Data journalism meets community radio in Tanzania

Mbeya Highlands FM, a local radio station near Tanzania’s southwest border with Malawi, is in the early stages of embracing data-driven storytelling.

The Data Zetu team with Mbeya Highlands FM at their first data journalism training in February 2018 in Mbeya District.

It’s important to recognize the value of open data in fostering fact-based reporting in Tanzania. That’s exactly what Data Zetu is doing together with a community radio station in the southern areas of the country.

In early February, a team from Data Zetu partner Code for Tanzania — including Media Fellows Nuzulack Dausen and Natalie Mgonja and country lead Omar Mohammed — visited Mbeya where they gathered together with twelve local journalists at Mbeya Highlands FM (92.7), a local radio station, and talked data journalism.

“What I’ve learned is that using data alone, I can initiate change and positively impact the region of Mbeya.”

— Lameck Charles, radio journalist and reporter

The training was slightly different to what conventional data journalism initiatives tend to focus on. The newsroom in question was not a print or online platform (which are usually the types of newsrooms that engage with data journalism). This was radio — and local radio at that — which introduces different dynamics when incorporating data-driven news in their journalism. For instance, web or print data journalism often involves data visualisation, but that isn’t as applicable in radio format.

Working with radio stations like Mbeya Highlands FM offers a unique opportunity to help the spread of data journalism in a part of the country where the use of data is often not the primary approach to news reporting.

64% of Mbeya Highlands FM journalists reported an increased ability to clean data after the training.

Radio presenter, Clemence, during Mbeya Highlands FM’s Zilipendwa morning program.

Highlighting data sources and tools

Dausen led a six-hour training that began by defining data journalism as reporting done through “discovering hidden stories from data, finding insights that cannot easily been seen by the naked eye without critical analysis, analyzing those trends/patterns, then explaining what that information means to your audience”.

He pointed the participants to some open data sources that they could use in their daily reporting. He showcased data published on the National Bureau of Statistics, the government’s open data platform, and other local and international NGOs publishing data relevant to their journalism. These data sources were complemented by demonstrations and practical examples of how data can be extracted and then used for stories.

For example, he showed the journalists how to use Hurumap — a tool developed by Code for Tanzania that compiles data from various sources including PEPFAR and NBS data — to generate story ideas. These highlighted issues such as gender based violence, where according to data, 59% of crimes reported in Mbeya are rape-related.

Using Hurumap, a tool that helps storytellers and campaigners use data to add context and depth to stories, trainers showed how reporters can find data to support their radio programming.

He also demonstrated ilovepdf, a tool that helps the scraping of data by uploading a document that can then be converted to an Excel sheet, allowing for the use of data in stories. Also, the reporters were shown how to use Atlas, a free visualization tool that can be used to tell stories on the station’s popular Instagram platform, which boasts over 40,000 followers.

Early evidence of impact

82% of the participants reported an increase in the perceived importance of data to their day-to-day work.

Shifting towards a data culture in newsrooms is not achieved overnight. The Data Zetu Media Fellows will continue to support Mbeya Highlands FM to further refine their data storytelling.

Mbeya Highlands FM radio journalist and reporter, Lameck Charles, participates in the data journalism training in February 2018.

Still, data suggests early progress. As a result of the workshop, 82% of the participants reported an increase in the perceived importance of data to their day-to-day work. And 64% of trainees reported an increase in their ability to clean data and prepare it for use in their radio scripts.

Anecdotal evidence is also promising. One reporter pointed out that the potential for data journalism at Mbeya Highlands FM is strong. Lameck Charles, a radio journalist and reporter, said:

What I’ve learned is that using data alone, I can initiate change and positively impact the region of Mbeya.

This is just the beginning of our collaboration with Mbeya Highlands FM. Code for Tanzania will continue to support Mbeya Highlands FM going forward with monthly trainings and mentorship, preparing this community radio station to be a leader in hyperlocal data journalism.