Despite growing interest in the emergence of technologies in journalistic practices, especially from the production perspective, there is still very little research on organizational structures and professional culture in relation to the deployment of these technologies. Drawing on six interviews and observation in staff meetings, this study aims to explore the nuances behind the professional roles of data journalists and how these relate to structural aspects of news organizations. The study focuses on the case of ProPublica, a news organization internationally renowned for its global excellence in data stories. This work considers boundary-making in the context of journalism and focuses on new professional roles in the news industry to produce a hybrid ethnography study based on qualitative data collected immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States. The findings reveal the importance of hybrid profiles at ProPublica. While some journalists have had to expand their knowledge to learn more about new areas, such as coding and design, some non-journalistic professionals have had to develop writing skills, and this blurring of traditional boundaries forms an important aspect of ProPublica’s professional culture. The structure of the organization, divided into two teams engaged in cross-sector activities, helps to promote data skills and collaboration with other journalists, which also serves to mitigate any individual lack of experience on certain topics. The article concludes by suggesting that the growing importance of these new professional roles has broader implications for the development of data skills in the newsroom, and also discusses the limitations that can arise from the increasing overlap between journalistic and non-journalistic roles.

中文翻译：

---

ProPublica 的数据新闻：多学科团队和混合配置文件如何创建有影响力的数据故事

尽管人们对新闻实践中出现的技术越来越感兴趣，特别是从生产的角度来看，但与这些技术的部署相关的组织结构和专业文化的研究仍然很少。本研究利用员工会议中的六次采访和观察，旨在探索数据记者专业角色背后的细微差别，以及这些细微差别与新闻机构结构方面的关系。该研究重点关注 ProPublica 的案例，该新闻机构以其在全球数据报道方面的卓越表现而享誉国际。这项工作考虑了新闻界的边界制定，并侧重于新闻行业中的新专业角色，以根据在 Covid-19 大流行袭击美国之前立即收集的定性数据进行混合民族志研究。调查结果揭示了 ProPublica 混合配置文件的重要性。虽然一些记者不得不扩展他们的知识以了解更多关于编码和设计等新领域的知识，但一些非新闻专业人士不得不发展写作技巧，而这种传统界限的模糊构成了 ProPublica 专业文化的一个重要方面。该组织的结构分为两个从事跨部门活动的团队，有助于促进数据技能和与其他记者的合作，这也有助于减轻任何个人在某些主题上缺乏经验。文章最后指出，这些新的专业角色日益重要的重要性对新闻编辑室数据技能的发展具有更广泛的影响，并讨论了新闻和非新闻角色之间越来越多的重叠可能产生的限制。