As part of the course “Data Journalism,” students in the Journalism & Media Management study programs at FHWien der WKW have published compelling journalistic stories on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The stories are available at datengeschichten.jour.at.
The course was offered in the Bachelor’s program Content Production & Digital Media Management during the summer semester of 2025 and in the Master’s program Journalism & New Media in the winter semester of 2024/25. Under the guidance of Regula Blocher, Academic Expert & Lecturer in New Media & Online Journalism, students acquired key skills in the craft of data journalism. These included researching publicly available data, analyzing it with spreadsheet software, visualizing it using the “Datawrapper” tool, and transforming complex contexts into journalistic stories that are both relevant and easy to understand.
A Wide Range of Topics Based on the SDGs
To identify their topics, students used the SDG Tracker from “Our World in Data” as a starting point. This platform, developed by the University of Oxford, compiles global statistics on the achievement of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and makes them freely available for reuse. Based on this, the students independently developed timely and socially relevant questions, which they then further researched and presented in journalistic form. The resulting stories span a wide range—from climate and energy issues to education, gender equality, poverty, and health.
The stories were published using the multimedia tool “Pageflow” on dedicated websites and the best contributions are accessible at datengeschichten.jour.at and were showcased during the SDG Day 2025. Visitors were able to immerse themselves in the multimedia projects interactively in the foyer of the wko campus and engage in discussions with the authors.
Data Journalism as a Contribution to Democracy
The course impressively demonstrates how data journalism helps make complex issues easier to understand. At the same time, it serves as a tool for democratic accountability—especially when political, economic, and social decision-makers are required to make the use of public funds transparent and accessible. Students also learn how to go beyond informing the public by practicing solution-oriented reporting that encourages active participation in shaping a sustainable society. In doing so, quality journalism makes a vital contribution to achieving SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.