A Paris Match project

The power of words

Who we areData Match is the datajournalism team at Paris Match.

● Since 2013● Three team members

○ A business and economics reporter - Anne-Sophie Lechevallier○ A web journalist - Adrien Gaboulaud○ A designer - Dévrig Plichon

● Print first

What is Le Poids des mots?Paris Match wanted to develop a data-journalistic angle for the 2017 French presidential elections.

● Words are data● Project development began in the summer of 2016● Our objectives :

○ Be innovative and unique to Paris Match○ Increase our political coverage○ Be completely bimedia (print and web)

● Inspired by «The New York Times»

Text-mining political speechesThe challenges we faced :

● Nearly real-time analysis during the campaign● Our sources : meetings, TV & radio interviews, press interviews, debates● Time-consuming transcription could not be left to candidates’ staff● User interface had to be compelling enough for our readers to use

From rough draft...

...to online app

More than just an appLe Poids des mots is not just a database and a dataviz.

● Are the words that define the election used by the public? Our partnership with Google News Lab

● Multiple researchers from top French universities helped us define our methodology for word counting

● Researchers also contributed by writing articles based on our data● Foreign students from Sciences Po wrote short op-eds inspired by words that

came to be meaningful during the election● The app was used by the newsroom for inspiration, context and fact-checking

throughout the entire electoral period

Le Pen vs MacronOur app allowed us to compare the competing rhetorics of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.

We were able to analyze the debate between them in just 24 hours and to compare the words each used or avoided.

President MacronWe are continually updating our database with recent speeches of now-president Macron. It allows for :

● Comparisons between his candidacy and his presidency● Analyses of major events of the presidency● Continued coverage in print and web

Beyond the wordsOur book «Le Poids des mots du président» offers an analysis of the first year of the presidency, going further than text-mining.

● We presented our findings to speechwriters, aides and friends of the president to get their analyses

● We discovered striking speech patterns : e.g. the president tends to repeatedly blur the line between himself and the state or the government

A multi-purpose toolWe were able to use our app for purposes we did not originally anticipate.

● Comparison of words used during hours of debate between Emmanuel Macron and French mayors from rural areas

● Analysis of millions of words from written contributions to the «Great Debate»● Counting words in lyrics from more than 30 years of n°1 hit songs ● Identify trends in a database of trademarked brands going back 40 years