Medill School of Journalism & Dance Data Project® to co-sponsor free, one day interactive workshop on use of data in arts journalism
EVANSTON, ILL. -- Medill and the Dance Data Project® will offer “Arts & Entertainment by the Numbers: A One-Day Data Journalism Workshop,” a one-day virtual workshop for journalists reporting on the arts.
Taking place on Zoom from 8 am -4 pm Central on Feb. 18, the virtual workshop will cover:
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What “data journalism” means for arts and entertainment
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Spreadsheets 101: Sorting, filtering, and summarizing basic data in Google Sheets — no math required.
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Cleaning Practice: How to fix messy artist names, genres, and labels — and why consistency matters.
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Quick Analysis: How to find simple story patterns (Patterns, Trends, Outliers).
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Visualization Basics: Building a visualization in Flourish, focused on storytelling.
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Finding Credible Data: Where to get trustworthy arts and culture data
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Writing with Data: Turning your finding into a “nut graf” that connects the number to people and context.
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Using AI Responsibly: How to use tools like ChatGPT to speed up cleaning, analysis, and writing while staying accurate.
The workshop will be led by Jill Blackman, Medill lecturer and director of data journalism.
“The goal is for arts and entertainment for journalists to walk away not as data experts, but as data-curious storytellers — ready to use simple tools and clear thinking to make culture reporting deeper, sharper, and more original,” said Blackman.
“As DDP Advisory Council Member, Medill Dean Charles Whitaker has always said ‘the performing arts should be covered like any other beat’ – this workshop represents a long overdue opportunity for arts journalists to go beyond performance reviews to uncover the critical issues surrounding the arts as an economic and cultural sector.” added DDP Founder Elizabeth “Liza” Yntema.
Registration is now open for the free workshop.
