#djcamp2011 Data+Journalism+Camp @ Vision+Media, Manchester

Recently Paul Bradshaw asked this question on The Guardian Data Blog:

“Data journalism is huge. I don't mean 'huge' as in fashionable - although it has become that in recent months - but 'huge' as in 'incomprehensibly enormous'. It represents the convergence of a number of fields which are significant in their own right - from investigative research and statisticsto design and programming. The idea of combining those skills to tell important stories is powerful - but also intimidating. Who can do all that?"

One answer: Tom Johnson can. And during this two-day workshop Tom, a former editor of the Scientific American and co-founder of the Institute for Analytic Journalism, will help you get started, too.

Organised by the Digital Editors Network's Data Taskgroup and sponsored by Vision + Media and the Journalism Leaders Programme at UCLAN, this handson workshop is aimed at journalists who are new to or recently responsible for turning data into stories with impact.

Other contributors include Francis Irving, one of the forces behind ScraperWiki , Julian Tait of Open Data City Manchester and François Nel, founding director of the Journalism Leaders Programme and co-convenor of the Digital Editors Network.

What will you learn?

• Collaboration tools for the newsroom team
• Customizing search-and-retrieve data tools
• Extracting data from documents
• Data cleaning and formatting
• An elementary introduction to scraping web sites for data
• Using web “cloud” tools to clean and display data
• Most important, how to tease meaning and STORIES out of data and then tell those stories in multiple ways

When and where? The progamme runs from 9:30am to 7pm on Thursday, 19th May, and 9:30am to 5pm Friday, 20th May 2011, at Vision+Media @ Media City UK , 100 Broadway, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 2UW.

Fees? Fifteen free places are available for freelances and small businesses (less than 250 employees) from the North West of England. An additional 15 spaces are open to journalists from outside the region, or from larger media groups (with more than 250 employees) at £200. All are available on a first-come basis.

How to enrol? Download the flyer here and enrol here.

Transport? Getting to and around Manchester is easy and Vision+Media at Media City is a short tram ride from the city centre and Piccadilly station (nearest tram stop: Broadway). Also see the Google map .

What to bring? Besides curiousity and creativity, you'll need to bring your own laptop. Wireless broadband and power outlets will be available.

Every participant will also be expected to share in the 1X1X1 session (one slide X one tip/ inspirational example X one minute) on the Thursday evening.

Questions about #djcamp2011? Contact François Nel at FPNel@uclan.ac.uk or @francoisnel to discuss this workshop further.

Also: If you're charged with managing projects - or would like to move your career in that direction - then check out the flyer of the Journalism Leaders Programme's Spring Seminar, Managing Multimedia Projects: delivering innovation in the Digital Age. The seminar runs from 24-27 May in Preston and can help you earn academic credit towards a postgraduate certificate, diploma or Master's degree.

#DEN10 iPads, PCC & ScraperWiki on the agenda for October meeting

Should newspapers be held accountable for tweets by journalists or their blogs? Where should corrections appear online and should there be some kind of standard mark for professionally produced content?

These are some of the questions about online standards that digital editors will be discussing next month when they meet in Manchester.

Will Gore of the Press Complaints Commission will tell the Digital Editors' Network why the PCC has launched a consultation to consider how its remit should extend into the online world.

Also speaking at the October 14th meeting which is being held at MADLab in Manchester is Ben Edwards of PageSuite, creators of perhaps the first regional newspaper iPad app.

He will talk about how integrating new platforms can deliver new revenues. And what publishers need to do make that happen.

And Francis Irving, one of the key forces behind MySociety and now ScraperWiki, will tell the Digital Editors' Network why he's working to build the world's biggest data repository and what opportunities that offers for news organisations.
The programme starts with registration and lunch at 1pm and concludes 5pm with a networking reception that wraps up at 6pm.

Digital Editors' Network organiser Nick Turner said: "We're pleased that we've been able to put together a programme for DEN which touches on three of the biggest issues faced by online publishers.

"The Government is promising to unleash a tsunami of data and how publishers respond to the opportunity will be crucial to the development of online journalism.

"Rumours of a new iPad subscription plan for publishers being prepard by Apple should focus minds on how we make the most of new platforms.

"Finally, we aim to consider how far the self-regulatory framework that upholds newspapers standards should extend in the online world."

There is no charge for the event, but spaces are limited so book your place at http://den10.eventbrite.com

For addtional programme details and updates, contact or follow Nick Turner at @nickincumbria / Nick.Turner@Cumbrian-Newspapers.co.uk , or François Nel @francoisnel / FPNel@uclan.ac.uk .