South Africa’s Code4SA are launching Africa’s first data journalism school, with the first intake of eight expected to start in February 2016. The Code For South Africa Journalism School is open for applications from junior to mid-level journalists who are passionate about data.
Training will consist of data and social media journalism, as well as experimenting with multimedia. The programme is backed by School of Data, and sponsored by Omidyar Network, Knight Foundation and the Indigo Trust.
The programme will be run by a combination of experienced and award-winning journalists, coders, data collectors, analysts and content specialists. The programme will also feature guest lecturers from newsrooms in South Africa and abroad.
The three-month-long programme will consist of theoretical and hands-on work, with participants spending much of their time working in a data newsroom. The school aims to train journalists in data handling and multimedia, and attendees will take part in Code4SA’s ongoing projects.
In addition to data and social media journalism training, the school aims to drive innovation in data-driven news and experimenting with different approaches to content delivery to audiences, with an emphasis on actionable news.
The journalists accepted into the programme will have the opportunity to gain practical data journalism skill-sets that will equip them to deliver compelling data-driven multimedia stories.
The cost of the programme is R18,000 (US$ 1233) over the three months, with bursaries and monthly stipends available based on merit. Applications close on the 15th of December, with interviews scheduled for the second week of January.
