Digital and Data Journalism

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Imke Henkel
• Assessment: a 3000-word essay on digital journalism (50%) and 3000-word journalistic feature article (50%)

In this module we aim to develop your critical understanding of how digitisation has affected journalism along with your skills across digital media practices at which journalists and other media practitioners are expected to be adept. We will cover everything from the rise of digital journalism since the 1990s, the transformation of the profession and the industry of journalism, the impact of automation and artificial intelligence, as well as practical skills such as the distinctive writing styles of online journalism, and the use of multimedia content and of interactive and social media.

You will be expected to develop an effective overall strategy for presenting yourself online and doing so in a way that demonstrates critical engagement with a fast-changing media environment and awareness of the needs and interests of digital media users.

Indicative syllabus

• Digital journalism today
• The long history of data
• Official data and computer-assisted reporting
• Whistleblowing data
• Telling stories through data
• Data visualisation and design
• Transforming audiences
• Automation and AI
• Platform cultures
• Fake news and the culture wars

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate proficiency in finding, organising and analysing existing data
• demonstrate proficiency in producing journalistic narratives out of data
• understand the ethical, legal and political aspects of data journalism.