A GRADUATE from the Faculty of Arts and Letters and former features writer of The Flame was awarded best statistical reporting in print or online media by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
UST Journalism alumna Cristina Eloisa Baclig, a content researcher and writer for INQUIRER.net, was among the winners of the 35th National Statistics Month (NSM) Media Awards held on Oct. 1.
Her winning report titled “More people are leaving Metro Manila. Here’s why” published at INQUIRER.net discussed a phenomenon that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when several workers left Metro Manila for other regions mainly due to financial hardships.
Baclig had previously received accolades from the Think Pink Awards and Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards for her reports on cancer and vaping, respectively.
From 2018 to 2020, Baclig served as editorial secretary of The Daily Manila Shimbun, a Japanese-language newspaper based in the Philippines.
PSA required entrants to submit at least three features, editorials, segments or documentary articles published in a printed newspaper or online news platform. Straight news stories were not accepted for this category.
The entries were judged based on the following criteria: 50% for quality (20% for accuracy and correctness of interpretation of data; 10% for use of reliable data sources; 10% for clarity; and 10% for brevity) and 50% for effectiveness and relevance to the current time (40% for audience reach and engagement; and 10% for overall impact).
Other awardees included Bernadette Reyes of GMA Integrated News for best statistical reporting in TV and broadcast media and BusinessWorld Research for best statistical media infographic.
The NSM Media Awards recognizes reports or advocates of statistical information sourced from the government statistics provider and policy-making body Philippine Statistical System, also the organizer of the award ceremony.
Established in 1990, NSM is celebrated annually in October to promote the value of statistics in society. This year’s award ceremony was hosted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and spearheaded by PSA at the Luxent Hotel, Quezon City.
The PSA has been the government’s leading statistical authority on primary data collection since 2013, tasked with facilitating national censuses and analyzing statistics for government and public use. F
