The IQMedia Academy launched with exciting workshops in Athens

IQ Media Academy was honored to kick off its series of workshops with Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, an investigative journalist, professor at Grand Valley State University and founder of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ). Jeff Kelly Lowenstein conducted two workshops at the headquarters of media organizations Liquid Media and Kathimerini, focusing on the critical aspects of investigative journalism and cross-border investigations using big data. He began by introducing the CCIJ team and explaining the organization’s mission to combine data, visuals, and investigative journalism on a global scale. Emphasizing the importance of expertise in investigative journalism, he explained how journalists can stimulate interest and enhance engagement. Jeff Kelly Lowenstein also presented successful examples of investigative journalistic pieces, highlighting the significant impact of well-executed stories.

A series of workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Communication and Media Studies (University of Athens)

The IQ Media Academy’s series of workshops continued for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Athens. Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, one of the instructors, introduced the students to the mission and initiatives of the CCIJ, as well as provided information about the Fulbright program. He also clarified the complexities of investigative journalism by presenting several transnational investigations.

Katerina Bakogianni and her team from Melon Media and Nikos Pitsiladis, Digital Director at Alter Ego, talked about the “Podcast for investigative journalism and business”. In their workshop they explained the specifics of podcast production, especially in investigative journalism. They discussed the structure of the podcast and leveraging audio editing tools. Successful case studies of investigative podcasts both in Greece and abroad were also highlighted. Katerina Bakogianni stressed the need for a stable release schedule to create listener anticipation and presented effective marketing techniques for podcast dissemination, including the use of sound bites.

Dorota Marquardt, assistant professor at the University of Economics in Katowice delivered a workshop entitled “Large Language Models in the Newsrooms”. She explained the challenges and costs associated with effective training of large language models (LLMs) and discussed the potential possibilities of the next version of the OpenAI model. The professor also presented examples of deep fakes, highlighting the associated risks and what to watch out for in this context.