From data to story: a look into the MediaNumeric course
In February, SWPS University in Warsaw hosted the MediaNumeric course, developed under an Erasmus+ project by a consortium consisting of news agencies, universities, archives and a media accelerator. The course drew to Warsaw 16 participants from different countries and backgrounds. The six-day training program covered a broad range of topics, including media ethics, the social impact of journalism, and data search strategies. Participants engaged in hands-on workshops where they learned how to design and execute data storytelling projects, navigate copyright issues, and debunk manipulated content.
I was surprised by how easy the fact-checking process is. While there are people who do it professionally, you can actually do the basics yourself. It is a powerful tool for getting closer to the truth.
Yelyzaveta Hordii
SWPS University student and MediaNumeric course participant
At the heart of the program were the group case studies centered around the war in Ukraine. The participants worked on real-world issues and developed in-depth reports on the reactions of Poles to Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats, the differences in humanitarian and military aid strategies between Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, the energy crisis caused by the war, and the impact of the conflict on human trafficking.
Our case study focused on human trafficking in Ukraine and how it was affected by the ongoing war. It was a challenge, because multiple data sources, including government and NGO reports, analyze different values, such as the detected and presumed victims. We had to aggregate this data concisely, but it was difficult due to the diverse sources and sometimes turned into a figure battle of conflicting numbers or statistics.
Sébastien Leconte
INA University, MediaNumeric course participant
The course was led by an international team of experienced journalists, media experts, and data professionals, including Jacqueline Pietsch, Marion Dautry, Natalia Sawka from Agence France-Presse, Weronika Zaręba from Google and Ewa Korzeniowska, Kuba Piwowar and Mirosław Filiciak from SWPS University.
In addition, the participants had the opportunity to meet Jakub Górnicki from Outriders, a non-profit newsroom based in Poland that focuses on innovative forms of storytelling and reporting.
Shaping the future of data-driven journalism
This year marks the third edition of the MediaNumeric course, designed for 3rd-year BA and MA students of communication studies, journalism, creative business, and IT. It was available to students from three academic partners of MediaNumeric – SWPS University, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, and INA Institut national de l'audiovisuel.
I study creative business, which may not immediately bring to mind fact-checking or data analysis. The focus is mainly on making a profit and creating ads that resonate with people and encourage them to buy products. However, I wanted to expand my perspective and learn about giving back to communities and individuals rather than just taking from them.
Didi Baas
Inholland University of Applied Sciences and MediaNumeric course participant
MediaNumeric aims to educate the new generation of journalists and storytellers by providing them with the tools and capabilities needed to help create a European media ecosystem that is user-driven, fair and balanced, economically sustainable, and technologically advanced.
In the age of automation that is rapidly changing the job market, and with algorithm-mediated communication that promotes extreme emotions, critical thinking and proficient use of data have become vital competencies, especially in journalism. Reliable, verifiable, data-driven journalism is not only the key to success in this profession but also the safeguard for the stable development of democracy. MediaNumeric fulfills this need by training students of journalism and related fields from all over Europe. Up to now, we have trained nearly 50 people committed to pursuing data journalism.
Kuba Piwowar, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
SWPS University, Faculty of Humanities in Warsaw
SWPS University plays a crucial role in the MediaNumeric project, as it is responsible for developing the course content, from setting the objectives and learning goals to building the entire curriculum. The program developed by SWPS University serves as the basis for the online course, which is set to be launched by the end of the year.
SWPS University's involvement in the MediaNumeric project is aligned with the Department of Cultural and Media Studies efforts to internationalize both research and teaching. We are also building synergy with other projects carried out by the teaching staff of SWPS University, which address similar issues, such as the Central European Digital Media Observatory CEDMO. MediaNumeric, as an initiative that touches upon such crucial issues in the contemporary public sphere, is aimed at maximizing social impact based on the research we conduct – because this is the expertise we have contributed to the project.
Mirosław Filiciak, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Director of the Institute of Humanities at SWPS University
MediaNumeric is funded under the European Union's Erasmus+ program, carried out from 1 Jan 2021 to 31 Dec 2023. The consortium is integrated by leading actors in academia, industry, and audiovisual archives from four EU Member States:
- The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (NL)
- Inholland University of Applied Sciences (NL)
- Fundacja Centrum Cyfrowe (PL)
- SWPS University (PL)
- Agence France-Presse (FR)
- INA Institut national de l'audiovisuel (FR)
- Storytek (EE)
- EUscreen Foundation (NL)
For more information about the project, visit the MediaNumeric website