Training in data journalism in Spain: An overview of the higher education academic offering

Abstract

Within a changing media ecosystem, data journalism stands out as one of the most interesting specializations to provide users with quality information and an essential instrument to combat the harmful effects of fake news in democratic societies. In this paper, we inquire as to whether the curricula of undergraduate and postgraduate journalism degree programs in Spain provide students the necessary skills to successfully enter the labor market, for which a promising future is foreseen, and eventually become professionals capable of locating, processing and analyzing huge information flows. Based on the Spanish Registry of Universities, Centers and Degrees (RUCT), we examined the curricula of the current academic offering and the subjects related to this field in Spain. We found that the academic offering is insufficient, as it only includes general content in elective subjects at the undergraduate level. At the postgraduate level, although still few in number, programs that provide such training have doubled in the last 5 years and, in most cases, offer specific subjects with a practical orientation.