Telling Stories Using Planetary and Sustainable Development Data: A Workshop for Data Creators and Journalists to Streamline the Pipeline from Data Production to Public Awareness

SDGCounting UN World Data Forum Session Notes

This post is part of a series highlighting sessions from the 2020 UN Data Forum. Watch every session or read our summary.

Summary: In this session, panelists from World Resources Institute and AidData discuss how journalists can improve their skills with data literacy and presentation with practical examples, approaches, and tools.

Speakers

• Amelia Snyder, World Resources Institute
• Anders Pedersen, World Resources Institute
• Liz Saccoccia, World Resources Institute
• Samantha Custer, AidData
• Sara Schonhardt, Earth Journalism Network

Key Takeaways

Sara Schonhardt, Earth Journalism Network

Discusses how journalists can have better data-literacy and figure out how to share that information with infographics and interactive tools. It is noteworthy how difficult the interface between visual experts, data experts and journalists can be. We like great data representation, but it requires a very diverse set of skills.

Resource:
http://datajournalism.com

Samantha Custer, AidData

Who is funding what, where and to what effect?

1. Your target audiences seldom begin with the data… its about choosing the right question
2. In a crowded marketplace, you need to bring something novel to the table
3. Produce data with end users in mind — if you wait till dissemination you’ve missed the boat
4. It’s not dog bites man, but man bites dog that makes for a good story
5. Be transparent to increase credibility with end users
6. Be willing to engage beyond the boundaries of your data and be responsive to inbound requests

Anders Pedersen, World Resources Institute

Users don’t only need data. They need data curation, transparency about data and a high degree of vetting and review to ensure data are credible.

Monitoring the Planet's Pulse - Resource Watch

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