Journalism has joined in on the chorus that the future is in the data. It’s the same basic song and dance that we heard when we were talking about scientists a little while back, the web has given us unprecedented access to data and there is a good chance that there are patterns in it that we just aren’t seeing.

It’s interesting to see yet another discipline start to look at data-centric methods of approaching knowledge.

Speaking on Friday at the launch of the first government datasets for spending by departments of more than £25,000, he was asked who will analyse them once the geeks have moved on. What’s the point? Who’s really going to hold government, or anyone else, accountable?

“The responsibility needs to be with the press,” Berners-Lee responded firmly. “Journalists need to be data-savvy. It used to be that you would get stories by chatting to people in bars, and it still might be that you’ll do it that way some times.

“But now it’s also going to be about poring over data and equipping yourself with the tools to analyse it and picking out what’s interesting. And keeping it in perspective, helping people out by really seeing where it all fits together, and what’s going on in the country.”

–Tim Berners-Lee

Read The Future of Journalism (and Everything) Is Data (Via GOOD) (Images)

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