Nigeria: Code for Nigeria on the impact of using official data sources for journalist
By Chinyere Ogbonna – There is a need for journalists to always tell their stories using data from official statistics from government agencies such as National Bureau of Statistics.
This was the advice of a Civic Technologist with the Code for Nigeria, a subsidiary of Code for Africa, Mr. John Eremosele at the Hack Hackers monthly engagement with journalists and data analysts in Lagos.
The Civic Technologist said that official data sources were usually more credible and acceptable even to the global community. He listed some of the credible sources that journalists could rely on for data to tell interesting stories that could inspire change in the society to include, the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) and Nigeria Data Portal, UN agencies, World Bank among others.
The Civic Technologist who decried that many journalists failed to give credit to their sources, advised journalists to always ensure that they give credit to their sources to authenticate their stories because such data could not have fallen from heaven. He noted.
He further explained that good data alone does not make a good data story but added that data storytelling could be more effective when it provides value, whether it teaches people something new, gives them a new perspective, or inspires them to take action on issues being highlighted in the story.
Mr. Eremosele who observed that data stories were not only compelling, said that publishers were also hungry for great storytelling, adding that in a world of repeated contents, data storytelling helps the author stand out. He urged journalists to leverage on available official statistics on the NBS website to tell engaging stories.
In addition, Mr. Eromosele said Code for Africa is partnering various newsrooms and engaging in training sessions to upskill the capacity of journalists in data story telling.
The Code for Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Code for Africa, is a non-partisan civic data and civic technology ‘change agent’. It uses civic technologies and open data to build digital democracies that afford citizens timely and unfettered access to actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions that strengthens civic engagement for improved public governance and accountability.
A good number of journalists from various media platforms who were in attendance at the last Hack Hackers Lagos meetup, expressed satisfaction with the Code for Nigeria for the initiative to help journalists in the country to tell more engaging stories. The Hack Hackers meetup which holds once in a month, has trained and supported journalists from the print, online and broadcast mediums in data journalism with infographics.
