Miguel Roca

How to use FOI to develop good journalism habits Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are not only one of the best ways to get original and exclusive stories that set your reporting apart — they’re also a good way to develop core journalis…

Freedom of Information requests are not only one of the best ways to get original and exclusive stories that set your reporting apart — they’re also a good way to develop core journalism habits like curiosity, scepticism, and creativity. Here’s how:

onlinejournalismblog.com/2026/03/02/h...

The State of #SocialEnterprise Report 2025 is launching today! Take a deep dive into the key trends and issues affecting the sector from who they employ to the economic challenges they face.

Find out more and access the full report: buff.ly/UxSuATq. Help us spread the word!

#SOSE25

Join us tomorrow, noon
Last chance to book to see our juiciest State of The Sector report yet!
This year, for the 1st time, we'll share global x-sector comparisons of changing trends, challenges and hot topics.
Get early sight of the findings and bring your curiosity for the Q&A!
buff.ly/F7qKNrw

During Black History Month we're celebrating some incredible Black Icons in Data.

We've written about 7 icons who are both outstanding data professionals AND remarkable role models. We're spotlighting each between now and the end of the month. Today's spotlight is on Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE.

Welcome Miguel!

We're delighted to welcome Miguel Roca-Terry - our new Analytics Engineer - to the Data Orchard team.

Miguel is a former data journalist for the BBC and ONS, and many more things besides.

Read our Q&A to help get to know him a little better.

buff.ly/gbCQzP6

Tomorrow's International Day of Clean Air... And here's a big shout out to two wonderful charities - Trees for Cities and Cool Earth.
A while back, our Hannah Khwaja wrote about why we chose to support them both as part of our environmental policy and carbon reduction plan.
buff.ly/fip1GoG

Shedding data journalism for new skin Change can be uncomfortable.

Curious about why I left the BBC and data journalism behind?

Wrote some thoughts on my 1st Substack post which you can read for free:

open.substack.com/pub/miguelro...

Bear in mind I am not sure if I'll use Substack regularly before you consider subscribing. This post = experiment.

Enjoy!

Excited to share that I'm moving into the non-profit space and joining @dataorchard.org.uk as an analytics engineer!

Feeling grateful for the people and places I've gotten to know, across dozens of data journalism projects and stories.

Time for a new adventure - Can't wait to get started!

Come and do my old job!

Data journalist with the BBC Local data unit (Birmingham-based).

Great opportunity to work with a brilliant team!

careers.bbc.co.uk/job/Data-Jou...

🗞️ personal news update 🗞️

Landed an exciting new role in the non-profit space!

Which means I'm leaving the BBC – and data journalism – behind.

More information to follow...

Soon ... ⏳

Drivers prone to speeding on 20mph roads, figures suggest New figures show that three-quarters of drivers break 20mph limits on roads without cameras, obstructions or calming measures.

ICYMI: Had the pleasure & privilege of working with brilliant BBC colleagues on a story about the latest UK speeding stats.

Check it out 👇🏽

www.bbc.com/news/article...

@robertcuffe.bsky.social,
Alex Emery, Kris Bramwell, David Verry,
@rob-england-journo.bsky.social

Wildfires: UK burnt area for 2025 already beats annual record The prolonged dry, sunny weather in March and April created ideal conditions for wildfires to spread.

We're only in April, but it's already the worst UK wildfire season on record

Over 29,200 hectares burnt so far, fuelled by an unusually dry spring, as satellite data shows

🚨📝📊 #DataJournalism job alert!

We're looking for a Senior Data Journalist to join our fabulous digital content team at the #ONS. Permanent, full-time £41,364 - £46,654 annual salary... www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

Great Britain's worst major stations for cancellations named The latest figures show almost one in 10 trains were cancelled at Manchester Victoria.

