TA 4. Understanding the world through data

(TA4.02) Data Journalism: Broadening the reach of official statistics


GCC-Stat Hall October 24, 2018 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

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Risenga Maluleke
Mona Chalabi
Lisa Cornish
Soleil Kelley
Mark Hansen


Our discussion highlights the ways in which official statistics could collaborate with journalists to better inform the public. On the one hand, journalists are consumers of data analysis in the form of reports, white papers, press releases. We would like to illustrate for the statisticians what it 's like to be in a newsroom and to deal with the pressure of a deadline. At the other extreme, we have journalists producing their own analyses, sometimes quite involved, and sometimes generating their own data. From "reporters on" to "creators of" statistical information, the ways to work with journalists are becoming increasingly varied and sophisticated.

The purpose of this session is to illustrate this range, providing official statisticians with a view into how journalists work with data, while also sharing experiences from national statistical offices on their work with data journalists. From producing a report on deadline, to creating engaging "explainers" of an academic or official paper or report, to asking original questions and producing new analyses. We will illustrate newsroom practices along the way, from evidentiary standards to presentation guidelines to idea generation. The process of data analysis has striking differences from data journalism, and we will have journalists explain their process and their interactions with academic and official statisticians.