At the beginning of June, we had the privilege to participate in the European Media Management Association (EMMA) Conference, held on the 8th and 9th of June at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. With CB cluster manager Jannerieke Hommenga and we (Natalia Berger and Susannah Montgomery) dove headfirst into the conference's theme: "Perspectives on Media Trust".

As media experts assembled from all corners of the globe, we engaged in vibrant discussions and debates, highlighting the profound transformation our media landscape is currently experiencing due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

One of the standout moments for us was our presentation on the "hot" topic, "ChatGPT in the News: Examining the socio-technological phenomenon of artificial creativity in Dutch media discourse," as part of the Innovation and Media Trust section. Our work generated a compelling dialogue that extended well beyond our presentation, marking a milestone in the discourse around AI and media. 

Our exploration of ChatGPT, an AI text-generating model developed by OpenAI, underscored AI's intricate and sometimes contentious role in society. The launch of ChatGPT in Dutch print media sparked a multifaceted discourse, oscillating between admiration for its high-quality outputs and anxieties about its broader societal impact. We highlighted the necessity for wider public engagement, a better understanding of AI capabilities, and a shift in our approach towards content production and media management. We also emphasized the urgency for enhanced regulatory frameworks, verification technologies, and informed, interdisciplinary discourse to navigate AI's transformative potential.

This presentation was linked to our greater needs analysis research for the MediaNumeric Erasmus+ project. This was also an opportunity to promote to our academic peers the upcoming MediaNumeric Academy: an online course to develop crucial data-driven skills in content, journalism and storytelling.

Distinguished speakers like Dr. Eli Noam from Columbia Business School and Professor Emeritus Robert Georges Picard, a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, enriched the discussions, expanding our understanding of the rapidly evolving media economics.

The EMMA Conference, as always, served as a platform for enriching intellectual exchange, invaluable networking, and warm camaraderie. As the EMMA president, Dr. John Oliver from the University of Bournemouth, aptly noted, "EMMA is like a wedding: a lot of familiar faces, far nephews, uncles and aunts are here, and you are happy to see them all."

We eagerly anticipate the next conference, which will take place on our home turf at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. It will provide an excellent opportunity to continue the discussions sparked in Pamplona and delve further into the transformative potential and challenges that AI technologies like ChatGPT present to our society. 

Are you interested in learning more about our research, participating in EMMA 2024, or how to become an early tester of our MediaNumeric Academy? Reach out to susannah.montgomery@inholland.nl or natalia.berger@inholland.nl for more details!

During the last week of February 2023, the third and final group of international students took part in the MediaNumeric training course in Warsaw, Poland. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities was the gracious host for the exciting week focused on data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking. We couldn’t let the week go by without sharing the insightful, educational, challenging, but most of all fun experiences of our students Didi Baas (CB Haarlem/Sustainable Media Lab) and Marvin Ikoroha (TOI Diemen) and our colleagues Susannah Montgomery and Natalia Berger.

The project MediaMumeric (leading lector Joke Hermes), which started about two years ago, offered its final in-person weeklong intensive training program where students learn all about (1) exploration of multimedia data, (2) storytelling with multimedia data, and (3) tracking and debunking misinformation. Approximately 50 students from University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS, host) the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA, France), and Inholland, applied to be a part of this program. Ultimately, 16 students from Poland and four from France and the Netherlands were selected for participation.

An experience to never forget
Didi Baas: “I am still feeling honored to have been able to participate in the program! It has been a great opportunity to learn more about the topics that I consider to be interesting and important. This week has been incredibly interesting and inspiring, filled with lectures, workshops and events held by professionals and lecturers from Poland, France and The Netherlands. The main topic and case study of the program was the War in Ukraine. A topic with such importance and relevance left an impression on me, and showed me once again how important fact-checking and critical thinking skills are. During the program I have met and worked with a variety of inspiring and motivated students from France, Poland, Ukraine and the US. All with different study backgrounds, talk about interdisciplinary co-creation!”

Intense but rewarding training program
Indeed, it was very interdisciplinary! Trainers with impressive experience and skills helped students to explore what data can offer to those who know how to use it. Over the course of the week, students learned how to scrape when you need specific information, understand what a spreadsheet is telling you, visualise your story, check facts, and how to confront the ethical dilemmas you will encounter while working with data. However, our goal is not to create data scientists, but provide students a realistic and inspiring idea of what data-driven possibilities are out there for telling great stories.

