NO FEWER than 40 Kano journalists were trained in data journalism and media standards to improve their investigative reports.
The training which took place on Thursday was organised by Stallion Times through its project “Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve (G-DRIP)” with the support of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the MacArthur Foundation.
In his welcome remarks, Isiyaku Ahmed, the Editor-in-Chief and Project Coordinator of G-DRIP, said “data journalists use numerical data, digital information, and online analytics to discover and write stories.
“Through the use of technology and software programs, journalists can develop and include infographics and data visualizations to develop a report’s narrative.
“It is not just spreadsheets where journalists can find information worthy of the news.
“Other data acquisition methods include website scraping, filing freedom of information requests, hunting and gathering different complex data formats.”
While presenting his paper on Media Standards, Ahmed explained that media standards comprise codes of ethics and good practices applicable to broadcasters and print journalists.
“A professional journalist understands these standards and judiciously applies them in his day-to-day work and reportage.”
Ahmed then called on journalists to promote anti-corruption, gender and social inclusion, and transparency and accountability.
Isah Ali Musa, a research scholar, at Digital Forensic Research Lab. Atlantic Council, took the media practitioners through data gathering, analysis, and visualization of data in storytelling.
He added that data journalism, which represented facts, would aid the public to get the right information that they could use to hold the government accountable.
