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166 | Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education
students’ information literacy where they learn about organizing resources
and the criteria for determining whether they are credible. Students can
visualize the information in a library through data-driven stories or organize
it into a transmedia narrative. Archives offer the opportunity for genealogical
research, as private sources can provide excellent material for uncovering a
personal digital history. In an exercise by Leaf and Diaz (2017), students were
asked to trace the history of objects from a medical history museum whose
use is no longer known. In addition, Hecker (2021) presents practices in local
history education that combine virtual library services and archival sessions.
Libraries and archives are not only places for research but are also spaces
for education in a broader sense. Many libraries organize reading meetings
for writers or book clubs. Nagy (2004) believes that the library is an ideal
place for regular bibliotherapy sessions and proposes the integration of
bibliotherapy courses into librarian training in Hungary.
2.3 Journalism Studies
Media theory, political science, anthropology, and sociology focus on mass
media narratives, which are typically published by political actors or media
institutions on various social media platforms. Courses in communication
and media studies may examine the structure of these micro-narratives,
as well as their serial publication patterns and the reactions of the target
audience. As part of a systematic analysis, students can identify the tools
of visual and verbal manipulation and explore the mechanisms of action of
virally circulating political narratives.
However, news narratives can also be approached through sociology,
specifically the study of production, where an important aspect is the
reconstruction of the organizational background behind the production of
news. In the analysis of the Web 2.0 news stream, the role of gatekeepers in
the selection process and the role of news directors, editors, and reporters can
serve as discussion and research topics. It is also worth examining the criteria
used by newsrooms and press agencies to select which events are newsworthy
and whether ideological intentions or the journalist’s value preferences are
factors in the selection process.
In addition to interpretive and reflective practices, students can also create
their own memes, infographics, and videos that comply with the principles
of professional media communication. Publishing data-driven stories is a
natural part of 21*-century mass communication. Journalists aim to present
data in new forms, using dashboards and infographics which allow complex
topics to be presented in a multidimensional, logical, and concise way.
An additional benefit of data-driven stories is that they also provide clear
information to the target audience about hidden contexts or difficult-to¬
understand scientific connections, thus educating and inspiring change in the