Case-study project
This edition of the MediaNumeric training program coincided with the one-year mark of the War in Ukraine. As such, the MediaNumeric team decided to allocate half of our training time to a case-study project where students used data to craft nuanced and persuasive stories about the many lasting effects of this war. Together with her colleagues Kuba Piwowar (SWPS), Ewa Korzeniowska (SWPS), and Jacqueline Pietsch (AFP), Susannah Mongomery assisted the students' teams in creating these data stories.

Susannah Montgomery: “This week of storytelling was especially moving for me. I still vividly remember one year ago being in the AFP news offices in Paris for MediaNumeric when we found out this war started. This week, our new cohort of students took their journalistic and storytelling responsibilities very seriously when weaving together data-driven stories about the toll this war has had within Ukraine and beyond. From debunking human trafficking trends to understanding citizen perspectives on the energy crisis caused by the war, students took a thoughtful an multiperspective approach to the data they used and the stories they presented to our jury at the end of the week.”

What’s Next for MediaNumeric?
Over the coming months, the MediaNumeric team will launch the MediaNumeric Academy, an online course to develop crucial data-driven skills in content, journalism and storytelling. Building upon the physical in-person training courses in Paris, The Hague, and Warsaw, Natalia Berger is in the lead of developing the curriculum for this comprehensive online course. The future of content creation is data-driven. The MediaNumeric Academy will equip students, young professionals or anyone interested in the field of data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking with the necessary skills to thrive in our digital age.

You can watch for updates about this online course on our Instagram and our website. You can see here some pictures of the week in Warsaw.

The first casualty of war is truth, they say. But it can often be complicated to separate fact from fiction in other high-profile discussions too. So how do you deal with this as a creative professional? How do you teach data drives to tell stories? This question is central to the Erasmus+ MediaNumeric project, for which Inholland University of Applied Sciences organised a summer school in June. 'It’s a testing ground for getting data literacy into our degree programmes.'

Educational and heritage institutions from the Netherlands, France, Poland and Estonia are collaborating within the MediaNumeric project. 'Archives like ours are becoming more and more accessible digitally, also for new target groups', says project coordinator Johan Oomen of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, which is coordinating MediaNumeric. 'But how can you make good use of all this data? How can you spot misinformation, how do you check the origin, the context, the sources? By linking heritage institutions to educational institutions within MediaNumeric, we want to teach professionals how to tell stories using data.'

Three training courses
The MediaNumeric partners are organising three comprehensive training courses for students, teaching them how to tell stories using data. The first took place in February in Paris. The second was held at Inholland University of Applied Sciences The Hague in June, and a third is scheduled in Warsaw. To determine the content of the training courses, MediaNumeric researchers conducted interviews with experts such as data scientists, data journalists and archive staff. 'We wanted to discover the most requested skills for young professionals', says Natalia Berger, researcher at the Inclusion and the Creative Industries professorship. 'Finding, interpreting, analysing and presenting data are important skills for journalists and creative professionals. We incorporated this into the training courses.'

Intensive programme
A varied group of students from the countries concerned were able to benefit from an intensive 6-day programme in The Hague. 'We started with the theory in the mornings', says Natalia. 'The legal and ethical issues relating to data, the numerous tools available for working with data and how to organise a data project, for example. In the afternoons, they worked in groups on their own chosen case study within the theme of diversity in the music industry. Eventually, they presented their stories in front of a jury on the last day.'

Testing grounds
As Education and Research manager of the Faculty of Creative Business, Jannerieke Hommenga is pleased that Inholland University of Applied Sciences is a partner in the project. 'Data literacy is relevant to all our degree programmes. We regard the training courses as testing grounds for getting data literacy into our programmes. What do they trigger in students and how can we incorporate topics such as collecting and analysing data and recognising fake news into our teaching?'

For primary and secondary schools too
'Among other things, our ultimate goal is to deliver educational modules that the parties concerned, as well as other educational institutions, can use to work with methods to find data and search through collections', says Johan. 'It's a way of combating misinformation. This should be reflected more widely in education as part of media literacy. Not just in vocational and higher education, but also in primary and secondary schools.'

Embedding in the curriculum
Natalia and her colleagues are tasked with finding out how data literacy can be grounded in the curricula of the Creative Business degree programmes. 'Roughly speaking, there are two ways of doing this', she explains. 'We can embed it in the curriculum: incorporate data literacy into as many courses as possible to really get it into the students' mindset. Or we can set up in-depth modules that allow students in years 3 and 4 to work on their operational skills in multidisciplinary groups. We actually prefer to use both approaches. We are examining how we can develop this in practice in a think tank with people from the programmes. In addition, the summer school in The Hague and the subsequent survey among the participants provided new insight into what works and what doesn't.'

