The News Atlas (in Portuguese, Atlas da Notícia) is an independent initiative that researches and maps the news media landscape - especially local journalism - in the Brazilian territory.
We identify journalistic iniciatives that publish news of public interest - in any media - on a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis. We look for producers of local interest stories, such as public accountability, health, education, security, mobility and the environment.
We have a detailed methodoly here (Portuguese-only, for now).
The project is led by the Institute for the Development of Journalism (Projor), in partnership with the data-driven journalism agency Volt Data Lab, which is responsible for all the technical and analytical support.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalists (Abraji) and Brazilian Society for Communication Studies (Intercom) are institucional partners.
IMPACT
We have over 120 citations in academic papers, dissertations, reports and essays, as well as over 300 citations in the press.
Our data also provides information and insights to subsidize public policies, like this 2020 Congress bill that reffered to our data to expand public funding for community radios in regions with reduced media presence.
RESOURCES
The News Atlas has a rage of resources for academics, researchers, journalists, media organizations, companies, NGOs and people interested in the news media industry overall.
[IMPORTANT NOTE] For now, all of our resources are in Portuguese-only, but we could work into making them available in English if there is such demand. If you want access to this data but the language is a barrier, feel free to contact us at contato@atlas.jor.br and we will be happy to assist.
- A free API with our data, with all the proper documentation and tutorials
- An open-source R package to facilitate access for researchers
- A data application with our raw data
- A data application with statistics and insights
CONTEXT
The News Atlas is inspired by the America's Growing News Desert project, from Columbia Journalism Review, which mapped the presence of newspapers in the United States amid changes in the journalism business model.
The project's methodology is based mainly on the research of news organizations in Brazil, either through its own survey or through the collaboration of third parties. In December 2019, an API was launched in order to automate and facilitate data collection and analyzis.
The first edition of the News Atlas was published in November 2017, and as of 2018 it receives financial support from the Meta Journalism Project.
Reach us at: contato@atlas.jor.br
MAIN SOURCES OF RESEARCH
- News Atlas, 2021 edition;
- Atlas Brasil/PNUD/IDHM;
- National Association of Newspapers;
- Regional Associations of Newspapers;
- Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics;
- Press Secretariat for the Presidency of Brazil;
- Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication.