Municipal open data portals as a source of information for the media

Introduction. Open data is one of the necessary prerequisites for the successful development of the state. The use of data at the local level helps improve decision-making processes, reduce corruption, strengthen control over budget funds, etc. Therefore, it is essential to research the development of municipal open data portals in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to examine local (municipal) open data web portals as a source of information for the media. Methodology. We used methods of theoretical and empirical research to achieve the goal and objectives of the study. The method of analysis and comparative analysis is used to study the functional features of municipal open data portals. Content analysis is used to identify thematic spectra of data sets. Four criteria were developed to describe municipal open data portals: quantities of published data, thematic data groups, data accessibility and user engagement. Open data portals of nine Ukrainian cities has been selected for a proposed study: Lviv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Kramatorsk, Mariupol, Dubno, Kolomyia, Bakhmut, Slavuta. Results and conclusions. It is determined that the process of development and improvement of city open data portals is underway in Ukraine. In particular, recommendations for the unified culture of data disclosure have been made. One of the positive changes is the increase in the number of datasets in machine-readable formats, while much less sets in non-machinereadable formats DOC and PDF are published (7.4% of the total). Municipal open data portals perform well in terms of data accessibility. However, data analysis and visualization tools are not available on the portals. This can reduce the level of user engagement. Local open data of cities can improve the quality of regional media content, as journalists get new opportunities for investigations, creation of data-stories and multimedia projects, etc.

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