2025-01-17 16:00:01
Though we are only two weeks in, 2025 has already been eventful. From war and conflict to environmental disasters, there have already been a number of notable events for data reporters to delve into. But the devastating wildfires that have been ravaging southern California have received the most attention from data teams around the world — so much so that we selected not one, but two stories about the environmental disaster that is already the largest on record in the region. This edition of our Top 10 in Data Journalism, which considered stories from the start of the year up to January 12, also highlights a BBC analysis of global temperature data in 2024, a Reuters investigation into how Iran is evading oil sanctions, a Serendipia report on fentanyl production in Mexico, and an analysis by The New York Times of its own travel column.
The Washington Post mapped the spread of the Palisades fire in northern Los Angeles, California. Image: Screenshot, Washington Post
For more than a week, a series of large-scale wildfires have been ravaging the Los Angeles metropolitan region and surrounding areas — leaving more than 25 people dead and thousands homeless. Among the displaced are a number of A-list celebrities, and the blaze, which burned out of control for days, has also threatened many of the city’s iconic landmarks. The Washington Post published maps and satellite images that showed, day by day, the progress of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which together are expected to be the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles County. In addition, the report also provided a detailed explanation of how wildfires form and spread, and how the so-called Santa Ana winds are making the disaster that much worse.
This map charts how wildfires have impacted some of the most expensive parts of Los Angeles. Image: Screenshot, Bloomberg
The recent wildfires have now destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 structures in Los Angeles County — and experts estimate that insured damages could top US$20 billion, making it the costliest wildfire in US history. According to The LA Times, before the fire broke out, several insurers had capped, canceled, or greatly increased the cost of home insurance policies in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other fire-prone areas. In this piece, reporters from Bloomberg explained the deepening crisis in California’s property insurance market and asked whether a single event like this could cause insurers to become insolvent or even more cautious about insuring homes and businesses in at-risk communities. According to the report, “the escalating exodus of private insurers has left the state-backed insurer of last resort… in a precarious position.”
Image: Screenshot, BBC
The year 2024 was the first one to surpass 1.5C above the pre-industrial period average, according to this report on the latest data. The devastating images from California have provided sobering evidence for the announcement that 2024 was the hottest year on record. It was also the first year to exceed the 1.5°C global warming limit — the target threshold for global temperature increases compared to the pre-industrial period established by the Paris Agreement in 2015. According to the BBC the latest data does not show that the international target has been broken — as it refers to a long-term average, over decades — but it is enough to worry scientists and world leaders everywhere. The report featured a map that showing how the world has warmed and a series of graphs showing the global average temperature rise over time and the distribution of daily differences in global air temperature in 2024, the latter stylized in a beautiful — yet ominous — graph.
Reuters mapped the key locations where vessels transferred oil, from Iran and the United Arab Emirates, to Venezuela, Murmansk, and a string of ports in China. Image: Screenshot, Reuters
In a highly detailed special report, a team at Reuters used mapping and satellite imagery, alongside scanned documents and email excerpts, to show how, despite a raft of sanctions imposed by the West, Iran has built a multibillion-dollar global oil trade. The investigation stems from a series of leaked emails that exposed granular details about the day-to-day workings of an Iranian company. According to the leak analysis, from March 2022 to February 2024, the company helped deliver 18 different sanctioned oil cargoes from Iran to Venezuela, northern Russia, and a series of ports in China via a ghost fleet of 34 vessels. According to the investigation, the total amounted to nearly 20 million barrels of oil, valued at about US$1.7 billion. To do this, the company and its partners allegedly transferred oil from ship to ship, falsified documents, painted ships with new identities, and falsified tracking signals — all to avoid any trace of their relations with Iran.
How big is Greenland, really? Image: Screenshot, Der Spiegel
Donald Trump will be sworn in as US president for the second time on Monday, but even before his inauguration, he stirred controversy by expressing his apparent desire to seize the Panama Canal and annex Greenland and Canada. According to the German outlet Der Spiegel, Trump has previously expressed an interest in Greenland, an autonomously-governed Danish island, referring to its “huge” landmass a number of years ago. “Donald Trump loves pretty much everything that is big,” the reporters noted. But they went on to explore how the impression of Greenland as so very big is the result of a distortion in the so-called Mercator projection — the most widely used version of the world map — which greatly enlarges regions close to the poles. Der Spiegel even overlaid a map of Greenland on a map of the United States, to demonstrate how the real size of the island would fit inside the continental US four times.
