Understanding Data journalism and its need in the evolving world

1. Understanding Data journalism and its need in the evolving world With the rapid pace of innovation, universities worldwide are gearing up to offer courses that suit diverse minds and their needs. One of the fastest-growing fields that students pursue every year is Journalism. However, times have changed, and so must the approach to education. The time when we had to wait for our morning newspaper is over. Today, the news is disseminated in real-time. Through ‘Breaking News’, the world has been able to keep itself updated. However, new business has become very complex, and in order to make it less complicated, a structured approach to news that’s supported by data is required. Though a Journalism Course gives you an edge if you want to pursue a career in it, data journalism will help you outshine and make a meaningful impact with credible news. According to the internet, data journalism is defined as “the process of reporting facts using structured data as the core of storytelling and managing it objectively.” Today, we breathe numbers, and in a highly digitised world, it is crucial to obtain, clean and analyse that information. Journalists who master searching, cleaning, and visualising data can be a game-changer for the field altogether. How can Data Journalism shape the future? If you are a journalist and want to switch fields, you do not have many options. One has to stick more or less around the same field. However, if you are a diploma or a degree holder in data journalism, there will be a slew of options waiting for you—they are one of the most sought after groups of employees. In the dynamic world, companies constantly look for professionals who can transform data into something meaningful. The days for low-value content have gone, and there is a need for credible news that’s backed by data. However, working with data is not easy. It takes an expert to convert raw data into something tangible and shape it correctly for visualisation. Trained journalists are proficient to see what’s hidden to derive meaning out of unstructured raw data. How are Indian universities gearing up for this shift?

2. Journalism certainly has gone through a massive shift in the past few years, and to cater to this evolving need, a lot of prime universities in India have stepped up their game. Such universities also offer a Data Journalism Course to help make students become responsible citizens of the country. The Indian education sector is at an exciting juncture but is still to cover a long distance when it comes to meeting the international standards of education or giving students a holistic approach. There are very few universities in India that have given a global edge to their students across all courses. What to look out for when choosing a university? A prime university will always care for children's future rather than just helping them get over a syllabus and giving them a degree. A prime university will always: · Have a pedagogy that is benchmarked with renowned communication curricula · Give global exposure to students via various tie-ups with international universities and institutes. · Have experienced faculty and seasoned journalists worldwide, from whom students can learn basic and advanced skills. · Offer internships to help students build a robust base and get exposure before they join any prime newspaper or a newsroom A prime journalism and communication school will offer a vibrant scholarly atmosphere where students will learn to question the status quo and not give in to the mass opinion. In addition, such schools/universities will equip every student with critical thinking and leadership skills rooted in a global, interdisciplinary perspective.