The last few days following most news websites have felt like a constant loop of various “best of 2013” collections – in between snippets of actual news and warnings of a new bout of extreme weather conditions.
So with just a few hours to go until we say goodbye to 2013, we jump on the bandwagon while we still can and share the top stories of 2013 to come out of Interhacktives HQ.
Image: Viegas via Flickr
Top ten tools for data journalism
We do love ourselves some data journalism – and it turns out you do too. The most viewed article on interhacktives.com this year was a list of the top ten tools for data journalists. From the easy to use free chart making software Datawrapper to Google Refine, a power tool for cleaning messy data, last year’s interhacktive Sian Boyle presented the ten most useful tools of the trade. While data journalism is a rapidly evolving field, these tools are still well worth checking out.
Analysis of how the press covered May’s UK local elections
Data journalism and elections go hand in hand and a fair few of you were drawn to this analysis of how the press covered May’s UK local elections. The article compared how three of the biggest players in the mainstream UK media landscape – The Guardian, The Telegraph and The BBC – fared in terms of data analysis and visualisation. The BBC’s coverage got the nod for being ”slick, comprehensive and accessible”, check the article to see why this was and how the other two compared.
EU cookie law
Surprisingly, the third most-viewed story of this year was an article actually published in April 2012. Ændrew Rininsland, a first generation Interhacktive currently a news developer at The Times and Sunday Times, explains how to make your website compliant with the 2012 EU law on cookies. Considering however that online privacy and web tracking have been such important issues over the last few months, this article’s enduring popularity makes sense.
Interview with Luke Lewis of Buzzfeed UK
In case you haven’t got round to reading Sophie Warnes’ interview with Buzzfeed UK editor Luke Lewis on what makes Buzzfeed tick then you really should. Part one on Buzzfeed’s content and social media strategy is here, while part two offers some fascinating insight into the organisation’s funding models and its plans for the future.
Other stories that caught your attention this year were this beginner’s intro to data journalism, while Laura Cantadori’s recent guide on using Raw to make advanced data visualisations in minutes and Tom Bayley’s November interview with Anne-Marie Tomchak, the presenter of the BBC’s new social media series BBC Trending, also feature.
We hoped you have enjoyed what Interhacktives has thrown your way this year and we strongly recommend that you stay tuned over the next few months. We should have more interviews with professionals at the industry’s cutting edge, scoops, how-to guides, top tips and much, much more.
Any ideas on what we should cover in 2014? Just comment below the line or get in touch with us via Twitter @interhacktives.
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