Capacity building in Latin America: journalism and technology beyond the screen

This course, led by Natalia Zuazo, an Argentinian journalist and political scientist, is aimed at journalists across Latin America and the Caribbean and it is designed to go beyond the trivial news and press releases about the latest technologies. It will explore innovative ways to report on technology-related issues taking into account the historical moment, diversity of sources, human stories, legal framework and social, economic, cultural and psychological effects.

“In recent years technology journalism has been reduced to reviewing gadgets and blithely reporting on the newest releases,” Zuazo pointed out. She is the author of the books “Guerras de internet” (Internet wars) and “Los dueños de internet” (The owners of the Internet) and the director of Agencia Salto. “Along the way we’ve lost one of the essential purposes of journalism: providing relevant, groundbreaking information or helping us gain a better understanding of the world to make more informed decisions as citizens.”

The course consists of two three-hour workshops where participants will acquire new tools to write about and tell more thorough technology-related stories (and how to find stories that go beyond the usual by inquiring on untapped issues, and their political, legal and cultural impacts). They will also learn about the technical aspects of the internet and the impact it has on policy and power struggles, and how personal data concentration and algorithms affect our societies and the choices we make. Participants will also have the chance to work on their own tech stories based on the methodology of the course, to then continue working on their copy with the course professors until it is published.

This course builds on the initiatives of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in Latin America and the Caribbean such as the publication of the journalism: Research (2019) and the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Internet and technology journalism: how to report on its impacts beyond gadgets, organized with the Knight Center for Journalism for The Americas at the University of Texas in 2020.

Scientific journalist Federico Kukso will also take part in the seminar. He is a member of the board of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and The Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC) are our strategic partners.