The domestication of data journalism in Palestine: Consumption of data-based news stories via social media

Abstract

Data journalism (DJ) stands out as a distinguished contemporary form of news storytelling in which data are simplified and communicated via visuals. It can disseminate knowledge on complex phenomena and contribute to the advancement of journalism. Understanding the motives of readers’ DJ consumption is vital to the understanding of three focal elements in the journalism equation: society, journalists, and news-media institutions. This paper fills a gap in the knowledge about studies in DJ – audience interrelationship, contributing to the understanding of the twinning relationship between domesticating everchanging communication technologies and DJ consumption. The theoretical framework draws on news consumption and domestication theory in examining the way media and communication students in Palestinian universities (hereinafter MC students) interact with DJ-based stories communicated via social media platforms. Surveying MC students (N = 99) at four prominent Palestinian universities in the West Bank, the paper explores the motivations behind MC students’ DJ consumption, and how recent media technologies might induce its levels of consumption. Targeting Facebook, results show that MC students’ engagement with DJ stories is primarily induced by their interest in the topics presented, with social and human stories as primary topics. Other inducers included visuals, proximity to topics discussed, and familiarity with the publishing source.