ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of data visualization in the media coverage of the 2016 presidential election in the United States focusing on data-visualization projects from the New York Times and the Washington Post. This research aims to examine how media coverage of the election has been framed with infographics through mixed methods analysis. Another part of this article presents an investigation of data journalists’ working routines and so-called boundary-work (Boyles, J. L., and E. Meyer. 2016. “Letting the Data Speak.” Digital Journalism 4 (7): 944–954. doi:10.1080/21670811.2016.1166063) by conducting interviews with data reporters.

The mixed methods textual and visual analysis shows that framing the election as a game is still relevant for the election data reporting. Analysis of graphics before the election has demonstrated the prevalent game frame trend in data visualization pieces. However, this pattern has changed after the election with increased priority for the issue frame and policy coverage. Results have demonstrated that journalists tend to reinforce the game frame in the infographics. That phenomenon leads to a potential increase in political polarization and political skepticism. Analysis of the interviews with data journalists from two newsrooms shows that professional work routines affect their reporting and reinforce the detrimental influence of framing on the election coverage.

摘要

本研究的目的是探讨数据可视化在 2016 年美国总统大选媒体报道中的作用，重点关注纽约时报和华盛顿邮报的数据可视化项目。本研究旨在通过混合方法分析，检验媒体对选举的报道是如何用信息图表构建的。本文的另一部分介绍了对数据记者工作惯例和所谓边界工作的调查（Boyles、JL 和 E. Meyer。2016 年。“让数据说话”。数字新闻 4 (7) ： 944–954 .doi:10.1080/21670811.2016.1166063) 通过采访数据记者。

文本和视觉分析的混合方法表明，将选举框定为游戏仍然与选举数据报告相关。选前的图形分析已经证明了数据可视化作品中流行的游戏框架趋势。然而，这种模式在选举后发生了变化，问题框架和政策覆盖面的优先级提高了。结果表明，记者倾向于强化信息图表中的游戏框架。这种现象导致政治两极分化和政治怀疑主义可能增加。对来自两个新闻编辑室的数据记者的采访分析表明，专业的工作惯例会影响他们的报道，并加剧了陷害对选举报道的不利影响。