Iffat Ali Aksar, Ayesha Siddiqua, *Muhammad Zaiamri Zainal Abidin

Abstract:

Data journalism is essential to modern journalism in the digital age; however, there is a limited body of literature on data journalism education in Asia. Despite Western experts’ substantial discussion of its development and norms, data journalism research is still in its infancy. This study examines data journalism education in Malaysia, focusing on the knowledge, abilities, and challenges faced by journalism instructors. The faculty of Malaysian institutions providing undergraduate and graduate journalism courses were recruited for in-depth interviews using a qualitative methodology. The results indicate that journalism education lacks expertise in data journalism. Participants noted their departments’ lack of data journalism courses and expressed a desire to learn more. Interviews reveal personnel shortages, budgetary limits, and administrative hurdles in teaching data journalism. Additionally, a drop in journalism education is observed at Malaysian institutions due to contextual factors and the changing media environment, which promotes advertising, public relations, and new media marketing.

Keywords: Data journalism, journalism education, Malaysia, journalism faculty, data-driven journalism