KIIT School of Mass Communication Holds Fifth GNI Data Dialogue
KIIT School of Mass Communication in partnership with Google News India (GNI) Initiative Network, led by DataLEADS, organized Data Dialogue, an interactive workshop exploring the intersection of data journalism and responsible data practices, on 13th January, 2023. The event featured a range of panel discussions, workshops, and talks from leading experts in the field of data journalism and data ethics. Participants got the opportunity to learn from and engage with these experts, as well as to network with their peers from the media and journalism industry. Moreover, attendees learned about the latest trends and best practices in data-driven journalism and fact-checking.
Some of the key topics that were explored at the event included: The role of data in modern journalism; Best practices for using data responsibly in reporting; The ethical considerations involved in collecting, using and sharing data; and The importance of transparency and accountability in data journalism.
The event was inaugurated by in the presence of Prof. Jnyana Ranjan Mohanty, Registrar, KIIT-DU, Prof. Mrinal Chatterjee, Regional Director, IIMC Dhenkanal, and representatives from GNI, DataLEADS, and School of Mass Communication. The workshop was attended by over 300 participants from media organizations, journalism schools, and civil society organizations.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Prof. Mohanty gave the insight regarding the importance of data and how data journalism plays a crucial role in this by using facts and evidence to uncover the truth and hold those in power accountable. In his keynote address, Prof. Chatterjee talked about the advent of technology and innovation in data journalism. “Whatever data we collect, we have to connect it to reality,” said Prof. Chatterjee.
In his virtual address, Mr. Syed Nazakat, Founder & CEO, DataLEADS briefed about the significance and the perks of information literacy. “We are excited to conduct the fifth Data Dialogue and bring together some of the brightest minds in the industry to discuss the importance of data in the media and communications field,” said Mr. Nazakat. “This event will provide a unique opportunity for budding journalists to gain valuable insights and make connections that can help advance their careers,” he added.
“Data plays a crucial role in the way we consume and create media today, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Google News India Initiative Network and Data LEADS to explore this topic at the Data Dialogue event,” said Dr. Rajeev Kumar Panda, GNI Trainer & Course Coordinator, School of Mass Communication, KIIT-DU. This was followed by individual sessions.
Ms. Jyoti Singh Rathore, Deputy Programme Manager at DataLEADS introduced the workshop to the participants and highlighted that this was the fifth Data Dialogue out of the 20 such workshops being held across India from December 2022 – March 2023. Ms. Anoushka Dalmia, Data Journalism Trainer, DataLEADS talked about the extensive use of Google for data journalism in the first session, highlighting the use of Google Dataset search, Google Trends, and Google Sheets to extract data from websites and PDFs. She explained how to clean and verify data using different tools, highlighting the use of sorting and filtering options. The post-lunch session included discussions on Data Visualisation, Flourish tool and Google Pinpoint to report investigative cases.
Participation certificates were distributed to all the participants. Dr. Sananda Mukherjee, Assistant Professor, School of Mass Communication proposed the vote of thanks.