The Code for Ghana team has selected Citi FM and two other media houses to work together to bring innovation into their respective organisations.
The other media houses are Graphic Communications Group Limited and Citi FM.
[contextly_sidebar id=”llApOq5JI83YVG33mj1asdodEntkJRyd”]A press statement issued by the group indicated that the “teams of Data Experts will serve as catalysts and enablers to help create the internal systems and resources necessary to entrench data as a critical component of the Ghanaian newsroom culture.”
They will also be responsible for the creation of Open Data platforms: avenues that afford citizens the privilege of direct access to useful and accurate data.
The collaboration between the software developers and the media houses is expected to produce a sustained interest in data-driven journalism. This is what we yearn to achieve.
According to Florence Toffa, the Project Manager “this project is intended to deepen the democratic atmosphere we are already enjoying as a people.We intend to place the otherwise highly classified information – which need not be so – in the hands of the general public. To ensure that they gain adequate understanding of the activities of the government; hence they can make constructive criticism where necessary. Simply put, our aim is to encourage citizen engagement and collective-action which will in turn keep the government on its toes. In the end we will all benefit tremendously.”
These data analysts will help simplify and represent the data in more understandable forms such as: graphs, pie charts, maps etc. In so doing, even a cursory glance at the infographics will give the reader a certain level of understanding of what it is all about – as opposed to long tables of figures.
Mobile phone applications or online portals could be developed solely to make the information accessible to the general public.
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Source: Code for Ghana