We’ve long recommended websites use (or even become) databases. The numbers are good, you’re doing a social service and it holds the spenders accountable. The online-only news serviceTexas Tribune has proven this to be true. The Columbia Journalism Review reports:
“The Tribune’s biggest magnet by far has been its more than three dozen interactive databases, which collectively have drawn three times as many page views as the site’s stories. At a recent international online journalism symposium in Austin, that statistic wowed new-media experts as validation that readers prefer data-driven projects to traditional journalism narratives.”
No, the business model hasn’t been proven yet. But for those of you running a site, take note of what your audience (and potential audience) is seeking. Tweets NYU Professor Jay Rosen (who found this story): “That databases are such a hit is not just a geek or transparency story. It’s a participation portal for @TexasTribune.”
RELATED: The Guardian writes “Our data journalism is opening up a world of information”