Computational Journalism

Computational Journalism is defined as a practice in which journalistic knowledge is represented computationally, as systems of discrete categories or as numbers, during reporting, analysis, distribution or consumption. This is in contrast to traditional journalism, in which journalistic knowledge is reported, analyzed, distributed, and consumed as natural language text or speech, whether in analog or digital media. Journalistic knowledge is defined as externally-represented knowledge that is under human editorial control in the service of journalistic values. In this entry, we review the development of computational journalism as a practice and as a field of study before examining the inherent tensions which structure it as a field.