So Olga Khazan had a bad experience with learning how to code (more on that later) and Steve Buttry can think of 6 reasons why journalists should learn how to do just that. The zombie debate ‘Should journalists learn to code?’ stiffens and groans once more, so I thought I’d prod it a little.

Journalists already learn to code. In the UK they learn shorthand – possibly the most esoteric code there ever was. We also learn a particular coding language: English. This language is taught in schools and involves using a series of 26 characters to encode objects, actions, and descriptions. You may have a similar language you have to learn in your own country. What a drag.

Why do we learn these languages? To save time, and to improve accuracy – two things that should be important to every journalist. Continue reading →