The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has underscored the importance of journalists cultivating their skills on data interpretation to simplify their content.

MCK CEO David Omwoyo who spoke during a panel discussion on Data Journalism at the  second edition of the Global Media Congress at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noted that newsrooms around the world handle highly sensitive data and information and should use practical tools to effectively communicate their stories.

“Data without context and translation is unusable. People need to see the impact of data in their lives, otherwise it is just numbers”, he said.

He also pointed out the challenges faced by the Kenyan media in accurately conveying financial data.

“It is important for data experts to break down the meaning and impact of the numbers to simpler data”, said Mr Omwoyo.

IWatch Africa Co-Founder Gideon Sarpong called for establishment of teams dedicated to supporting journalistic work behind the scenes.

“Journalists get a lot of information that require them to break it down to simple data to make sense and uncover some truths”, said Mr Sarpong.

Head of the UAE Representative Office of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Dr Marko Selakovic stressed on the responsibility of editors to contextualise data and have clear cut information that makes meaning.

At the panel discussions, journalists were urged to take responsibility for real-time fact checking in the era of Artificial Intelligence and enhance their tools to effectively counter misinformation.

The congress brought together global media leaders and innovators to discuss emerging issues in the media sector and ways of shaping the future of media operations.