University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi

https://ussh.vnu.edu.vn

"Data journalism" course commenced

On November 21st, 2018, the Vietnam Program for Internet & Society (VPIS) (USSH) collaborated with Google, PR Newswire, UNESCO Vietnam and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage to launch the "Data journalism" course, which was aimed at journalists working as managers at press and media agencies in Vietnam.

Data journalism is a new trend in disseminating information of Vietnamese and international press agencies. Data can be used to provide detailed information on what is going on and the impact of information on society. By informing the public about the current developments, data can help journalists analyze the necessary information to understand the important news events as well as long-term propensities. Investments in data journalism are considered long-term and strategically necessary for press agencies.

Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh and Mr Michael Croft - UNCESCO Head of Office in Vietnam, Mrs. Anastasia Valeeva - data journalism specialist and lecturer at American University of Central Asia, Mr. Bui Hong Minh - Director for External Affairs and Communications, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage

The age of digital and social media allows everyone to gain information more easily, but information can come from different sources and thus may pave the way for inaccurate and fake news. Therefore, each journalist has to face new challenges in making sure his/her information is factual and accurate. The model 5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) is no longer enough for journalism in the current digital age. Given the pressure posed by changing communication methods, reporters have to not only reuse sources but also check their validity, therefore the abilities to "dig into" information, find relevant data and especially "get on well with statistics" are crucial for professional journalists.

The course gathers lecturers specializing in journalism, communication and media management

With this course, learners will discover the "added values" of data journalism and understand how to develop data-based reports. They will learn how to compile articles based on factual data and typical studies. The course will visualize data to help journalists transform data into stories and news.

The course will also provide advanced knowledge of Google's search engines and data filtering for professional journalism. Supportive tools include records, search techniques, statistical graphics, Google Maps and Earth, and Goolge Trends. Journalists will be equipped with knowledge of Google News Labs, a project aimed at helping them adapt to the digital epoch. 

Information about the lecturers:

  • Anastasia Valeeva - Data journalism specialist and lecturer at American University of Central Asia, Researcher at Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism, Oxford University: Anastasia is an open data researcher and co-founder of School of Data Kyrgyzstan. She studies the use of open data in investigative data journalism in a research project at the above Institute. She teaches data journalism at Data Bootcamps in Montengero and Germany, UN Data Journalism Summer Institutes at Kyrgyzstan and Albania, at Higher School of Economics, Russia and currently teaches data journalism at American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan. At the School of Data Kyrgyzstan, she teaches about reading and writing data in society and the active formation of a community of data practitioners. 

  • Chris Brummitt – Google's Asia-Pacific Communications Manager, former correspondent of AP and Bloomberg: Graduating from University of London, Chris was a journalist and editor of Associated Press from 2008 to 2015, during which he was responsible for making featured news and reports about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the death of Osama bin Laden, the political crises and terrorism in Southeast Asia. Then, he worked for Bloomberg (2015 – 2016) and making reports about Southeast Asian economies and markets. He took the position of Communications Manager in the Asia-Pacific in 2016 before coming to Google to instruct and direct the communications in Asia-Pacific.

Author: Thanh Ha

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