In the big data era, people's approach to learning about the world and receiving information is changing quietly. Instead of lengthy texts, the visual expression of graphs and videos has become a popular trend for transmitting the information.

The Data Journalism Competition, co-organized by the School of Culture & Media and the School of Finance of Xi’an Eurasia University, provides a platform for students to show their capabilities of data mining and analysis, new media technologies, and content creation & innovation. In July 2020, the Second Data Journalism Competition was held.

This year participants of the Competition included those majoring in Network and New Media of the School of Culture & Media and those majoring in Data Science and Big Data Technology of the School of Finance, realizing the interdisciplinary integration of two majors and two schools.

They have provided different data visualization journalism entries with profound and inclusive meaning as well as humanistic care. Today let's take a look at their entries.

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Final of the Second Data Journalism Competition｜Data is not an end but a beginning

The Creation of Hit Show Fans

Nowadays, most of the Post-90s generation are fans of hit shows. As emerging models like video-on-demand in advance and paid hit shows are provided on the online video platform, how will the huge number of fans influence the future film & TV market in China?

Cai Yuchun entered Xi’an Eurasia University in 2017 and majors in Network and New Media. As a fan of hit shows, she is interested in the "unknown part" of hit shows, so her team has determined "hit shows" as the subject of their entry.

First Prize entry: The Temptation of Video-on-demand in Advance: Opinions on New Model of Watching Hit Shows in May

After Yan Jiawen, a student entering Xi’an Eurasia University in 2018 and majoring in Data Science and Big Data Technology, joined the team which mainly consisted of students of the School of Culture & Media, the team studied the subject from a brand-new perspective.

By virtue of the expertise in data, Yan Jiawen could skillfully collect data of hit shows from popular video websites through a web crawler. These data including view counts, collection, and membership fee input was integrated into materials for visual data news for the team.

Searching the data sample of video websites, systematically supplementing data at www.iresearch.cn, and integrating and calculating data materials ... These were the daily tasks of the team. Although the team gathered two kinds of disciplinary thinking, it was a difficult process for the team to make data news.

"Sometimes we miscalculated, and it made our previous efforts in vain," said Cai Yuchun. This problem troubled the team several times. Luckily, members of the team got along well gradually. "There were fewer mistakes. Even if we made mistakes, we could cheer up quickly to restart."

Winners of the First Prize accept the award

When Cai Yuchun saw their entry attracted the audience's attention and won the First Prize, she was full of pride and joy despite her thinning hair.

"Winning this award encourages me to further study the data news," said Cai Yuchun.

Integration of Disciplines to Complement Each Other

Considering participants of the Competition were from two schools, the dual-advisor responsibility system was adopted with Zhai Feng from the School of Culture & Media and Cheng Qian from the School of Finance as leaders to promote the in-depth integration of two majors.

With rich experience in the professional knowledge and style of students from two schools, Zhai Feng spoke highly of the media accomplishment and literacy of students from the School of Culture & Media, while Cheng Qian believed students from the School of Finance can lay a solid technological foundation for big data news with rigorous logic and calm analytical thinking.

However, advisors agreed that rigorous students from the School of Finance should observe and understand their life with emotion and poetic students from the School of Culture & Media should find the rational law of the times through logical thinking.

The Competition integrated the advantages and specialties of two disciplines to display data-based news. According to Zhai Feng, it is a process of complementation for information production.

"To apply discipline integration to practical applications, we have made sure that each team was composed of members from two schools. These students have established profound friendship in the process of completing entries," said Cheng Qian.

In June 2019, winners of the First Data Journalism Competition competed in the Fourth China Data Journalism Competition at Hubei University and won the awards. Zhai Feng and Du Lijie, advisors from the School of Culture & Media, won the Excellent Advisor Award. The entries guided by them — Care for Autistic Children and Expense of Raising a Child in China's Second-tier City were granted the Third Prize.

According to Zhai Feng and Cheng Qian, the Data Journalism Competition will be further explored as a mechanism for discipline integration to encourage more students to compete on higher-level practical stages. Zhai Feng has guided students to compete in the Third and Fourth China Data Journalism Competitions, winning the Excellence Award and two third prizes respectively。

Diversified Entries: Funny but Significant Subjects

      It can be learned a lot from award-winning entries of the Competition. Instead of showing parents' love through lengthy texts, a diagram was used to show how much time was left for us to accompany parents. Instead of explaining why Kobe Bryant became a superstar with Kobe's words "Have you seen Los Angeles at 4:00 am", visual data were displayed to show every injury on Kobe's body. As for online hit shows, the trend of video-on-demand in advance and watching the whole hit show via paid episodes were interpreted from a more professional perspective.

      Zhai Feng indicated that there is full of entertainment and flooding information online, but students still pay close attention to critical and significant subjects such as family ethic and social crisis. Although these subjects are related to games, stars, and sports favored by the Post-95s generation, advisors have found that students' thinking about society is moving towards rationality and pluralism.

Click to watch the Second Prize entry: Stay Calm to Find Truth Amid the Hubbub

      These young information producers are growing with the change of times. They gradually prefer "essence" to "phenomena", and transform from those with primary media awareness (post selfies and food pictures on WeChat's Moments) to those with critical thinking about issues.

     More and more young people are rationally describing the actual situation of the times while keeping their passion. They will definitely embrace a bright future!