Global News shares data with the world
Now, here’s a breath of fresh air. Global News is going to make data it obtains for its own projects available to the public. It has already posted the data it used for an a mapping project on dangerous intersections in Toronto.
Now, here’s a breath of fresh air. Global News is going to make data it
obtains for its own projects available to the public. It has already
posted the data it used for an a mapping project on dangerous
intersections in Toronto. You can access the data through links here.
Global is promising to do the same with other data that it is seeking
through freedom-of-information requests filed across Canada. While there
is a caveat, that Global will do this “as much as possible,” this is a
fairly seismic shift for a media organization in that for the most part
outlets have jealously guarded datasets, even after publication.
It is unlikely that Global will suffer for this move, in that it has
already published its stories. And this will allow interested members of
the public, interest groups, students and others the opportunity to do
additional work, which could in turn help Global. The network is asking those who use the data to link back to
its site and in what could prove a way of crowdsourcing data findings,
it’s also asking people to let it know what they find.
Clearly, Global has something to gain here, but this is a commendable move and one we can only hope will be emulated by others.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story referred to Global News as Global TV
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