Data journalism and war reporters: how to inform about world conflicts when journalists access to the field is restricted?

Christophe Lamfalussy calls not to forget that, behind satellite images, data, and pixels, there are human beings whose stories and emotions need to be told: “Being in the field is essential, it puts humans back at the heart of reporting. To be able to tell, to be able to show, you have to go there. In a society that will be dominated by artificial intelligence, our profession will really require going on site.”

Ambroise Carton agrees with the analysis of the senior reporter. For him, “we need both. The data informs us about the very broad context of a battle, of a war. In addition, it is necessary to add a human touch. It is very valuable to have these correspondents, to be able to send journalists from the newsroom.”

He even manages sometimes to see the human behind the screen, as the journalist from RTBF recounts: “I was watching the progress of the Ukrainian army, and I was looking at the trenches being dug. They were lines on satellite images, but brown lines. There are also people in the mud, fighting a positional war, like they did over a century ago. And that really should not be forgotten.”

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