Becoming a hybrid professional
    • 3.2Process
    • 3.3A career with future
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (21)
References
Aisch, G., & Rost, L. C. (2021). Four Recent Developments in News Graphics. Em The Data Journalism Handbook: Towards a Critical Data Practice. Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bentley, E. (2021). The Web as Medium for Data Visualization. Em The Data Journalism Handbook: Towards a Critical Data Practice. Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Botton, A. de. (2014). The News: A User’s Manual. Pantheon Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cairo, A. (2017). Nerd Journalism: How Data and Digital Technology Transformed News Graphics [Tese de Doutoramento, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya]. [URL]
Dick, M. (2014). Interactive Infographics and News Values. Digital Journalism, 2(4), 490–506. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020). The Infographic: A History of Data Graphics in News and Communications. MIT Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Franchi, F. (2018). One Newspaper, Three Newspapers. Em Newspaper Design: Editorial Design from the World’s Best Newsrooms. Gestalten.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fry, B. (2008). Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing Environment. O’Reilly Media.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hahn, O., & Stalph, F. (Eds.). (2018). Digital Investigative Journalism: Data, Visual Analytics and Innovative Methodologies in International Reporting. Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kirk, A. (2016). Data Visualisation: A Handbook for Data Driven Design. SAGE Publications Ltd.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2014). The Elements of Journalism, Revised and Updated (3.a ed.). Three Rivers Press. (Original work published 2001)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, B., Riche, N. H., Isenberg, P., & Carpendale, S. (2015). More than Telling a Story: A Closer Look at the Process of Transforming Data into Visually Shared Stories. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 35(5), 84–90. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Parsons, P. (2021). Understanding Data Visualization Design Practice. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [URL]
Quispel, A., Maes, A., & Schilperoord, J. (2018). Aesthetics and Clarity in Information Visualization: The Designer’s Perspective. Arts, 71, 72. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Randall, D. (2016). The Universal Journalist: Expanded and Updated (5.a ed.). Pluto Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schwabish, J. (2021). Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks. Columbia University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segel, E., & Heer, J. (2010). Narrative Visualization: Telling Stories with Data. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 16(6), 1139–1148. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shapiro, M. (2010). Once Upon a Stacked Time Series: The Importance of Storytelling in Information Visualization. Em J. Steele & N. Illinsky (Eds.), Beautiful Visualization: Looking at Data Through the Eyes of Experts. O’Reilly Media.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tufte, E. R. (1997). Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Graphics Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ware, C. (2021). Information Visualization: Perception for Design (4.a ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wong, D. M. (2010). The Wall Street Journal. Guide to Information Graphics. The Dos em Don’ts of Presenting Data, Facts, and Figures. W. W. Norton & Company Inc.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Kim, Nam Wook, Yongsu Ahn, Grace Myers & Benjamin Bach
2025.  How Good Is ChatGPT in Giving Advice on Your Visualization Design? . ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 32:5 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue