What (data)journalists want
We asked Belgian data journalist Maarten Lambrechts, who is responsible for awesome stuff like Rock ’n Poll, a couple of urgent questions on data. Being a data journalist himself Lambrechts is the expert when it comes down to answering that single question that keeps us awake at night. Journalists and data: why is their relationship so complicated? And how does he feel about SnapStat? Our brand new concept to help journalists tell data stories and get them right.
Why is it so important to make journalists (more) data literate?
“If journalists would be more familiar with data:
- News articles would contain less mistakes.
- The media would cover the news much more profoundly.
- Stories would be made and published that we now have to do without…”
How can journalists buckle up and make data and statistics accessible and comprehensible for audiences worldwide?
“If journalists would be more familiar with figures and statistics they would be able to explain certain ideas and concepts while illustrating those ideas with actual data and stories. In my opinion visual journalists should take the lead: concepts are best explained visually, and not by using formulas.”
What is the effect of the current way a lot of journalists deal with data on for example the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations?
“Mistakes in reports are copied literally; surveys with dubious scientific methods get a lot of media attention, data-heavy topics get little or no attention at all.”
What do you think of our soon-to-be-released data tool SnapStat? Will it appeal to journalists?
“Empowering journalists with data skills and thus enhancing thorough and solid reporting on figures and data is of the utmost importance. The visual and interactive method that I Hate Statistics already employs makes SnapStat stand out among other initiatives that share a similar goal. If SnapStat manages to provide journalists with information that is concise and applicable (e.g. ‘What can be or can not be concluded from these figures?’) I certainly think journalists will be interested in applying it to their day-to-day work.”
Want to know more about SnapStat and why I Hate Statistics was invited to the UN World Data Forum?
https://www.ihatestatistics.com/index.php
More Maarten and his skillful data visualisations?