Birth rates are falling globally but Japan has among the lowest in the world. Image: Screenshot, The Times
Could the world’s fourth-largest economy be on the brink of extinction? In this report, The Times explained how, according to experts, Japan’s extremely low birth rate, combined with its aging population, is putting the country on a dangerous path. In 695 years, at current rates of decline, only one child under the age of 14 will remain. The Times explains that despite being the target of numerous government policies promoting dating, marriage, and better work-life balance, the Japanese birth rate has reached an all-time low. According to the report, the 2.3% drop in the number of Japanese children in April 2024 alone “has brought the demographic apocalypse scenario forward by 100 years compared with the 2023 estimate,” and the country could become the first to go extinct due to a low birth rate.
A chart showing increasing demand for treatment for fentanyl addiction in Mexico. Image: Screenshot, Serendipia
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said there is no fentanyl consumption crisis in the country. But in this report, Serendipia, an independent data journalism outlet, used government data to interrogate her claim. Reporters found that, although official data on drug use in the country is scarce, the increase in fentanyl use nationwide has been documented by the Mexican government. Using several graphs, the story shows the increase in the number of fentanyl seizures by the authorities and how the number of fentanyl cases seen in rehabilitation centers increased almost 90 times nationally, between 2013 and 2023. The report also states that, according to the National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions, many fentanyl users in Mexico are not even aware that they are using it.
Reporters analyzed Putin’s official speeches since 2013. They noticed an uptick in the number of times he spoke about trans people (deep purple), traditional values (coral), and a decrease in references to Russia as a “liberal” country (blue). Image: Screenshot, Current Time
This time last year the “international LGBT movement” was declared an extremist organization in Russia. In this special report, Current Time, a channel created by RFE/RL, used data to explain what happened in the months after the designation and to explore how the situation has been aggravated in recent years by the homophobic rhetoric of the Russian authorities and President Vladimir Putin. According to data collected, there were 32 raids on LGBTQ-related clubs and spaces last year, 61 administrative proceedings for displaying “extremist symbols” related to the LGBTQ movement, and a 20% increase in the number of requests for psychological help from LGBTQ people. Current Time also analyzed Putin’s interviews and speeches from 2013 to 2024, and says that from 2019 “the general narrative began to change,” becoming increasingly hostile and starting to frame LGBTQ rights as a threat to traditional values.
Crunching the numbers, reporters were able to find out how many of those who supported the coup attempt had been sentenced, and for how long. ‘Pena’ — in the left column — shows the length of prison sentence given to those convicted of the most serious offenses. Image: Screenshot, Poder360
January 8 marked two years since the attempted coup in Brazil. As the reckoning continues, reporters at Poder360 issued this report detailing how the subsequent legal cases have unfolded. Using data from the Federal Supreme Court, they found that more than 1,500 lawsuits have been filed against those involved in the vandalism linked to the coup attempt. Nearly two-thirds of cases (more than 900) have already been resolved, resulting in fines, convictions, and just a handful of acquittals. Court data shows that R$1,791,402 (around US$300,000) has been paid in fines so far. Among those facing the most serious charges, sentences range from 3 years to 17 years, and there are also currently 155 people in prison.
In South Africa, only a handful of areas currently experience malaria outbreaks — most near the border. Image: Screenshot, The Outlier
The Outlier used the southern hemisphere’s mosquito season to reflect on how climate change could affect the spread of infectious diseases, with a special focus on South Africa, where the outlet is based. The report featured a map of the country, showing how malaria cases are concentrated near the borders with Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and a graph showing how thousands of people die every year due to the disease in many other African countries. The report also features data on dengue fever — last year saw record high numbers — and the relationship between cholera and extreme weather events on the continent. According to The Outlier, rising temperatures could make it harder to tackle mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, which thrive in warm-weather locations and could appear in places that were previously unaffected, while climate change also increases the frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods.
Mapping the hotspots, or most recommended places. Image: Screenshot, The New York Times
Every year The New York Times publishes Places to Go, a special report with tips for dozens of different travel destinations. This year, as the series turns 20, the newspaper performed an interesting analysis of the numbers from its own column to examine how the world — and the way people travel — has changed since the column debuted in 2005. In total, 145 countries from seven continents — including Antarctica — have featured in the destination suggestions, with a predominance of countries from the Northern Hemisphere. The United States appeared on the list the most, at 155 times, followed by Italy (29 times) and France (28 times).
