Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will hold an open symposium on November 19, to advance the understanding of how large, complex data can be used by media organisations.
The symposium, titled “Big Data, Smart Media? Connecting Content, Audience and Information”, will apply the booming phenomenon of “Big Data” to the understanding of media management, as well as to content production and consumption. The Economist’s data editor and former Wall Street Journal technology editor, Kenneth Cukier, will open the session with insights from his recent book ‘Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think.’
According to Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q, the outcomes of the conference will result in a report that will provide a conceptual roadmap to Big Data issues, trends and implications for those pursuing careers in media as well as for the broader industry.
The day’s panels feature a range of leading scholars, professionals and other global experts in Big Data from renowned institutions, including University of Oxford Reuters Institute, Columbia University and Al Jazeera Media Network.
Dean Dennis said: “Big Data is the next frontier in analysing the ways in which society shapes and consumes media. The exceptional technologies and manpower required to process such large quantities of data have created a need within the media industry to further our understanding of Big Data, in terms of what content we produce, how we produce it, and how we can best deliver it to our audiences.”
Discussion topics will include the social, economic and political consequences of Big Data, as well as a presentation on the use of Big Data in surveillance by Martha Stone, CEO of World Newsmedia Group and University of Oxford Reuters Institute research fellow.
Yaser Bishr, executive director of research and strategy at Al Jazeera Media Networks, will speak about using Big Data in corporate decision-making.
Big Data is the term for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using traditional data processing applications. Accurate analysis of Big Data and its impact on media has come under the spotlight recently, following the series of news reports on the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance programmes.

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