New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) In what promises to be a game-changer for journalism, media and communications industries in India, the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), an Institution of Eminence declared by the government of India, has launched the countrys first one-year Post Graduate Diploma in Data Journalism.

Data-intensive journalism and data-driven media reporting and analysis are emerging areas that combine the traditional news reporting and writing with skills of reader-friendly and insightful data analysis, interpretation and visualisation.

The Jindal School of Banking & Finance (JSBF) and the Jindal School of Journalism & Communication (JSJC) have jointly launched two tracks of this Data Journalism programme – a Residential PG Diploma for recent graduates, and an Executive PG Diploma for working professionals to learn industry-relevant programming languages and practitioner-oriented analytical and visualization tools (including R and Tableau) in addition to courses such as journalism ethics and writing; business and financial markets; primer for journalists and media professionals in Statistics-Analytics-Finance-Economics (SAFE); and courses on socio-economic and political issues of contemporary relevance in India and the world.

In the launch event that was held virtually on Wednesday, a keynote address was delivered by distinguished professor Steve Doig from the Walter Cronkite School for Journalism at the Arizona State University and a special address was delivered by Rukmini S., an award-winning writer who is one of the pioneers in data journalism in India.

Using data is not only routine for journalists in the newsroom and data-experts in industry and government agencies, but also a driving force in storytelling and fact-based reporting as technology platforms, data methodology, and data sources continue to evolve.

Professor Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of the JGU, said that "there have been numerous instances of journalistic investigation of the leakage of confidential information, such as Paradise Papers, where analysis of large amounts of data was carried out by journalists. In the future, the skills needed to crunch large data while ensuring that journalists speak truth to power will be extremely critical".

"The PG Diploma in Data Journalism offered JGU will create a new generation of journalists who will benefit from an interdisciplinary curriculum that promises to infuse much-needed data skills."

The Dean of JSJC, Professor Tom Goldstein said that "as technology continues to disrupt, the future of the industry during the fierce battles and heavy bombardment in the city, which is located some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

In July 2017, Iraq officially declared the liberation of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, from the IS after nearly nine months of fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in the country.

The IS had taken over Mosul in 2014 after the terror group defeated the Iraqi Army.

After seizing control of the city, the IS executed some 4,000 Iraqi Security Force prisoners, and dumped their bodies in the single largest known mass grave in Iraq, at the "Khafsa Sinkhole".

This mass grave was uncovered during the Battle of Mosul (2016–17).

--IANS ksk/