7.10 Needs of the media#
An NSO should pay special attention to the needs of the media given the importance of their role in transmitting statistics to a mass audience and the important roles they can play in image-building activities of an NSO.
It is important that the media are informed of all statistical releases in advance, and that they receive or can get access to the relevant data in a format that they can easily use. The data should be clearly described to prevent any misinterpretation so that any report based on it will be as balanced and accurate as possible. By using official statistics in a news story, the media can help build public confidence and trust in the NSO and increase awareness of its statistics and methods.
An NSO needs to be particularly responsive to questions from journalists and to provide any explanations, given the global aspect of modern news media. To achieve this, most NSOs have a communication or press office dedicated to the needs of the media with trained staff who are able to handle media queries and to manage product launches and releases. This office is responsible for sending out the press releases that accompany all major releases and reports to alert the media. Requests for statistical information from journalists and the media are handled by this unit and would normally coordinate any media requests for television or radio interviews with NSO members. It would also support the response to the requests of the media and journalists concerning the comments made or the clarifications requested in relation to results of surveys or figures published in press conferences, including tailoring information to the specific needs of media.
Press conferences can be held when statistical releases contain news, such as a large change in the economy, for the most important releases such as census results or GDP figures. In some NSOs the unit is responsible for promoting official statistics to the media, including suggesting potential stories and facilitating interviews with NSO staff. In an ideal world, everybody should get access to data at the same time as stated in the UNFPOS principle of ‘universality and equal access’. In some cases, this is possible, and a limited early release for certain users under embargo can be considered. This case is an exception and should be strictly regulated and transparent. In these cases, transparency must be ensured with the NSO publishing a list of all entities having access to data before the embargo.
The following activities could form part of the user engagement strategy for the media:
Improve communication of statistical releases in a way that appeals to the media. This often requires training of NSO staff to help the media use statistics for checking facts and for writing interesting articles about their data. This practically may mean multiple publications for each output (e.g., a media release, a main publication etc.).
Organize training seminars covering analytical techniques and how best to interpret data in support of investigative stories and visualisations in order to help journalists better understand and use statistics.
Assess the use of statistics by media in order to identify domains or topics where data are misused and therefore develop capacity building and training programmes for journalists.
Develop online training modules. This can lead to a reduction of the costs linked to training seminars and extensive coverage of journalists.
Develop training courses in data journalism. Data journalism goes hand in hand with Big Data, which aims to exploit data and other information generated by businesses and other sources. Data Journalism has emerged as a new branch of journalism that can show journalists how to use data to elucidate and give deeper insights into the important issues of the day as well as to provide context to a news story. The Data Journalism Handbook shows how data can serve as the tool used to tell a story, the source upon which a story is based, or both.
Development of a virtual press centre/room where journalists can interact with NSO. Such an activity reduces costs for workshops and seminars and covers a wide range of journalist, particularly those who do not reside where the NSO is located.
Establishing an awards system to recognize any significant contributions of media in the statistical community.