Ana Beatriz Assam is GIJN’s Portuguese editor and a Brazilian journalist. She has worked as a freelance reporter for the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, mainly covering stories featuring data journalism. She has also worked for the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) as an assistant coordinator of journalism courses.
2025-01-16 16:00:32
Editor’s Note: The analysis below is the opinion of the author. It was originally published by SEJournal and is republished here with permission.
The planet is breaking heat records. PFAS and toxic chemicals are everywhere. Fenceline communities are plagued with cancer. Global treaties on climate, plastics, biodiversity and the oceans are stuck in wrangling among nations. The oil and gas industry seems not only to be running the government but also to be dictating the media narrative. And the top pick for FBI director wants to put reporters in jail.
There has never been a better time for environmental journalism.
Nor a scarier one.
Is journalism up to the task? The year 2025 may tell us.
Can truth-telling save us? Untruths and disinformation spread more widely than the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Still, we cling to the belief (or hope) that news media truth-telling can save the planet. That is not a given.
But disentangling truth from falsehood is still a key challenge for serious journalists. At least those willing to take it on.
That’s not everyone. There are still supermarket tabloids. There are propaganda-based cable outlets, fake newspapers run by utilities, and websites focused on UFOs. There are entities like RT, who present as legitimate media in the US — but are run by the Russian government.
But there still are serious journalists. We point to The New York Times climate desk as an example. The wire services. Kick-ass do-gooders like ProPublica. More importantly, there are burgeoning nonprofit and web-first outlets devoted to environmental news. Inside Climate News, The Daily Climate, Canary Media and the like.
We expect the Trump 2.0 administration’s press policies to be a lot like Trump 1.0’s — but worse.
Unremitting hostility to news media was a hallmark of the first Trump administration, especially at the US Environmental Protection Agency’s press office. In 2018, EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox called The Atlantic reporter Elaina Plott Calabro “a piece of trash.” Routine.
The irony is that Donald Trump himself craves media attention with the intensity of an addict — even though he disparages the “fake news” loudly whenever he can.
This time, though, Trump has let his pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, say publicly that he plans to “come after” unfavorable news outlets, possibly with criminal prosecution. This would violate the First Amendment.
The Society of Environmental Journalists has opposed any such action and called on the president-elect “to pledge never to prosecute, punish, deport, jail or harass journalists solely for what they report.” We haven’t heard back.
During Trump 1.0, the US media began using the word “lie,” a word that had been rarely used, virtually taboo, in their stories. Today it is commonplace.
During Trump 2.0, the media should probably lose its inhibitions over another rarely used word: “corruption.”
That would be one honest response to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago declaration to oil execs at an April 11 dinner, where he asked them to give $1 billion to his campaign so he could undo President Joe Biden’s climate regulations. It looked and quacked like a quid pro quo.
Certainly, the media needs to cover corruption in Trump 2.0 — look at the conflicts of interest already apparent with Elon Musk’s “co-presidency.” But just as dangerous will be the possible corruption of the news media themselves. At least some of them.
We are not just talking about Fox … or Newsmax … or Steve Bannon’s War Room. In the fall of 2024, we saw respectable media like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times suddenly get shy about making presidential endorsements on their editorial pages.
Neither endorsed anyone. And neither offered a convincing justification. Although they both made it out to be somehow principled, it was hardly that. The ownership of both newspapers was obviously afraid of revenge from Trump if they endorsed his opponent.
Maybe this is why billionaires should not have a monopoly on media ownership.
Covering the environment honestly under Trump 2.0 will be a huge challenge in many ways.
The regulatory rollbacks Trump intends will require an army of courageous and skilled muckrakers to discover and explain. There will be so many profound effects on ordinary Americans to keep up with. And so many harder-to-see injuries to the many marginalized groups who lack the political power of billionaires who own newspapers, networks … and now, it seems, governments.
In 1969, it was comparatively easy to attend a press conference over the fire-prone Cuyahoga River. In 1970, it was simple to interview college protesters at the first Earth Day. Today, there has grown up a multibillion-dollar PR industry to make pollution seem normal.
Today, the challenges are harder to cover. We will need to seek out and tell the stories of those who are hungry, poor, unemployed, who are immigrants lacking permanent legal status, farm workers, Indigenous Americans, Latinos, Black people, disabled people, incarcerated people, homeless people, the people across the tracks. All the people who can’t give Trump a billion dollars.
This coming administration will not only be an unprecedented opportunity to discover these stories, but a chance to set straight all the disinformation, confront the lies, turn over the rocks, and expose the corruption.