Reactions from students
What did the students think of the summer school? 'You really do learn a lot in a short period of time. It seems technical, but you can work it out', said one student. 'The tools you get to work with are very useful for your future career', added another. 'You learn from the personal experiences of experts and from their valuable insights, and that's something you wouldn’t usually get otherwise', felt another student. 'What you learn about fact-checking and creative storytelling is appropriate for every degree programme', said another. It therefore seems likely that MediaNumeric will lead to an excellent educational innovation.

Read more about the MediaNumeric project here.

The first victim of war is the truth, or so the saying goes. Even in other highly charged discussions, it’s often hard to separate fact from fiction. How should you respond to this as a creative professional? How do you learn to tell data-driven stories. This is the key question in the Erasmus+ project MediaNumeric, for which Inholland University of Applied Sciences organised a summer school in June. ‘It’s a testing ground for introducing data literacy into our degree programmes.’

Education and heritage institutions from the Netherlands, France, Poland and Estonia are working together in the MediaNumeric. ‘Digital advances are making archives like ours ever more accessible, also for new target groups’, says project coordinator Johan Oomen of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, which is coordinating MediaNumeric. ‘But how can you put all this data to good use? How do you spot misinformation, how do you check the origin, the context, the sources? By bringing together heritage institutions and education institutions in MediaNumeric, we aim to teach professionals how to tell stories with the help of data.’

Three training courses
The MediaNumeric partners are organising three training courses that help students to tell stories with data. The first course was held in Paris in February, followed by the second at Inholland The Hague in June. Now a third is planned for Warsaw. In order to determine the content of these courses, researchers at MediaNumeric conducted interviews with experts such as data scientists, data journalists and the staff of archives. ‘We wanted to know what the most in-demand skills are for young professionals’, says Natalia Berger, researcher at the Inclusion and the Creative Industries research group. ‘Finding, interpreting, analysing and presenting data are important skills for journalists and creative professionals. And this is what we incorporated into the training courses.’

An intensive programme
A varied group of students from the involved countries experienced an intensive six-day programme in The Hague. ‘In the mornings we started with theory’, recounts Natalia. ‘This included things like legal and ethical issues relating to data, the many different tools for working with data and how you organise a data project. In the afternoon they formed small groups to work on a self-chosen case study relating the theme diversity in the music industry. And then on the final day they presented their stories to a jury.’

Testing grounds
As Education and Research Manager of the Creative Business Faculty, Jannerieke Hommenga is happy that Inholland UAS is a partner in the project. ‘Data literacy is relevant to all our degree programmes. We see the training courses as testing grounds for introducing data literacy into our programmes. What effect do these courses have on our students and how can we create space in our teaching for themes such as collecting and analysing data and recognising fake news?’

For primary and secondary schools, too
‘Ultimately one of our goals is to supply teaching modules that enable those involved, as well as other education institutions, to begin applying techniques for acquiring data and searching collections’, says Johan. ‘It’s a way of combating misinformation. This should be represented more widely in education as part of media literacy. Not only in vocational and higher education, but at primary and secondary schools as well.’

Embedding it in the curriculum
Natalia and her colleagues have the fine task of researching what form data literacy can take in the curricula of the Creative Business programmes. ‘Roughly speaking, this can be done in two ways’, she explains. ‘You can embed it in the curriculum: data literacy is included in as many courses as possible, so that it is really absorbed in the students’ mindset. Or we create in-depth modules in which 3rd-year and 4th-year students work on their operational skills. Actually we’d like to do both if possible. We’ve set up a think-tank with people from the programmes to see how we can work this out in practical terms. Here, the summer school in The Hague and the questionnaire completed by the participants at the end have given us new insights into what works and what doesn’t.’

Student reactions
And what did the students think of the summer school? ‘You learn a whole lot in a short time. It might seem technical, but you can handle it’, says one student. ‘The tools you work with are really useful for your future career’, adds another. ‘You learn from the personal experiences of experts and their valuable insights, and that’s something you generally won’t find elsewhere’, says yet another. Another student comments: ‘The things you learn about fact-checking and creative storytelling can be used in every course of studies.’ So it looks like MediaNumeric is preparing the ground for an excellent education innovation.

Are you interested in understanding:

• How to access, analyse and understand data?
• What data-driven storytelling is and why it is important?
• Where misinformation comes from and how fact-checking works?
• What media ethics is and what is the social impact of journalism and media transitions?

Do these characteristics apply to you:

• Are you open-minded to work in an international group and jointly create stories based on data?
• Are you interested in working in spreadsheets and processing data?
• Do you have interest in current technological changes and their influence on society and the media?

If all or most of your answers to the above-listed questions are yes, then the MediaNumeric course is for you.
Apply before May 9th!

