The University of Philippines, through the university’s Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and the Department of Journalism, will conduct the Philippines Elections Workshop Series for newsroom editors and journalists to ramp up knowledge on effective election coverage. This is supported by Google News Initiative.
The UP elections workshop series will offer a breadth of skills for election coverage — from finding ideas on Google Trends, producing data-driven stories, conducting investigations on political ads, to producing your newsroom’s best election coverage on YouTube.
Interested media from print, broadcast, and online news organizations must sign up via bit.ly/UPElectionWorkshop for the workshops scheduled on February 21–23, 2022, and February 28–March 2, 2022, for the first cohort, and March 4 and 5, 2022, for the second cohort.
The elections workshop trainers are award-winning journalists Craig Silverman of ProPublica and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng of Rainforest Investigations Network established by the Pulitzer Center, Trinna Leong as Google News Lab’s first Southeast Asia teaching fellow, and YouTube’s News and Civics head Joyce Hau.
“Due to the pandemic, covering this year’s elections will be heavily online. Journalists, especially those who are accustomed to face-to-face coverage, have to upgrade their skills to meet this new challenge,” said Dr. Rachel Khan, acting dean of the UP College of Mass Communication.
“Empowering journalists with the knowledge and tools they need regarding fact-checking and effective election coverage is important. It’s an honor to partner with the University of the Philippines and support their Philippines Elections Workshop Series for the upcoming 2022 national elections,” said Irene Jay Liu, APAC Lead, Google News Lab.
| Google Trends for Elections |
| Pick up ways to monitor web searches by the public and to identify potential story ideas based on Google search terms. Discover what Filipinos are most curious about in the run-up to elections. Speaker: Trinna Leong (Southeast Asia Teaching Fellow, Google News Lab) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Mon, Feb 21 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Fri, Mar 4 (2.00pm – 3.30pm) |
| Data Analysis for Elections |
| Learn how to analyze electoral data in a systematic manner and to collate it efficiently for publishing stories, turning these data into visualizations. Speaker: Kuek Ser Kuang Keng (Data Journalist, DataN) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Mon, Feb 28 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Fri, Mar 4 (9.00am – 10.30am) |
| Data Visualization for Elections |
| You’ve got a dataset but don’t want to make a conventional static chart. Learn how to make interactive visualizations that drive your message across in an eye-catching way. No graphic design skill is required. Speaker: Kuek Ser Kuang Keng (Data Journalist, DataN) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Mon, Mar 1 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Fri, Mar 4 (10.45am – 12.15pm) |
| Investigating Websites |
| Websites are used by those engaged in media manipulation to earn revenue, collect emails and other personal information, or otherwise establish an online beachhead. Journalists must understand how to investigate a web presence, and, when possible, connect it to a larger operation that may involve social media accounts, apps, companies, or other entities. Speaker: Craig Silverman (Investigative Journalist, ProPublica) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Tues, Feb 22 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Sat, Mar 5 (9.00am – 10.30am) |
| Investigating Digital Ads |
| Election season is usually filled with political ads targeting specific voter groups. Pick up ways to identify who sponsors ads you see and discover the network of ads during an electoral campaign. Speaker: Craig Silverman (Investigative Journalist, ProPublica) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Wed, Feb 23 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Sat, Mar 5 (10.45am – 12.15pm) |
| YouTube for Election Coverage |
| Learn best practices on how to cover and program around elections. Understand impact products and formats for the audience. Speaker: Joyce Hau (Head of News and Civics, YouTube Asia Pacific) Date & Time: Cohort 1 – Wed, Mar 2 (9.00am – 10.30am) Cohort 2 – Sat, Mar 5 (2.00pm – 3.30pm) |