Shedding light on “Rough Justice”: The ABC digital story innovation team

Paper


Coatney, Caryn. 2023. "Shedding light on “Rough Justice”: The ABC digital story innovation team." 2023 Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA 2023). Wellington, New Zealand 21 - 24 Nov 2023 New Zealand.
Paper/Presentation Title

Shedding light on “Rough Justice”: The ABC digital story innovation team

Presentation TypePaper
AuthorsCoatney, Caryn
Journal Citationpp. 236-236
Number of Pages1
Year2023
Place of PublicationNew Zealand
Web Address (URL) of Conference Proceedingshttps://cdnv10.blueoceanmarketing.co.nz/media/fvefvqmx/information-and-full-programme-20nov.pdf
Conference/Event2023 Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA 2023)
Event Details
2023 Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA 2023)
Parent
Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Conference
Delivery
In person
Event Date
21 to end of 24 Nov 2023
Event Location
Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract

Digital data journalists have increasingly needed to reinterpret their roles to report on fresh social
challenges. Pioneering data news communities were widely celebrated as the saviours of journalism in the
early days of digital reporting. Data journalists quickly became central in large news organisations that were
pivoting towards digital audiences. Investigative news teams turned their attention to data-rich exposés of
powerful, high-profile groups. The journalism teams were hailed for their large-scale investigations that
delved beneath the surface of statistics to reveal hidden truths for the public benefit. Yet newsroom data
reporting increasingly focused on day-to-day coverage that was at times criticised as celebrity-oriented,
traffic-boosting clickbait. Even so, quantitatively adept data journalism continued to show the potential to
deliver meaningful news about an upsurge of popular social justice movements.
This paper will focus on a case study of the ABC digital story innovation team during the growth of the MeToo movement that protested sexual assault in Australia in 2020. At the time, daily data reporting often
included global news coverage of celebrity experiences. The paper will examine the question: how have
journalists portrayed forgotten survivors of sexual assault in data news articles online? This study is
informed by Bennett and Segerberg’s concept about the logic of connective action. It conducts a content
analysis of the ABC team’s “Rough Justice” data journalism series and more than 900 users’ tweets. The
study finds that journalists progressively shared ideas and actions in a campaign for justice that shed light
on overlooked survivor stories.

KeywordsJournalism
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020470105. Journalism studies
Public Notes

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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
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