Prerequisites

• One year of experience in journalism and media.
• High school diploma, preferably a university degree in journalism, media or humanities.

Course Description

In an era dominated by big data and complex statistics, journalists are increasingly required to interpret, analyze, and present information in a clear and impactful way. Data journalism bridges the gap between raw information and compelling storytelling by transforming numbers into accessible narratives supported by visuals and interactive tools. This course equips journalists with the foundational skills to collect, structure, and analyze data. Participants will learn how to uncover stories hidden within datasets and present them using effective visual techniques that enhance audience understanding and engagement.

Course Objective

By the end of this course, participants will:
• Define data journalism and lead a data journalism project.
• Collect, clean, organize, and analyze datasets.
• Transform complex information into clear, engaging visuals.

Course Outline

• Introduction to data journalism:
- Discover data journalism: accessing data, editorial benefits.
- Propose new, fun, and knowledgeable content to the audience.
- Lead a "data journalism" project.
- Identify the information sought, and the database that must be found accurately.

• Tools and mechanisms for forming data:
- How a database works.
- Use tables (ٍSpreadsheets) to sort and feed data.
- Principles of statistics and errors to be avoided in presenting and reading statistics.
- Data visualization: choose the correct form of graphs.

• Information visualization techniques:
- Geographic location determination and map usage.
- Data visualization tools (Google Fusion Tables, Tableau Public..).
- How to tell the final data story: tips and best practices.

Course Benefits

• A graduation certificate by Al Jazeera Institute for Media.