Anna Wojcik, 25, Poland

Anna is finishing her master's degrees in cultural anthropology and law. She also works as an assistant editor at Visegrad Insight, and as editor at Res Publica Nowa and New Europe 100. In 2014, Anna qualified to 44th St Gallen Symposium as a "Leader of Tomorrow".


For data journalism beyond aesthetics. A case of Poland.


The wire-taping scandal in Warsaw – weekly Wprost has been leaking private conversations of top politicians, recorded secretly and illegally by unknown parties – has caused turmoil in Poland’s domestic and foreign affairs. Having been faced with the unprecedented scandal, it is impossible to reflect on the use of data by journalists without posing ethical questions. Older citizens of former Soviet Block countries are no strangers to the idea of widespread surveillance orchestrated by state apparatuses.

However, for a younger generation, brought up in a digital age, a different type of constant scrutiny has become a norm. Millennials in Poland are not only oversharing in social networks. They also more or less consciously send an unimaginable amount of personal data via various mobile devices, including wearables / portable ones. Some people are indifferent to this practice, suggesting that instead of being paranoid about big data, we need to reassess the very concept of privacy. Others advocate an extreme open-source policy for the good of communities.

Various stakeholders are interested in big data: many believe those enormous flows of personalized information about human populations may have an unparalleled effect on research, policies and markets. On the other hand, it is also possible that we are stuck in Aufklarung-like encyclopedic paradigm and a vast majority of collected information is rubbish – we indeed are “data rich but theory poor”, as the expression borrowed from neuroscience nicely puts. Is it safe to assume we can soundly predict human behavior from vast records we obtain? Does a surge in quantity guarantee an increase in quality?

In either case the point is: who stands for “we”?

So far the equality of access and the transparency of use of big data has been barely debated in Poland.

Our habits have become highly visible to different actors and institutions that, in contrast, remain shadowed. Those in, widely understood, power – for example governments and global tech companies – might know too much about individuals that the latter would wish. Unfortunately devices that are smart do not always produce smart citizens. Therefore arises a new challenge and opportunity for quality reporting. Media, as a fourth power, should pay more attention to the use of big data in contemporary societies. Our consciousness of big data implications is still in puberty. Investigative journalism and insightful commentary should contribute to its growth.

Stating above, I must admit I have not so far expressly added to a much-needed ethical debate on big data in my country. Drawing from my two-years experience as an editor in print and digital publications, I definitely see a major increase in interest in data journalism in Poland. Unfortunately in many cases this attention is superfluously limited to aesthetic choices.

Appearances can be deceiving, but our culture tends to be more and more visually oriented. In some job postings “data journalism” becomes interchangeable with “visual journalism”. Some online editors have been seduced by the sole promise of infographics and visual storytelling. Do they simply privilege form over content? Not necessarily. Powerful images, typography and good layout have always been effective tools in journalism, what was recently brilliantly demonstrated by Liberation, whose editors decided to remove all photographs from the printed version of the newspaper. Thinkers such us Roland Barthes or Susan Sontag had acknowledged it a long time ago and we should accommodate their findings in our cyber realities.

In terms of information design no media outlet in Poland can measure with world champions such as “The New York Times”, which is of little surprise. The reason is simple: a financial one. Complex, even spectacular, visual storytelling is at the moment beyond reach for Polish media industry, with its job cuts and general uncertainty that mirrors global changes in journalism. Leaving aesthetics aside, it appears to me that data journalism in Poland is in its nascent phase. “Forsal.pl” and to some extent “Gazeta Wyborcza” are its pioneers. Industry magazines “Press” and “Nowe Media” also frequently discuss the topic. Digital literacy among mid-aged professionals remains – supposedly – quite low. However, established professionals and ambitious beginners alike, who didn’t have digital or data journalism in their curricula during university education, start to seek advice and organize themselves. There is a handful of bloggers who regularly update on availability of English-language online courses of data journalism. We had Digital Journalism Days in 2013. Polish translation of The Digital Journalist’s Handbook is in the works.

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