The third vision, referred to here as the integrationist perspective, considers that Data Journalism is nourished by Investigative Journalism (IJ), by Precision (PJ), and Analytical Journalism (AJ), and is considered to be Deep Journalism (DJ) Assisted by Computers (CAJ). In other words, it constitutes a turning point “between usability (ease of use), design that is oriented toward interaction with the user, infographics, visualization, accessibility, the web, and other technologies” (Antón, 2013: 99). Along the same lines, Gray, Chambers and Bounegru (2012) affirm that this is a type of journalism that allows for the production of news stories that provide added value through techniques of analysis and management of data, as well as others related to presentation and visualization techniques, with the same objective as the old stories, but with sources that allow for the discovery of new ones (Flores, 2012). In other words, Big Data is opening the doors of Data Journalism (López et al., 2016), giving continuity to Precision Journalism (Elías-Pérez 2015), but this has now been transformed into a new open source journalism (SamPedro, 2014).

From this integrationist perspective, the study of the data journalist profile is taken into account, considering that its essential journalistic functions are maintained (Sánchez-García, et al, 2015), yet readjusted to a change of tasks, routines, and training specialization in the use of databases and complex infographics (Cairo, 2012). This is an approach that follows along the lines of precedent studies in Spain, which through various methodologies such as the questionnaire given to experts (Gertrudis-Casado et al., 2016), companies and institutions (Ferreras 2016), confirms the need to define and reinforce skills and specialized training of the data journalist profile that is still in a state of development.

In this context, the main objective of this study is to analyze the professional profile of the data journalist and its implementation in the Spanish media. To this end, three secondary objectives have been established, which in turn have been converted into three main study categories: verifying the professional and educational profile of the data journalist; knowing the predominant and accessible sources and databases; and identifying the most commonly used visualization tools.

With this proposal, the present research ultimately strives to contribute to the enrichment of the object of study in order to update and revise the theory and the results of previous investigations, which allow for the establishment of foundations for the purpose of reflecting upon the current nature of the phenomenon, as well as for measuring its future status.

1.1. Differentiated routines and specialized training of the data journalist

The transformations of journalism in recent years have brought it closer to an interdisciplinary field in which informational and computer skills are required in varying degrees of intensity (Codina, 2016). The data journalist performs an informational news routine that is different from all other journalists in certain tasks that urgently require a search for specialized education, or “reformulated training” (Gertrudis-Casado, et al, 2016). It is essential for this professional profile to be capable of acquiring knowledge in the specialized navigation of large databases, the processing of the information contained therein through software programs, as well as mastery of visualization tools that is transformed into “a functional art” (Cairo , 2011). It is about revitalized skills that converge in a new journalistic profile (Antón, 2013), which requires transversal, general and specific competencies (Gertrudis-Casado, et al., 2016) in the field of analysis, programming and visualization (Ferreras , 2013).