The Panama Papers, the biggest leak in journalism’s history, led to a global investigative effort joined by about 100 Latin American journalists who were able to untangle how fiscal paradises work. Under the leadership of Spanish journalist Mar Cabra, the global data team from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was the brain behind the investigation that required an analysis of 11.5 million documents; the team proved that knowing how to deal with big data has become essential to investigative journalism.
Investigative pieces using data journalism from media outlets in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia are nominated among finalists in various categories for the Data Journalism Awards 2016, which have been organized by the Global Editors Network (GEN) since 2011.
In Venezuela, a country where restrictions on the press are rampant and access to public information is not guaranteed by law, being informed about government decisions can be problematic. That is why the Press and Society Institute (IPYS for its acronym in Spanish) Venezuela, with Transparencia Venezuela, is launching Vendata, an online platform used to easily display information contained in the “Gaceta Oficial,” the official government bulletin.
In digital native media outlets, journalists in Latin America have found playgrounds for independent reporting, thorough investigation and creative data visualization. Yet, these triumphs also come with a set of challenges including financial sustainability, taking advantage of digital technology and interacting with communities.
This year, the most prestigious award of the Brazilian press, ExxonMobil Award of Journalism (formerly known as Esso Award, or Prêmio Esso), went to a story that used a public online database as its main source. On the night of Nov. 12, two members of the Estadão Dados team, José Roberto de Toledo and Rodrigo Burgarelli, along with reporter Paulo Saldaña, won the award in the main category for “Farra no Fiés” (Farra in Fiés).
A transnational collaboration between two Latin American digital sites has resulted in yet another data journalism project that exposes structures of some of the region’s biggest power players.
Latin American journalists now have a tool that allows them to discover the best published journalistic research and articles in the region. The tool is known in Spanish as the Banco de Investigaciones Periodísticas (BIPYS), a database of journalistic investigations created by the Press and Society Institute (IPYS for its acronym in Spanish), which has been open for public access since July 6 through a paid subscription.
In late 2012 Chilean journalist Miguel Paz, an ICFJ Knight International Journalism fellow, launched with a group of colleagues a data journalism platform called Poderopedia, which helps reveal the network of relationships between business and government elites in Chile.
When the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) got its hands on a leak with millions of documents containing details on hundreds of secret companies in tax havens, it put together one of the most impressive groups of reporters ever assembled to participate in what the organization is already calling “the most ambitious cross-border investigative project in history." More than 100 reporters in 58 countries participated in examining the documents and have already produced several articles on what they have revealed.
After a five-month wait, Nación Data has launched the Spanish version of the Data Journalism Handbook. The book is free, open-source, and is designed to help journalists use data to improve their stories.
The International Center for Journalists named three Latin American journalists and a Portuguese designer who instructed a course for the Knight Center as the next Knight International Journalism Fellows last week.
In 1994, journalist Giannina Segnini founded a one-woman investigative unit—herself—at Costa Rica’s La Nación newspaper. Since then, the unit has grown into a five-person team that is trailblazing data journalism in Latin America, according to Journalism.co.uk.