Share-PSI 2.0 Best Practice Get Journalists Involved throughout the Open Data Cycle

Sources:

• https://www.w3.org/2013/share-psi/wiki/Best_Practices/Getting_Journalists_Involved_In_the_Process_Of_Opening_Up_Data

Outline

One of the success criteria for the Open Data initiatives is the active involvement of potential reusers (industry, developers, designers, artists, journalists, and citizens in general) in the process of opening up data and maintaining an Open Data initiative. This active involvement should be present since the definition of the Open Data and PSI re-use strategy of governments, and during the whole cycle of open data. In this sense, journalism is really important so media should be involved in most of the activities.

Management summary

Challenge

Governments involved in Open Data should perform several activities with the goal of creating and stimulating the Open Data movement and the subsequent, and needed, re-use. Journalists, students, and civil society can be profited from it, but also can become part of the activities establishing in this way a form of eParticipation network. Opening up the information is not the only the requirement to achieve successful PSI reuse. In order to achieve a real empowerment and engagement, those potential stakeholders should be involved in the strategical decisions and activities within the government.

Solution

Data and documentation of the Open Data project are published and spreaded on the Web and promoted using various online social networks and channels. Public body in charge of the Open Data initiative should establish a close and high-quality collaboration with the media inside and outside the country. The Open Data might be referred by the press, contributing to a continuous enrichment with arguments and recommendations from debates in radio and television.

Data and related articles may be published in the written and online media. This incentivized citizens’ reaction and initiated civic movements, as well as helping with the outreach of the movement.

Best Practice identification

Why is this a Best Practice? What’s the impact of the Best Practice

Just making data open is not sufficient. As a basis to foster PSI re-use and spread the benefits of the Open Data paradigm, media should be involved.

Links to the PSI Directive

Reuse

Why is there a need for this Best Practice?

• Open Data publishers risk to make data available that is not interesting or not reliable. Without promotion of released data, it will not be discovered and used.
• A continuous usage of the data, including feedback cycles —e.g., in round tables with journalists— is necessary to make sustainable the publication efforts. Not only because data journalism becomes more and more important, is the continuous contact with journalists crucial.

What do you need for this Best Practice?

If Member States want to adopt this Best Practice they will have to:

• A basic website (has not to be perfect right from the beginning if journalists are to be involved in the evolution of the application).
• Most important: Stable URIs and referenceable content.
• If possible: well-structured data using standards (RDF, XML, CSV with metadata).
• Have contacts to journalists possibly interested in the published data, e.g., an open mailing list that journalists can subscribe to.
• A self-describing interface for the usage of released open data or training capacities for journalists (datathons, hackathons, workshops).
• Processes to receive and implement feedback from journalists. In particular, react on requests by journalists for access to specifically interesting open data (e.g., infant mortality rates).

Applicability to other Member States

• In general yes. Depending on the country and open data domain, other licenses may be needed.

Contact info

• Julia Hoxha – Albanian Institute of Science, Tirana, Albania.
• Aranita Brahaj – Albanian Institute of Science, Tirana, Albania.
• Benedikt Kämpgen – Institute AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.

• For editorial issues: martin@w3.org