ABC owned stations across the country investing in data journalism.
The new initiative will give local stations the tools to dive deeper into local issues and by increasing the amount of public information coming into newsrooms to help reporters give more context to their stories.
“The ABC owned television stations proudly serve our eight local markets, and with investments in data journalism, we are able to reach deeper into the heart of those communities to deliver news and information that our viewers care about most,” said Wendy McMahon, president of ABC Owned TV Stations.
“Open data is an incredible asset in informing citizens and holding those in power accountable. It’s our duty as local journalists to discover, investigate and communicate important information hiding in data,” said Anna Robertson, vice president of ABC Owned TV Stations Content and Partner Innovation. “This initiative will enable us to supercharge our commitment to putting data journalism at the heart of our newsrooms on a daily basis.”
The new initiative will be led by longtime investigative reporter and data journalist, John Kelly.
Kelly brings more than 25 years experience to the network and most recently led a team at USA Today.