Post on 01-Jan-2016
description
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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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Writing for The Daily
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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Telling the story UNECE
Writing for The Daily
‘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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Writing for The Daily
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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Telling the story UNECE
Writing for The Daily
Three modules:
1. The basics: Writing for journalists
2. Case studies
3. Hands-on exercise
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Telling the story UNECE
Writing for The Daily
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
Writing for The Daily
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Writing for The Daily
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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Writing for The Daily
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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Telling the story UNECE
Writing for The Daily
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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Writing for The Daily
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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Writing for The Daily
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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Telling the story UNECE
Writing for The Daily
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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Writing for The Daily
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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Telling the story UNECE
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 Canadajohn.flanders@statcan.ca
(613) 951-8292