2008 Awards for statistical excellence in journalism

The Society makes awards for statistical excellence in journalism each year. The awards are made to those who question, analyse and investigate the issues that affect society through statistics.

The 2008 awards recognise work published in the period 1 January 2007 to 30 September 2007.

This year's winners in each category are:

Broadcast

BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight

3 September 2007 broadcast on the estimation of conflict death tolls, particularly Iran and Darfur, and the differing responses of politicians to these figures.

"The programme gave a valuable insight into the power of modern statistical methods."
Society President, Professor David Hand

Print/Online Articles

1st prize - Chris Giles, Financial Times

Lies, Damn Lies and Befuddlement, 27 July 2007 looked at the difficulties facing official statisticians in compiling measures to capture the value of the business sector.

"The article has made an important contribution by highlighting the challenges faced by statisticians in defining and choosing what will be measured, and the impact those decisions make."

Society Vice-President, Professor Sheila Bird

Joint 2nd prize Peter Aldhous, New Scientist

Sex Offenders: Throwing Away the Key, 24 February 2007 analysed the controversial issue of indefinite detention of sex offenders in the US justice system.

Joint 2nd prize - Martin Wolf, Financial Times

The New Capitalism, 19 June 2007 discussed the transformation of the world's financial system in recent decades.

Selection Criteria

Judges looked for entries that achieved one or more of the following:

• Raise awareness and understanding of statistics and their use
• Enable greater public understanding of statistics
• Source and use statistics to investigate a societal issue that influences public opinion
• Use statistics to challenge or change the policies of public or private bodies