First, just getting the data is often a major challenge for journalists. I bet there was no database of gay rights legislation neatly broken down by state and category that Feilding could use. In other cases the data has to acquired from governmens by FOIA request, or the journalist has to convince a commerical provider to make it available.

Then, because the type of data changes with every story, it is not possible to use the same visualization technique each time. It seems unlikely that a single app will cover all of the different scenarios encountered in journalism.

Journalism also has an emphasis on publication and communication. The “user” for journalism usually has no background knowledge or special expertise, while an in house analyst might be very skilled and familiar with how to interpret the company’s specific data. Communication with a naive audience, on multiple platforms, is a major design challenge.

Finally, in journalism there is almost never an ROI for any given story. The production of journalism has always been heavily subsidized, e.g. by advertisers, or in The Guardian’s case by their U.K. trust. Journalists aren’t in it for the cash, but for the effects on society.