Navigating undesired biases through the effective use of data storytelling was a key lesson for the 40 media professionals and journalism students at the training programme by The National Press Club of Malaysia (NPC).
Head of insights at Dataxet Nama, Melanie Nambiar, said, “When facing the overwhelming amount of data being generated daily, journalists’ ability to determine whether information is meaningful or has been manipulated, matters.”
“We hope that by participating in NPC’s Professional Development Series, Dataxet Nama can play an integral role in the upskilling of journalists, ensuring they can see beyond undesired biases to produce articles containing meaningful data relevant to the issues Malaysia is facing today. By doing so, this can bolster the integrity of the Malaysian media on both a national and global scale,” continued Melanie after her presentation in Negeri Sembilan, which was the fourth edition of the nationwide training programme.
Melanie utilised data extracted from various publishing and social media platforms from 1 to 14 January 2024 to present attendees with a diverse and in-depth view reflective of the public’s current sentiment surrounding PADU (Central Database Hub) which was launched by the Malaysian government early last month.
NPC president Datuk Ahirudin Attan said journalists’ ability to derive meaningful stories that reflect the people’s true opinions is critical to driving Malaysia’s future development in the right direction.
“The training sessions held by Melanie Nambiar at NPC’s Professional Development Series offer a practical and detailed examination of data related to PADU and how to analyse figures effectively, equipping professionals and journalism students with the expertise required to navigate data storytelling in the face of misinformation.”
“The National Press Club recognises the importance data will play in the future of Malaysian media; we hope by facilitating events such as the PDS we can play an integral role in preventing the spread of misinformation,” continued Ahirudin.
The trainers involved in the NPC PDS programme include a representative from the MCMC investigation department; Mediha Mahmood and Mawar Abdul Latiff, chief executive officer and senior manager of policy and advocacy, respectively, from the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia; Nordin Abdullah, Crisis Management Centre founder; Bernama TV producer Gerard Ratnam; and Melanie Nambiar, head of insights at Dataxet Nama.
The partners for the NPC PDS include the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Content Forum, Institut Penyiaran dan Penerangan Tun Abdul Razak (IPPTAR), Crisis Management Centre, Dataxet Nama and Telum Media.
The corporate sponsors for the programme are Maxis Berhad, Huawei Malaysia, Cheffaro by Eng Sheng Sdn Bhd, Blackmores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, The Gilded Lion Antiques & Art Gallery, West Coast Expressway, and Telekom Malaysia Berhad.
The eighth NPC PDS will be held on 21 February 2024 (welcome dinner) followed by the full-day training on 22 February 2024 (Thursday) at Swiss-Belhotel Kuantan in Pahang, Malaysia.
Open to the nation’s journalists, media practitioners and journalism students, the remaining two editions of this programme will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (26 and 27 February) and Kuching, Sarawak (29 February). 
