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The combined set of skills needed for producing data journalism (e.g., investigative journalism methods, programming, knowledge in statistics, data management, statistical reporting, and design) challenges the understanding of what competences a journalist needs and the boundaries for the tasks journalists perform. Scholars denote external actors with these types of knowledge as interlopers or actors at the periphery of journalism. In this study, we follow two Swedish digital native data journalism start-ups operating in the Nordics from when they were founded in 2012 to 2019. Although the start-ups have been successful in news journalism over the years and acted as drivers for change in Nordic news innovation, they also have a presence in sectors other than journalism. This qualitative case study, which is based on interviews over time with the start-up founders and a qualitative analysis of blog posts written by the employees at the two start-ups, tells a story of journalists working at the periphery of legacy media, at least temporarily forced to leave journalism behind yet successfully using journalistic thinking outside of journalistic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In data journalism, these two conflicting control ideals co-exist, much because of that in the context of data journalism visualizations, journalistic news angles are often, but not always, supported by interactivity. Given the high level of technological features in data journalism, we cannot take for granted that data journalism will always be protected from the negative interpretation of technology paternalism by the audience. " Data Journalism in Sweden: Introducing New Methods and Genres of Journalism into "Old" Organizations.". [Extracted from the article]

In 2013, with the introduction of the Transparency Law in Spain, a number of Spanish newsrooms started working with data journalism methods. In Sweden, which has one of the oldest Freedom of Information acts in the world, newsrooms invested in the skill development of data journalism at approximately the same time. Because previous research suggests that access to public data has been one of the key driving forces for the development of data journalism worldwide, it is important to understand how legislation is actually shaping the practice of data journalism. Based on a survey of 66 key informants in Spain and Sweden and ten in-depth interviews with data journalists from five media companies in each country, we conducted a comparative study, building on the frameworks of media systems to explore data journalism practices in these two countries. The differences found indicate that the national and EU legislation in both nations shape journalistic strategies for accessing data, turning journalists at times into activists fighting for the right to access public data. Beyond the law, data journalists advocate for a transparency culture among the civil servants, in order to secure public accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores paternalism in contemporary data journalism, a hybrid form of journalism where parts of the engineering culture are blended with the culture of journalism. Technologists often question paternalistic elements in design, whereas journalists consider paternalistic decision-making to be justified as an inherent part of what journalism is. Based on a predominately qualitative content analysis of paternalistic elements in 31 data journalistic projects submitted to the Nordic Data Journalism Awards in 2013, 2015 and 2016, three characteristics of paternalism were found: controlling functionality, the illusion of interactivity and linearity. All three characteristics include several types of control over the audience control, embedded in the design, and as previous research has found that paternalism is often associated with negative effects, on the basis of journalistic choices in design and presentation involving technology, the problem is whether the audience begins to perceive data journalism as controlling, non-transparent or intrusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]