NEWS published on 20 Sep 2019

Data journalism - making sense of the world's big issues

Data journalism - making sense of the world's big issues
Credit Cory Schadt/Unsplash

Do you know how many people there are on earth today? We will soon be 8 billion but what about when you were born? How many people were on earth back then?

Creating powerful data journalism stories is central to great public service output - and making sense of the world's biggest issues. The EBU newsroom is deep-diving into this area with resident expert, Teemo Tebest. We aim to bring our Members not only breaking news, daily news and verified social media content, but now we also cut through data sets to bring new perspectives to topics such as population changes.

For World Population Day on 11 June we implemented an interactive calendar which allows users to see how many people existed when they were born. The calculator gives users a more personalized view on the topic and a reaction, "Wow, the amount of people has doubled in my lifetime!" This is quite different from just stating that the world's population will shortly reach 8 billion. Essentially, it is personalized perspective through data. Try it for yourself here

population graphic.png

EBU Member, Yle/Finland made use of this calculator, implemented their own fonts and colours, wrote a story supporting it and published it on their news site. The online story was the most read that day and particularly attracted young audiences which are a key target for PSM. Personalization, interaction and products which allow the "my turn next" reaction are proven to gain more audience. The online story could have also been used in a live broadcast where the presenter could show it on screen and enter his/her own data into the calculator and encourage viewers to go online and test for themselves. 

In addition to the templates, we have also been growing awareness and community. In our Facebook group, which is our main communication channel, we have approximately 60 people from across our Membership. From Lithuania to Spain and from North-Macedonia to Sweden.

Teemo Tebest is an experienced data journalist who has been part of the EBU Newsroom since March 2019. The population calendar is one of his many ideas for enhancing, interpreting and adding value to major global topics.

This is just one example of how the EBU supports Members - please contact us if you have questions, ideas or experiences to share. 

The EBU data journalism initiative is financed from the News earmarked reserve budget as a strategic project 

Contact detail

Jo Waters
Head of Content Communications

+41 22 717 2501
waters@ebu.ch