The following is part of a chapter for a forthcoming book on online journalism. Contributions welcome.

Maps have become a familiar part of the news language online due to a number of advantages:

• They provide an easy way to grasp a story at a glance
• They allow users to drill down to relevant information local to them very quickly
• Maps can be created very easily, and added to relatively easily by non-journalists
• Maps draw on structured data, making them a very useful way to present data such as schools tables, crime statistics or petrol prices
• They can be automated, updating in response to real-time information

News organisations have used maps in a number of ways: Continue reading →