Big data is big business.

Management professionals have known this for some time; this report published by the management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company back in May notes that "the amount of data in our world has been exploding, and analyzing large data sets--so-called big data--will become a key basis of competition." The need to engage with large sets of data is growing all the time for leaders in all sectors, claims the report, as the rise of new business practices, multimedia and social media means that more data than ever is being recorded.

This has already proved itself to be a major opportunity for journalists. Take the news application Dollars for Docs. This feature from ProPublica allows users in the US to search their local doctor to find out whether he or she has accepted payment from drug companies. Journalists who constructed the app assembled payment disclosures from 12 companies and pulled them into a single, easy-to-use database.

What the 'Arab spring' has taught journalists about social media: has the balance now tipped in favour of social media and citizen journalists over traditional media outlets?

Will 2012 be the year when social media 'grows up'? Burt Herman of Nieman Lab predicts that journalism will become more decentralised, more collaborative with greater emphasis on real-time reporting.

Vladim Lavrusik of Nieman lab thinks journalism will be rebuilt 'Six million Dollar Man' Style - better, stronger, faster - through better content curation and amplification.

McKinsey predicts that analysing big data sets is the new frontier in journalism and many other industries due to the information explosion that will continue to grow exponentially.

How Facebook makes money from ads: the social network's revenue model explained in its own words.

Al Jazeera English has won its first Alfred I. duPont award for excellence in broadcast and digital journalism, announced the Columbia School of Journalism this morning. According to Columbia's website, the prize is the "equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes" for broadcast journalism.

The award recognises the quality of the report "Haiti - Six Months on", part of Al Jazeera English's Faultlines documentary series. The program examines the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 and is praised by the Columbia School of Journalism as "an emotional, accurate and visceral report about the lack of progress in reconstruction".

AJE was one of 14 prize-winners, including The New York Times, Detroit Public TV and Channel 4 BritDoc Foundation. But if AJE was not the only winner, this Poynter article suggests that it was, in some ways, the most significant.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project founded by Centre for Public Integrity, has announced the addition of 41 new members, which brings the total number 158 journalists positioned across the world, collaborating to uncover issues of corruption and abuses of power that span borders. In the interest of transparency, the ICIJ publishes a list of its member here.

The ICIJ was founded in 1997 and offers journalists access to the resources of the Centre for Public Integrity: computer-assisted reporting specialists, public records experts, fact-checkers and lawyers, for example. ICIJ members can then partner with journalists who operate in territories where resources are scarce or press freedom is limited, in order to investigate crime and corruption where it would otherwise go unreported. The ICIJ is also associated with a global network of non-profit journalism organisations and networks that can provide training and funding for investigative projects for those who need it.

'Hatchet Job': a term first used in 1944, denoting 'a forceful or malicious verbal attack'. So who would want to celebrate 'hatchet jobs' in literary criticism? The Omnivore would, that's who.

Too often, the Omnivore believes, the review sections of newspapers, especially the books section, go ignored by readers because the writing is "inward-looking and self-serving." The publication, which aggregates and showcases criticism relating to literature, film and theatre to provide readers a "cross section of critical opinion", is running the 'Hatchet Job of the Year' award that aims to reward book reviews that are "not simply informative, but entertaining". Anna Baddeley from The Omnivore team explained to the Editors Weblog why celebrating the hatchet job is the ideal way to encourage great quality literary criticism.

Five things to know about drone journalism: Mashable gives you the low down on the latest innovation in covering large scale events like demonstrations or disaster zones.

Five numbers that express in no uncertain terms why 2011 was year of the mobile: this year has seen more news consumed on mobile devices than ever before.

What is a reverse paywall? Jay Rosen explains how loyal site users could be charged less than those who drop in occasionally.

Graphics in motion: Adam Westbrook shows us what one entrepreneurial journalist can achieve with a graphics package and some data.

Is technology as disruptive to traditional media as electricity was to the candle business? Ken Auletta of The New Yorker discusses.

For more industry news please see WAN-IFRA's Executive News Service

ProPublica has created an "explore sources" button that allows readers to check the sources behind an article without leaving the page. See how they did it here.

31 weekly newspapers have closed in the UK this year.

The Guardian downsizes: the separate film and music supplement will now be a feature in the daily G2 supplement and the main newspaper will lose at least 4 pages.

Designing or adjusting your social media policy? Here's some advice on what good social media policies should do.

Christopher Hitchens, journalist, secularist and conversationalist has died: the contributing editor for Vanity Fair passed away due to pneumonia as a complication of esophageal cancer.

Need reminding of the 'Elements of Style'? Well Columbia Journalism School will give you the low down via a rap video.

Proposed media law in Macedonia causes journalists to fear press freedom will be further restricted in the country.

The Guardian has put together a Christmas list for journalists and developers, including methods to make journalism more transparent

http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/2011/12/15/guardian-developer-blog-journalists-compile-a-christmas-wish-list-for-developers/

TIME Magazine's Lightbox blog presents the best viral photos of 2011.

Italian daily la Repubblica uses Storify to tell the tale of the resignation of Tg LA7 Director Enrico Mentana

Journalists and legal commentators can live tweet court proceedings without getting special permission from a judge, declared the UK's Lord Chief Justice yesterday.

"Twitter as much as you wish," said the judge as he handed down the guidance, which comes into effect immediately and determines the use of laptops and handheld devices in court.

In the past, journalists had to get special permission from the judge in order to be allowed to tweet, text or email live from the courtroom. These rules were based on guidelines issued December 2010.

But although the new guidance lifts restrictions, there are still caveats. Journalists' rights to use Twitter, text and email inside the courtroom can be withdrawn by the judge at any time if they seem to be compromising the administration of justice. Journalists are still bound by rules on legal reporting that were established in the 1981 Contempt of Court Act. The ruling only applies to legal proceedings that are open to the public. Photography and tape recording is still not allowed in court.

Within these boundaries, the Justice was positive about tweeting in court: 'a fundamental aspect of the proper administration of justice is the principle of open justice. Fair and accurate reporting of court proceedings forms part of that principle.'

The New York Times reports that a senior editor and a top executive of the Russian news magazine Kommersant Vlast have been fired, apparently due to the publication's coverage of Russia's contentious parliamentary elections. The magazine reported accusations of wide-spread electoral fraud and published a photo of a spoiled ballot with profanity directed at Vladimir Putin.

James Murdoch did receive an email including information that phone hacking at the News of the World was not limited to a single reporter, writes The Guardian. However, Mr Murdoch wrote to MP's stating that he had not read the relevant email in full.

Digital publishing company SAY Media has bought up the popular technology blog ReadWriteWeb, reports Paid Content. The blog's founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue in his managing role, while Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief of another technology site, SplatF, has been hired as editor-at-large.

Times are tough for the LA Times as Russ Stanton, who has been editor of the paper for the past four years, is standing down amidst the expectation of more job cuts.

Stanton leaves the news organisation on December 23rd and will be replaced by managing editor Davan Maharaj.

The LA Times published a positive review of Stanton's achievements with the paper, noting that under his leadership the paper extended its digital reach to over 17 million readers and won three Pulitzer Prizes.

Yet the LA Times acknowledges that the past four years have been a rocky period, citing problems caused by contracting newspaper circulation and shrinking advertising revenue. The New York Times provides some sobering statistics: the American newspaper industry saw a 26.2% drop in advertising revenue from 2008 to 2009 and an additional 4.6% decline last year.