See in the testimonial how students from our first edition describe the MediaNumeric course in three words.

Want to watch more testimonials? Find out what tips students have for new participants and what their biggest take away is.

Find your own practical path to the world of data
The MediaNumeric Training Course will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn the basics of data journalism and storytelling through a set of theoretical and practical courses spanning data extraction methods, data analysis and visualisation, as well as crafting stories based around data. The course will also look at the growing area of fact checking and tracking the spread of misinformation around the world. You will work with professionals who will guide you through the learning process, show you how they approach data-specific tasks, and support you and your classmates in investigating a case study in which you will put the skills you learn into action. The course offers you the theoretical know-how, tools and skills needed to take on data-driven journalism and storytelling as well as fact checking, and all of the creative and professional opportunities it offers.

We have devised this training course around four main building blocks in order to build a diverse learning experience:

1. Introductory Sessions
You will participate in lively and informative session formats (such as panel discussions, round tables, lectures, etc.) where renowned international experts will discuss issues related to data-driven journalism and storytelling and fact-checking.

2. Workshops
Across the course you will work on a real-life case study. You will be asked to go through a process of linking your tasks to the three theoretical modules. Throughout the whole process you will be guided by a set of experts and facilitators.

3. Study visit
You will visit the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, located in the Hilversum Media Park, to dive into the rich world of moving image and sound archives and to engage in conversation with experts in creative reuse and journalistic work, to observe how theory is turned into practice on a daily basis in a real-world professional setting.

4. Networking
You will be able to socialise with peers and experts and explore the city and surroundings of The Hague. Through study visits and meetings with experts you will also get to know the other participants well and build long-lasting relationships that will support your future work and further career development.

Who should apply for the MediaNumeric course?
The course is open to 3rd-year or 4th-year BA students and MA students from the three academic partners of MediaNumeric: Inholland University of Applied Sciences, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and INA Institut national de l’audiovisuel. While a journalism background is not required, an interest in data and storytelling is strongly encouraged.

Since the upcoming edition of MediaNumeric course is hosted by Inholland’s Creative Business domain, we strongly encourage 3rd and 4th year bachelor’s students from our domain programs to apply. These programs include:

• (International) Creative Business
• Communications
• Business Innovation
• Leisure Management
• Facilities Management
• Tourism Management

We also encourage Inholland students from other domain programs who have an interest in data-driven storytelling (i.e. Computer Science and Information Technology) to also apply.

All applicants must have an advanced command of English (spoken and written). 

Selection
The MediaNumeric Selection Committee will choose 20 participants from all eligible candidates. 16 participants will come from Inholland University of Applied Sciences (NL), 2 participants from INA (FR), and 2 participants from SWPS (PL). Participants will be selected and prioritized based on the following criteria:

• overall application score (including assessment of self-evaluation and performance targets, commitment and dedication to the school’s objectives)
• skills and experience, diversity (from an under-represented social group, representing different nationalities/ethnic groups).

The MediaNumeric training course offers 5 ECTS points and has no course fee for participating students.

How to Apply
Applications for the MediaNumeric program must be submitted by Monday, May 9th, 2022 via the MediaNumeric website application portal. The application results will be announced on 23 May 2022. 

In case of any queries, kindly contact us at info@medianumeric.eu or reach out to MediaNumeric Program Managers from Inholland: natalia.berger@inholland.nl and Susannah.montgomery@inholland.nl.

Of course, you have not bypassed the news about the MediaNumeric project and its first training in Paris! Iris announced our participation in this event a month ago. Later the students Nina van Acker (ICB Haarlem) and Mihaela Buica (BI Diemen) shared their impressions of the lessons via Twitter and Instagram. The same did our colleague Susannah Montgomery. If you still overheard this information, here is our summary of what happened in Paris.

The project MediaMumeric (leading lector Joke Hermes), which started about a year ago, after a thorough analysis of the needs (published here), emerged in the next phase – implementing the insights gained through the research (50 expert interviews) to the learning practices. Once we knew what should be included in the course about telling stories with data, we (all partners of the knowledge alliance) developed the prototype of the training course. Out of about 50 students from the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (host, INA) and other HEI of Paris; University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS, Poland) and Inholland, who replied to the call for participation in the Data-Driven Journalism, Creative Storytelling & Fact-Checking​ course, 16 students from France and four from Poland and the Netherlands were selected for participation.

An experience to never forget
Nina van Acker: “MediaNumeric was honestly an unforgettable experience. I’ve never learnt as much in a week as I did in Paris when following the MediaNumeric program. Since journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking are not my fields of expertise; I was able to gain a lot of knowledge on topics I didn’t have much knowledge on. Furthermore, the experience overall was amazing: the students, the lecturers, and the organisers. It was definitely very intense, but I would do it again without a doubt”.

