Independent data journalism & research
Original journalism Media research In-depth analysis
RecordSignal uses Freedom of Information, public records and original analysis to uncover stories, produce newsworthy research and investigate the questions buried in complex data.
What is happening that nobody has measured?
FOI · public records · statistics · original data
One defensible conclusion worth publishing.
Three ways to work together
A spreadsheet is not a story. RecordSignal finds the interesting, defensible conclusion in the evidence—then shapes the work around the audience that needs it.
From the first question to the final editorial pack: original ideas, Freedom of Information work, dataset construction, analysis, verification and a clear news angle.
Explore this serviceDefensible original research for PR agencies, businesses, charities and trade bodies—built to create genuine editorial interest, never to manufacture it.
Explore this serviceQuantitative, economic and policy research taken from a difficult question to a finished, publication-ready report that readers can actually understand.
Explore this serviceThe RecordSignal method
The work starts before the spreadsheet exists. It means asking the right question, designing the route to an answer and knowing what a newsroom or research reader needs.
Find the question that has not yet been answered.
Use public records, FOI and original sources to secure the evidence.
Clean, combine and interrogate the data without losing sight of its limits.
Identify the result that matters—not merely the result that exists.
Turn the evidence into a story, campaign or report people can understand.
Founder / researcher · UKFounded by data journalist Mark Tovey
RecordSignal is founded and run by Mark Tovey, a British freelance data journalist and researcher. Clients work directly with the person designing the question, handling the evidence and shaping the final story or report.
Mark is NCTJ-qualified, holds a first-class degree in Economics from the University of Sussex and has published national journalism alongside substantial quantitative research for UK think tanks and research organisations.
Selected published work
Start with the question
Bring the hunch, the brief or the difficult dataset. RecordSignal will work out what evidence can answer it—and what the answer is really saying.
Discuss a project