The what, in data journalism, refers to the gist of the story. In all forms of journalism, a journalist absolutely must be able to get straight to the point. Keep it clear, concise, and easy to understand.
When crafting data visualizations to accompany your data journalism piece, make sure that the visual story is easy to discern at a moment's glance. If it takes longer than that, the data visualization is not focused enough. The same principle applies to your writing. No one wants to drag through loads of words trying to figure out what you're trying to say. Readers appreciate it when you make their lives easier by keeping your narrative clear, direct, and to the point.
The more people have to work to understand your content, the less they tend to like it. If you want to provide readers with information they enjoy consuming, make your writing and data visualizations clear and to the point.
