Lindita Camaj, Gerry Lanosga, and Jason Martin, Digital Journalism (2023)

It is widely accepted that data materiality serves as the breeding ground of data journalism’s performativity, in some cases functioning as the sole ingredient for news construction. Material identity is closely tied to the historical process that originated it, yet few studies have explored how unequal public policies on government transparency affect news production in data journalism. We bring in a fresh perspective on materiality that taps into research on public transparency to offer a framework for understanding how external social actors influence data knowledge construction. This study analyzed data journalism project entries in the Global Editors Network (GEN) and Sigma Awards from 61 countries to explore data journalism process and products across transparency environments. Results suggest that journalists operating in open data infrastructure are more likely to exhibit a dependency on preprocessed public data and their output exhibits topical diversity, while journalists operating in closed data infrastructures are more likely to use Right to Information legislation and alternative data sources. This study informs the debate on the empiricism of data journalism in knowledge construction, emphasizing how data access (or lack of access) affects not only journalistic epistemology but also power relationships and journalistic roles.

Jason Martin, Lindita Camaj, & Gerry Lanosga, Journalism Practice (2022)

In this paper, we explore innovative ways to overcome public data access barriers based on in-depth interviews with 34 data journalists working around the globe. We rely on a novel theoretical framework that combines global adoption of Freedom of Information and Open Government Data policies in a 2x2 typology to map out practical solutions across data transparency environments. VIEW

Lindita Camaj, Jason Martin & Gerry Lanosga
Digital Journalism (2022)

Based on a survey with data journalists from 71 countries, this study compares how FOIa laws and Open Government data policies influences data journalism practices around the world. The results suggest that technical and economic inequalities that affect the implementation of the open data infrastructures can produce unequal data access and widen the gap in data journalism practices between information-rich and information-poor countries. VIEW

Laura Stein & Lindita Camaj
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford University Press (2018)

This article provides an overview of the normative assumptions behind FOIa legislation, the evolution of FOIa laws and rights, FOIa users and usage, and barriers and challenges to accessing information through FOIa laws. VIEW

Lindita Camaj
Journalism (2016)

This article explores the relationship between journalists and civil society actors in promoting the Freedom of Information right in Bulgaria. It emphasizes the importance of civil society as influential actors in the media agenda-building process and presents a new approach to conceptualizing the journalist/non-governmental organization relationship from a cooperative rather than power-distance perspective. VIEW

Lindita Camaj
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly (2016)

This study tests the normative assumptions on the empowerment effects of freedom of information (FOI) legislation on the press–government relationship in the context of new democracies. VIEW

Lindita Camaj
Government Information Quarterly (2016)

This comparative study examines the outcomes of FOI laws in the context of new democracies of South East Europe. It adopts a mix methodological approach to (1) examine citizen demand for access to information and government compliance with FOI laws and (2) explore structural and political conditions that affect demand and compliance. VIEW

Lindita Camaj
Global Media Journal (2010)

The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the international factors on the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in Kosovo and to explore how this legislation affects media access to information in this transitional society. VIEW