The thing about numbers is that they don’t lie. This feature alone should make numbers the truest friend of any journalist. Relying just on words to express complex ideas, thoughts and opinions can not only be cumbersome, but also get trapped in the folly of disinformation, misinformation and even fake news. The widespread extent of COVID-19 has exacerbated the known discomfort of journalists with large amount of data for making opinions and analysis.
More often than not, journalists seem to be picking on the concept of dismissing any prevalent theory in an effort to combat any narrative. The idea of generating new theories and narratives requires a deeper look at available data in scientific research, census of various kinds and other public and private sources of data. Majority of the media organisations across the globe are focussing more and more on gathering different facets of data and humanising them to suit the burgeoning needs of the people with varied interests from all walks of life. Nevertheless, data driven journalism needs different data tools and techniques to stand tall, it does alleviate the pain of being judged, addressing the issues to the core and bringing out the most relevant facts and figures which leave no room for any confusion. Marketeers are familiar with the concept of primary and secondary data of market research. The basic tools deployed for crunching data in market research should also be made available to journalists in Journalism courses.
COVID-19 experience has shown journalists that the ability to understand the reports from the scientific community and decoding them, simplifying them, needed to be done in a masterful way at quick speed, to fulfil the duties of a thorough journalist. Data reported by politicians and executives as the basis of quickly planned policies needed to be examined with a comb to ensure transparency and equitable distribution of scarce, and life saving, resources. This learning also highlights the urgent need to understand data by journalists as one looks towards a future which is green and sustainable.
One of the three key goals identified by the government during the budget 2022 is promoting digital economy & fintech, technology enabled development, energy transition, and climate action. To protect the interests of future generations and prepare them for upcoming global challenges, achieving these tech and sustainability goals is vital. Data being generated around tech developments, and even the basic climate change related facts need to be understood in a better manner, as every conceivable aspect of the future of human civilisation is going to be affected by the debate and discussion around sustainability and tech development. Data is already ruling the roost for all three pillars of – information, education and entertainment – hence, journalism needs to get a better hang of looking at the couple together – numbers & words.
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