BU Research Blog

Fifteen senior and award-winning British science, health and data journalists will gather with leading statisticians, health scientists and media scholars to examine challenges and approaches to news communication of Covid-19 data and statistics at a free BU-hosted online symposium on 4 December 2020.

The one-day event – an initiative of BU’s emerging Science, Health and Data Communication Research Group, in conjunction with the Royal Statistical Society and the Association of British Science Writers – aims to provide a “waypoint” for the participating journalists and academics to reflect on their experience, share their expertise and exchange ideas around issues and challenges in dealing with the science and politics behind Covid-19 facts and figures.

At the centre of the day will be what journalists have done and how they have performed in navigating, handling and communicating the constantly changing and rather chaotic flow of Covid-19 data and statistics, which have become a daily occupation of public and private thought during the pandemic.

The symposium is geared to stimulate rigorous interaction between speakers as well as between speakers and audiences in order to draw some preliminary lessons for the near and far future. The day will cover the following questions:

1. What are the major challenges to news reporting of the influx of Covid-19 data and statistics?
2. To what extent does news reporting of Covid-19 data and statistics change hearts, alter minds and/or mobilise people into proper pandemic actions?
3. What methods, techniques and platforms do journalists use to obtain, unpack, portray and deliver Covid-19 data and statistics to help people make sense of the pandemic?
4. How well have journalists performed in questioning and scrutinising Covid-19 data and statistics to debunk statistical “lies and damn lies” spread by vested interests?
5. How effectively have scientists, science institutions and other sources of Covid-19 statistics collaborated with journalists – and vice versa – in conveying them to the public?

The event will take place on Zoom. Interested parties can find the detailed programme, including the full list of speakers, and register for free on Eventbrite.

For further information, please contact An Nguyen at anguyen@bournemouth.ac.uk.