Ever wondered how your station compares for train cancellations? We're ending the year by giving you the answers, comparing performance from Jan - Nov in 2024.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A choropleth map showing Britain divided up into regions and nations. The headline reads "North-west of England hit by Britain’s worst train cancellation rates". On the map, the North West is clearly a darker shade of purple than any other area, with an overall cancellation rate of 6.9%. Scotland, by contrast, is the lightest shade on the map, representing an overall cancellation rate of 2.9%.

Story by Tim Dodd, Alix Hattenstone, @jpfagg.bsky.social and me!

🗺️ Also, a sneak-preview of our interactive map 👇🏽

Enjoy!

Great Britain's worst major stations for cancellations named The latest figures show almost one in 10 trains were cancelled at Manchester Victoria.

🚨New data-driven story🚨

✍🏽 By BBC England Data & Formats Unit

🚂 NW of England saw worst train cancellation rates in Britain start of 2024.

Which busiest stations in your nation/region fared the worst?

📊 Use our interactive charts to find out!

Read all about it👇🏽

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nope, our piece used Census data. This is very different. Hope all is well in ONS!

'I'm an Irish Traveller and I'm too anxious to go to school' Traveller families say their children are often bullied when they attend mainstream schools.

Great piece by Sabbiyah Pervez looking at why absence rates are so high for Irish Traveller children: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thanks to @miguelrocadata.bsky.social for leading on the stats.

Last week, we dug into the sharp rise in young people facing homelessness when they leave the care system - up 54% since 2018-19. Zoe, one such care leaver, told us her experience left her with “this fear of owning too much in case I need to move”.

t.co/5UfML5kkl8

Huge rise in number of young care leavers facing homelessness The number of young care leavers facing homelessness is a

ICYMI:

📰Harrowing story I worked on with BBC colleagues ⬇️

Young care leavers aged 18-20 in England increasingly facing homelessness since 2019:

🔢 4,300 affected by April 2024

📊 Represents a 54% increase since 2019

Read Zoe's story here 👇🏽

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our latest collaboration with the shared data unit has found the most-deprived communities in the UK were four times more likely to have lost library facilities since 2016:

t.co/TfX3B0Edxo

Only one week left to apply for this #dataviz role with the ONS. Applications close midnight on Tuesday 3 September!

Not sure! There are datasets around but not aware of a definitive one yet. A bright spark I know suggested using something like Strava heat map data to get something more up to date.. Project? ☺️

Public rights of way applications backlog concerns campaigners Nearly 8,000 requests to get public paths added to an official map have not been processed.

I realise I should post here more, so fortunately we have a story out today - countryside campaigners fear thousands of miles of footpaths could be lost: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Public rights of way applications backlog concerns campaigners Nearly 8,000 requests to get public paths added to an official map have not been processed.

🚨New story🚨

👣 The race to save thousands of footpaths across England and Wales

🗺️Council backlogs mean most requests to modify official maps are yet to be actioned

Check it out 👇🏽

BBC News - Public rights of way applications backlog concerns campaigners - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

LGBT+ people drawn to minority religions - census From freedom to fulfilment, LGBT+ people tell the BBC why they were drawn to their religions.

Latest piece I worked on at the BBC has some fascinating stories and insights about how LGBT+ people are drawn towards minority religions.

I contributed a couple of charts 📊 and crunched some numbers to help with context from a data perspective 🤓

Enjoy! 👇🏽

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...

We've had a fantastic response so far to the new #ExploreLocalStatistics platform. It's still a work in progress, so please do share your comments and requests for new features!
consultations.ons.gov.uk/digital-publ...

2 Tone Music Black and white - exploding in colour

Loved working on this visual story about 2 Tone Music with colleagues from our brilliant BBC West Midlands team👇

The story anticipates a new BBC Radio WM documentary out Saturday at 2pm – Available on BBC Sounds!

🎧 45 years since 1st 2 Tone record!🤓

Enjoy!

canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/2tone/

Thanks!

Thank you! :)