Storytelling with visualization: Some important questions

7/29/2019 Storytelling with visualization: Some important questions

1/11

Questions about

storytelling andthe craft of news

data visualization

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Alberto CairoUniversity of Miami

www.thefunctionalart.comTwitter: @albertocairo
http://www.thefunctionalart.com/http://www.thefunctionalart.com/


2/11

Question 1:Do we needstorytelling at all?

(In that case, what kind ofstorytelling?)


3/11

I am a journalist and adesigner: Storytelling ispart of my professional

training

Objections Ive read...


4/11

4.If the statistics are boring, then you've gotthe wrong numbers.

2.When you design a story, you prime me tosee mainly what you want me to see.

1.The plural of anecdote is not data.

3.Storytelling imposes narrative patterns to datathat are not necessarily complete or cohesive.


5/11

Not surprise that so many people distrust storytelling

Power, Impact, Captivate, Convince, Inspire,Persuade, Connect...

You may say that these are secondary values for journalists but are you really sure about that?


6/11

The human brain tends to impose linear patterns to non-linear phenomena to make sense of them

This can lead to narrative fallacies:Seeing connections and causation where theres none;

oversimplification of complex phenomena. Journalists are

not aware of brain bugs and biases, in general


7/11

I dont even need to comment on this, right?

Many said that the main sin he committed was to make upstuff, but the problems go beyond that: His books imposecohesive narrative structures to disperse bits of evidence


8/11

But we cannot avoid stories: The serial structure of storiesmatches the serial dynamics of the thinking mind

In part, we like stories because we create stories in our

heads to make sense of the world


9/11

The other side of the coin is that readers may get the

wrong stories from non-narrative data visualizations


10/11

"Dont teach people how to usetools, but teach them how tomake tools." Philip Meyer

Question 2:Do all journalists needto learn to code?

(Should we teach pure scriptingrather than software tools? Is that arealistic goal?)


11/11

Thank you!

Alberto CairoUniversity of Miami

www.thefunctionalart.comTwitter: @albertocairo

40%

45%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

DC

MA

CO

MS

WV

NHMD

NJCTVT

VI

MN

CA

UT

NY

KS

WA

MOAZGAILRI

DEHI

INKY

MS

AR

WV

AKWIORFL

MTSDPA

NDNM

SCNEOHNVTXMIIA

TNMEID

NCOKWYLAAL

NC

SD

DENDMDNEMEORFLIDWIVA

WYNH

WARI

NM

MNAKAZCANYNJVTMAMTHICTUTNVDC

CO

SCKY

LATXMITNMOOKAR

GAINKSOH

PAIAIL

Population with a

BA degree or higher

Percentage of

obese people

AL

States with a largerpercentage of people withhigher education thanwith obesity

States with a largerpercentage of obese peoplethan of people witha higher education

US average27.2% BA or higher27.0% Obese
http://www.thefunctionalart.com/http://www.thefunctionalart.com/

Storytelling with visualization: Some important questions

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