Following on from the recent ‘do journalists need to code’ debate on this blog and elsewhere, Martin Belam argues the answer is both yes and no.
[J]ournalists don’t all need to be able to write program, but the ability to think like a programmer is an invaluable skill.
For example, being able to spot the difference between a small technical change that has a big impact on story-telling, and what appears to be a small change but which has a hugely expensive technical impact, is an essential skill for someone setting the requirements for changes to a website or a CMS.