Joseph A. Davis is a freelance writer/editor in Washington, DC who has been writing about the environment since 1976. He writes SEJournal Online’s TipSheet, Reporter’s Toolbox, and Issue Backgrounder, and curates SEJ’s weekday news headlines service EJToday and @EJTodayNews. Davis also directs SEJ’s Freedom of Information Project and writes the WatchDog opinion column.
2025-01-15 22:05:14
This is a full time position with the nonprofit Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN). Applicants must have a solid understanding of investigative and data journalism, and strong skills in managing social media.
GIJN is an association of 251 member organizations in 95 countries dedicated to spreading and advancing investigative journalism around the world. This position is aimed at strengthening and building networks and organizations of investigative journalists in the Bangla-speaking world. This position reports to the global team manager.
Applicants must have a solid understanding of investigative and data journalism, as well as experience and skill with social media. GIJN is a distributed nonprofit, and this is a remote position.
GIJN is staffed by an extraordinary multicultural team based in over 20 countries. You’ll work in a collaborative network that is having an impact every day on the front lines of journalism.
Work duties:
Requirements:
Location: Bangladesh is preferred, but also open to candidates anywhere in the world who speak and write in Bangla. GIJN is a virtual nonprofit. You’ll need good, dependable broadband.
2025-01-15 21:14:50
The Examination, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that investigates global health threats, is looking for an energetic, creative and strategic person to help drive real-world change through our journalism.
This Europe-based part-time role will help ensure our investigations are designed for impact at every stage, that our findings engage key audiences in useful and compelling ways, and that we involve communities most affected by global health inequity in the making and dissemination of our reporting. This position is aimed at amplifying the impact of our journalism at policy, advocacy, citizen and community level within the EU in particular, but would also involve work in other regions.
This person will report to The Examination’s impact and strategy editor, and work closely with the entire team, including the audience editor, production team and partnership roles. They will help build capacity for strategic impact work among our reporting partners and across the journalism industry more broadly.
At an organizational level, the impact producer will help establish The Examination as a respected brand driving change in global public health, amplifying our profile and building relationships within the media, policy and public health sectors.
Candidates should be passionate about driving positive change and the role journalism can play in that process, and new ways of conceiving and doing journalism. You will have a keen interest in power structures, visible and hidden, and how to work strategically and thoughtfully within them. You will be a great collaborator and communicator, with knowledge of the international media landscape.
The role suits someone with experience in engagement reporting, impact production or strategy, audience engagement, public affairs, strategic communication or community organizing. However if you think you have the skills required without specific relevant experience, please get in touch.
2025-01-15 21:12:59
The Examination is seeking an audience research associate to significantly expand the reach and impact of our accountability journalism on global health threats.
As The Examination advances into its second year of publishing, this person will execute strategies to raise our organization’s brand visibility in key sectors and build our newsletter subscriber base. The audience researcher will work closely with our team to identify and communicate with prospective audiences and stakeholders, with a mandate to bring them into The Examination ecosystem.
This is a one-year remote contract position. We are looking for a collaborative creative, enterprising and organized individual with excellent spoken and written communication, a strategic understanding of the public health landscape, and a passion for our investigative journalism mission. The ideal candidate will have a keen understanding of news distribution, audience mapping, strong editorial judgment and a proactive attitude in creating curated outreach campaigns to engage target audiences on and off-site.
Launched in 2023, The Examination is an award-winning nonprofit news organization that investigates global health threats, with a focus on corporate accountability, working in collaboration with news outlets around the world. Our beats include big tobacco, industrialized food and corporate polluters.
2025-01-15 21:10:24
The Examination, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that investigates global health threats, is looking for an enterprising journalist with a deep commitment to cross-border investigative journalism to play a lead role in facilitating deep, meaningful and equitable collaboration between news organizations and journalists of different backgrounds and resources. A key part of our approach and mission is to build partnerships with other news outlets to connect local crises to global ones, and vice versa. This position is critical in advancing our efforts to level the playing field in global collaborative journalism and achieving greater impact.
The partnership engagement specialist will provide research, reporting and other assistance to media partners from all corners of the world. You will need curiosity to uncover information – wherever it can be found – and a spirit of giving, providing resources, time and goodwill to journalists producing impactful journalism. This could include tasks like finding court records in different countries, organizing translation services, coordinating lab testing across borders, working with journalists on the ground, and more.
You can expect to work on long-term global investigations that seek to expose corporate and governmental wrongdoing causing harm to people worldwide. You will be a major part of each reporting team, leading on coordination, communication, and support for local media partners.
