Presentation Schedule
Data Journalism Education: Voices and Reflection from Malaysia (109104)
This presentation will be live-streamed via Zoom (Online Access)
Monday, 13 July 2026 14:45
Session: Session 3
Room: Live-Stream Room 4
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation
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Data journalism, an interdisciplinary field rooted in the principles of precision journalism, emphasizes journalistic practices grounded in factual evidence and scientific methodologies (Heravi, 2019). Data journalism involves new journalistic competencies in information acquisition, storytelling, and presentation techniques. Globally, data journalism is recognized and practiced; however, it remains underdeveloped in Malaysian journalism education. Journalism education in Malaysia began in 1970; it is currently facing a decline due to the growth of digital media and communication fields. Given the potential of data journalism to revive journalism education in Malaysia, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine faculty members, and the interviews were thematically analyzed. Journalism educators from public and private universities with 5 or more years of journalism teaching and industry experience shared their perspectives, the status of journalism education, the value of data journalism, and suggestions for reinventing journalism education in Malaysia. The study’s findings suggested that data journalism in Malaysia is hard to crack due to financial constraints, administrative hurdles, lack of teaching expertise, and poor students’ analytical capabilities. The participant considered data journalism a valuable field of study and suggested collaborating with industry partners to launch data journalism education to equip students with the latest journalistic practices. Further, it is recommended to revise the educational curriculum and provide on-the-job training to journalism educators. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on journalism education in the Global South, emphasizing the necessity of curriculum innovation, faculty training, and policy support to bridge the gap between traditional and data-driven journalism practices.
Authors:
Iffat Ali Aksar, Xiamen Univesrity, Malaysia
About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Iffat Ali Aksar, working as an assistant professor in the School of Communication, Xiamen University, Malaysia.
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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