telling the story

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Telling the story

Training statisticians

at Statistics Canada

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Telling the story UNECE

Three principal courses

Writing for the Web

Encountering the media

Writing for The Daily

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Course objectives:

Intro to the world of journalists: Meeting their needs

‘Effective’ news release: benefits Techniques of writing an effective news

release

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‘Effective release’: benefits Gives journalists a story to write about Explains context, trends and

relationships behind the numbers Unfiltered coverage (direct quotes) Less chance of misinterpretation Analysts spend less time on the phone

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One-day course Two instructors Concentrates on the basics Telling the story Who, what, why, when, where, how Key question: Why should Canadians

want to read this?

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3. Writing for The Daily

What is The Daily?

Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin Published every working day, both official

languages Target audience: General news journalists Written in journalistic style

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Three modules:

1. The basics: Writing for journalists

2. Case studies

3. Hands-on exercise

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What journalists don’t need… Long, complex texts Having to dig for a story Jargon Backing in or “peeling the onion” (get to the

point) Plethora of numbers Complicated charts and tables

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Module 1: Teaching the basics NEWS: A story line, major findings Journalistic style: Inverted pyramid, story

lines, leads, strong subheads The text (clear, concise, simple) Timely data in understandable form Context and analysis – Answer the why

and how, where possible Information on trends, lows, highs Graphics with clear, visual messages


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Module 2: Case studiesWhat works, what doesn’t

Follow a news release from: draft copy to The Daily text to media coverage

A good learning experience!

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Lead para in draft copy:

“An estimated 449,720 pregnancies ended during 2001, almost 15% fewer than the peak in 1990 (526,887) for the 28-year period 1974 to 2001. The corresponding pregnancy rate reached its peak in 1975 when there were 76.1 pregnancies for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 years.”

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Lead para in The Daily:

“Pregnancy rates among teenagers in 2001 were down by one-third from where they were nearly three decades earlier, according to new data. Meanwhile women over the age of 30 were accounting for a much higher rate.”

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Lead para in media coverage:

“Not only are fewer teens becoming pregnant than three decades ago, but many Canadian women are waiting to start families until their careers are in place, a study from Statistics Canada suggests.”

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Module 3: Hands-on exercise

Half a dozen paragraphs Critiques by course participants Journalistic style – did they get it? Best way to learn

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The Numbers Game:

Writing about data: Make it stick!!!

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The Numbers Game

Avoid proportions in brackets: Working seniors were also somewhat more

likely than younger people to report unpaid family work in 2004 (12% versus 4%).

Better: About 12% of working seniors reported

unpaid family work in 2004, three times the proportion of only 4% among younger people.

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The Numbers Game

Get the story right:

In total, spending in retail stores reached $246.8 billion in 2004. Of that amount, consumers spent $86.4 billion on motor vehicles and related products, and $59.3 billion on food and beverages.

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The Numbers Game

Here’s the story:

Canadians spent proportionally more on their cars in 2004 than they did on food and beverages.

Of every $100 consumers spent in retail stores, $31 went to vehicles and related services such as gasoline and oil, compared with only $23 for food and beverages.

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The Numbers Game

Percentages vs. proportions

The proportion of seniors who were in the labour force rose from 15% in 2003 to 20% in 2004, a 5% increase.......

Right? WRONG!!

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The Numbers Game

Treat these terms carefully:

Median vs. average Ratio Quintile Decile Longitudinal

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The Numbers Game

Quintile

For the purposes of this analysis, households were divided into five groups according to their income, with each group representing 20%, or one-fifth, of all households. The one-fifth of Canadian households with the lowest incomes spent over 51% of their budget on food, shelter and clothing in 2002.

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Suggestions One-day course Teacher: professional journalist Stress the fundamentals

-- Journalistic style-- Story lines-- Texts: clear, concise, simple-- Convey data properly

Hands-on exercises Use case studies Reinforcement: Follow-up one on one

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Encountering the media

Mandatory one-day course for official spokespeople

Provides knowledge of news media and techniques analysts can use to communicate effectively through interviews, such as bridging and deflecting

Practical exercises, simulated interviews

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Writing for the Web

Two-day workshop

Explains unique nature of writing effective material for a website

Lectures, visits to websites and hands-on writing exercises

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UNECE – Telling the story

Thanks for your participation!

John FlandersSenior media advisor

Statistics [email protected]

(613) 951-8292

telling the story

Documents