Ro
En
Рy
Participants in this activity learned how to identify useful information from national databases, how to efficiently use search engines Google/Hoover, and how to find topics of public interest with the help of open data. They also interacted with various advanced research and mapping tools, which helped them find out about new data visualization possibilities.
Romanian expert Alex Morega spoke about information security, teaching participants to protect their sources and recover certain documents from official websites if they are intentionally removed. About national and international databases journalists were told by expert Dumitru Lazur. He explained and presented the most accessible programs through which boring numbers can be transformed into interactive graphics.
Course participants appreciated the information they received, finding it most useful, because it will help them diversify the topics they write about and practice new approaches to topics in their materials.
Diana Bulai, reporter for Transilvania Regional Business, says she did not know too much about open databases and the possibility to use them to prepare journalistic materials. For her, it was important that theory was harmoniously combined with practice, “so we could better assimilate new information.”
Liubomir Gutu, a young journalist from Balti, believes that such activities are necessary especially for people from regions, who limit themselves to direct official sources when they work on certain topics. “For them, open databases can sometimes replace direct communication with sources,” he said.
_______
This activity is being implemented by the Independent Journalism Center in partnership with Transitions Online and with financial support from the Ministry of External Affairs of the Czech Republic and National Endowment for Democracy.
