Fourteen students and four graduates of the School of Advanced Journalism were trained this weekend to use open government data and identify topics for investigation using large data volumes. The workshop lasted three days; the students used tools and applications that facilitate the collection and processing of data for writing articles. The event was facilitated by Daniel Bojin, RISE Project (Romania) journalist, and Dumitru Lazur, media expert (Moldova).

‘The data tell us more than a human source,’ said Daniel Bojin at the beginning of the workshop. The journalist told the students that the digital age had changed the way of documenting a subject, so that often a data set may provide everything one needs to carry out an investigation.

‘A decade ago an investigation would start with field research, talking to people; nowadays, we start from the opposite end – we first study available data and then go out there for field investigations. That is why it is very important to know what data you work with, to know how to interpret data and understand the story behind the figures, even if they seem ‘trivial’ at first sight... In fact, the data can be as useful as human sources. This workshop has shown the students that they have a lot to gain from processing data about a company, a court of the Cadastre Agency when working on an topic. We also looked for ways to make the search easier by using various software.’

For a better understanding of the subject, the workshop focused on real-life material and practical tools. Guided by the trainers, the participants learned how to ‘read’ the data, how to interpret data and generate charts, and how to ‘translate’ the information to make it comprehensible for the average media consumer. ‘The techniques discussed at the workshop can be used to work on any press material. Each workshop participant had the opportunity to work on his/her own investigation,’ specified Denis Rusu, who graduated from the SAJ in 2011.

‘We, the young journalists, come across hundreds of topics for investigation, but we are not equipped to address them, as we do not know how to make the connection between people, companies, dubious money transfers. The trainers taught us to read the story behind the numbers. We learned how to use software that helps us trace the links between various persons and institutions involved in corruption,’ said Denis Rusu.

The open data use workshop was organized as part of the activities of the School of Advanced Journalism, with the financial assistance Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Moldova. This year’s workshop is the third of the kind; over 60 students and graduates of the School of Advanced Journalism have been trained in open data use so far.