The 2nd edition of the Master's Degree in Investigative Journalism, New Narratives, Data, Fact-Checking and Transparency of 'Maldita.es' gets under way

Joining the team of elDiario.es, Servimedia, Prodigioso Volcán, Podimo, The Facto, the University of Bordeaux, the newspaper Sud Ouest, and the Press and Society Institute of Venezuela (IPYS), who were the first media outlets and entities to join and support the Master’s in its first year, the team now grows larger for this II edition with the participation of the European Commission, Canarias Ahora, Confilegal, the production company Capa España, the technology company Esri Spain, the state agency Red.es and ONTSI (National Observatory of Technology and Society).

Additionally, we will have financial aid for enrollment sponsored by Canarias Ahora, Prodigioso Volcán, Podimo and Capa España. Once more, Red.es and ONTSI support the Master’s financially and award a prize of 1,000 euros for the best Final Master’s Project (TFM). All this to make journalistic knowledge and specialization accessible to more students.

The goal of Maldita/URJC Master’s is to train professionals from the world of journalism, communication, law, economics, or history, among others, to be able to investigate, verify, and visualize great journalistic stories with new tools and narratives. It is the union of the best investigative and data journalism in the country with the latest innovation and technology to tell and narrate our reality.

Furthermore, students will develop their period of paid internships in the various media and entities supporting the Master’s, with a duration of three months, extendable to six. The places in this postgraduate course are limited because we are committed to direct and personal communication between students and teachers; the classes are active and in-person and take place at the URJC’s headquarters in Plaza Manuel Becerra in Madrid.

A bridge between the academic and professional world that has won the Ondas Award in its first edition

In its first edition, the Master’s has won the Ondas Award for Non-Fiction Podcast for the work carried out by its director, Antonio Rubio, and the professor and director of The Facto (now Capa España) Tomás Ocaña, and the platform Podimo, a collaborator of the first edition and with a contribution of training scholarships in the second. Teamwork is one of the main characteristics of the Master’s, and the award is an example: The Facto, Podimo, and the teaching staff. Among the new narratives is the podcast module.

The Master’s, which is a proprietary title, aims to be the bridge between the academic and professional worlds, and for this reason, its program involves doctors and specialists, both national and international, in all the most cutting-edge subjects: research, new narratives (including podcasts and documentary series), data, fact-checking («journalism so you don’t get fooled,» as defended by Maldita.es) and transparency.

Among the faculty teaching in the Master’s are: Clara Jiménez, CEO of Maldita.es; Julio Montes, director of Maldita.es; Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and writer; Laura Zommer, director of Chequeado; Raúl Sánchez, head of the Data Unit at elDiario.es; Ramón Salaverría, professor at the University of Navarra; Mercedes del Hoyo, vice-chancellor of URJC; Tomás Ocaña, director of Capa España; María Santos, professor at the University of Bordeaux; Belén Carreño, correspondent for Reuters; Jacopo Ottaviani, director of Chief Data Office; Daniel Lizarraga, Mexican investigative journalist; Gerardo Reyes, with two Pulitzer prizes, director of Investigation at Univisión; Marianela Balbi, president of IPYS Venezuela… and many more that you can consult here.

The Master’s executive team is composed of Dr. Antonio Rubio, as director, the academic direction is by Dr. Manuel Gertrudix, and leading the coordination are Agustina Pozzi and assistant Stephane Gruesso, from Maldita.es Foundation.

And to continue researching and innovating in the world of journalism and communication, the Master’s will launch in this second edition the Laboratory of Research, Verification, and Journalistic Innovation (LIVIP). Renowned foundations at a national and international level will join this initiative in the coming dates