Geographic Data Belongs on Maps: Cartographic Substitution in Journalistic Visualizations ( Revista Expresso, 2023)

Geographic data is inherently spatial, yet contemporary journalism often represents it through non-cartographic forms. This paper addresses this representational paradox by examining how journalistic visualizations substitute maps with alternative graphic formats and analysing the representational implications of rendering spatial relations without cartographic form. Methodologically, this study consists of a systematic, page-by-page review of all 52 issues of Revista Expresso (the magazine supplement of the weekly newspaper Expresso) published in 2023. All articles containing explicit geographic references (n = 139) were coded according to the type of visual solution employed. Cartographic representations were limited: thematic maps appeared only sporadically, while much geographic content was translated into non-cartographic forms, most frequently bar charts and tables. We conceptualize this pattern as cartographic substitution: geographic data remain visible, yet the adopted graphic forms render spatial relations less perceptually explicit and thereby constrain the forms of spatial reasoning directly supported by the representation.