Intense but rewarding training programme
Indeed, it was very intensive! The trainers with impressive experience and skills tried to let the students sense what could data offer to those who know how to use it. To name a few, how to scrape when you need specific information, understand what a spreadsheet is telling you, visualise your story, check facts, and what ethical dilemmas you will encounter while working with data. Even this shortlist of topics should imply a lot of learning hours and exercises. We only had full six days. 

However, our goal was not to make data scientists from our students but give them a consistent idea of what data-driven possibilities are there for one who wants to tell stories. If later our participants will decide what data skills they would like to develop for the future and will attend specific professional courses, which are a plethora, I (Natalia Berger, the INH project leader and researcher) will think that our mission is accomplished.

Case-study project
Following the expert's recommendations, nearly half of the training time was given to the case-study project. Together with her colleagues Kuba Piwowar (SWPS) and Jacqueline  Pietsch (AFP), Susannah Mongomery assisted the students' teams.

Susannah: “The first testing phase was finished with the evaluation. The lessons learned we will apply very soon – in June, Inholland will host the Second training in The Hague. You will hear about it! Here you can meet the teacher who will give the lecture in June in The Hague.”

Click here for a day-by-day recap of the MediaNumeric students’ week in Paris. You can see here some pictures of the week in Paris.

What does climate change involve? Which of the stories about the coronavirus are true? What is really going on with the refugee crisis? As a professional, it is important to be able to distinguish fact from fiction, regardless of whether you are active in the media. The MediaNumeric project will bring students from a variety of European countries together and teach them how to tell better substantiated stories based on data. Friday 18 February will see two students and two researchers from Inholland travel to Paris for the initial pilot.

Susannah Montgomery is one of the researchers joining the trip to Paris. In addition to being a lecturer in International Creative Business at Inholland University of Applied Sciences The Hague, she is also a researcher and programme manager at the Sustainable Media Lab. Susannah believes it is important that professionals realise the influence of data and digitalisation on information provision. ‘Data influence the decision-making of people and organisations. Hence, as a professional, you need to know whether you can rely on those data.’

Stories based on data
The MediaNumeric project homes in on the rising influence of data and digitalisation on the media landscape. Consider in this regard declining trust in established media, shifts in user behaviour and the way in which artificial intelligence is deciding what messages people get to read, for instance. ‘Within the compass of MediaNumeric, students from a variety of European countries are learning how to search, amass and use data and how they can tell better stories and debunk disinformation as a result.’ Susannah will be fulfilling the role of coach in Paris. ‘I’ll be supervising the students on a case study on the refugee crisis, looking at how they go about checking facts and what tools they can use to tell stories based on data.’

Learning to check facts
One of the participating students is Nina van Acker, a fourth-year International Creative Business student at Inholland University of Applied Sciences Haarlem. ‘My final thesis is going to be on fake news in social media. I can see how it has the potential to influence my friends and me. How people can be swayed by a story suggesting that coronavirus vaccines make you infertile, for example. This project fits in neatly with that topic, and it’s great to learn things like fact-checking.’

Last-minute trip abroad
Nina is looking forward to the pilot in Paris. ‘It’s nice to be heading off on a last-minute trip now that all the coronavirus measures have been lifted. The project is aimed at young people. I’m keen to interview a few of them along the way to glean information for my thesis on how they cope with disinformation.’

Critical, informed and committed
Susannah believes that MediaNumeric will turn the participating students into critical thinkers. ‘Hopefully, the case studies that we put to them in Paris will open their eyes. Afterwards, they’ll present their story based on data. This way of working will help them to adopt a critical mindset and become more informed, committed professionals. Another educational benefit is that they’re meeting students from other countries, which is teaching them to view complex issues such as the refugee crisis from different perspectives.’

New teaching material
It is not just the participating students who will go on to become critically thinking professionals. ‘The aim of MediaNumeric is to develop educational material such as workshops and master classes for students in the Faculty of Creative Business. They’re learning data handling skills there, which is useful for all students, including those beyond our faculty.’

Second pilot at Inholland
MediaNumeric is funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ programme. The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision is coordinating a collaboration between higher education, industry and audiovisual archives from four EU Member States: the Netherlands, Poland, France and Estonia. In addition to Susannah and the students, Joke Hermes, professor in Media, Culture and Citizenship, and Natalia Berger, senior researcher and lecturer in the Faculty of Creative Business, are also involved. Inholland is set to organise the second MediaNumeric pilot later on this year. Students can sign up for this, with further information to follow!