Instagrammable Data: Using Visuals to Showcase More Than Numbers on AJ Labs Instagram Page
News outlets are
developing formats dedicated to social platforms that capture audience
attention, such as Instagram stories, Facebook Instant articles, and YouTube
videos. In some cases, these formats are created in collaboration with the tech
companies themselves. At the same time, the use of data-driven storytelling is
becoming increasingly integrated into the ever-complex business models of news
outlets, generating more impact and visibility. Previous studies have focused
on studying these two effects separately. To address this gap in the
literature, this paper identifies and analyzes the use of data journalism on
the Instagram content of AJ Labs, the team dedicated to producing data-driven
and interactive stories for the Al Jazeera news network. Drawing upon a
mixed-method approach, this study examines the use and characteristics of data
stories on social media platforms. Results suggest that there is reliance on
producing visual content that covers topics such as politics and violence. In
general, AJ Labs relies on the use of infographics and produces its own unique
data. To conclude, this paper suggests potential ways to improve the use of
Instagram to tell data stories
Funding
Al Jazeera Media Institute’s fellowship
History
Declaration of conflicts of interest
The authors disclosed receipt of the fellowship support for the research from Al Jazeera Media Institute.Corresponding author email
mdelimas@unav.esLead author country
- Spain
Lead author job role
- Higher Education Researcher
Lead author institution
University of NavarraHuman Participants
- Yes