Statistics and mass media: "writing with numbers"

Abstract

Istat carries out intense media activity using various channels. The project «Writing with numbers: research, processing and presentation of data» was born from the desire to offer journalists useful training to adequately carry out the delicate role of intermediaries in the dissemination of data. The aim of the project is to help media professionals navigate the "deluge of data" and transform it into clear and accessible news for the public. To ensure a targeted contribution to the needs of the profession, in collaboration with forMedia® - Institute for Training in Journalism and Multimedia Communication - a survey of statistical training needs was conducted, which was the basis for the design of the courses delivered, to date 16, with the involvement of more than 450 journalists. In this paper, after describing the objectives and goals of the project, the feedback provided by the participants at the end of the course will be presented. Thanks to the coding of open-ended responses through a text pre-processing and text-mining techniques, it was possible to conduct a thorough statistical analysis of the responses. This will allow to carry out operations of evolutionary maintenance of the functional contents to increase the already good results achieved and to promote the traditional dialogue between Istat and the world of the information, to ensure the dissemination of more and more complete and accurate statistical information.