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CODE FOR SOUTH AFRICA: DATA JOURNALISM INTERNSHIP

Posted on By Khabza

Industry: Publishing, Printing and Print Media
Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng
Expires: Fri, 25 Jul 2014
Position Type: Internship

Job Description:

Data journalism is a new and exciting branch of journalism that uses data as the primary source for stories. This leads to new insights, new ways of presenting journalism, and a sea-change in terms of what stories are possible. Code for South Africa (Code4SA) is offering an internship to post-graduate students wanting to accelerate their careers in the journalism field.

Data journalism typically suits people who are civically minded, who want to make a real difference in the world, but who are also driven by indisputable facts and hard analysis. Data journalism merges the fields of journalism, investigative journalism, statistics, data analysis, software development and design. Successful data journalists are often generalists with a great willingness and hunger to learn about topics outside of their comfortable fields of study.

The internship is six months long. It includes a month-long training programme in Cape Town with Code for South Africa, followed by five months embedded at top news organisations in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Throughout the process, the intern will be mentored and trained by the Code for SA team as well as top data journalism experts from around the world.

A successful candidate must have the following attributes:

  • Knowledge of HTML and Javascript;
  • The ability to use a spreadsheet;
  • Some programming knowledge;
  • A willingness to learn;
  • A passion for journalism;
  • A desire to improve society;
  • Excellent writing and communications skills;
  • The ability to self-manage and self-motivate;
  • A creative mind.

While not necessary, the following attributes would be advantageous:

  • A statistical or mathematical background;
  • Python, PHP or Node.js experience;
  • DevOps experience, particularly with web hosting on Linux;
  • Database experience (MySql, Postgres, Mongo, Redis);
  • Scraping experience;
  • A good understanding of Git and version control;
  • Journalism experience;
  • Graphic design experience;
  • UX experience.

How To Apply

Apply Online