The participation of more than 30 media outlets in the Summer Course organized by the Observatory in collaboration with the UEU confirms the fruitful evolution of the journey that began four years ago. The media outlets have done a lot of work in the field of digital analytics over the years, since we started with the BEHA project in 2021, which we will conclude in 2025. The one and a half day conference in Eibar also served to take stock of the project, as we saw that many media outlets that initially turned their backs on data have turned their attention to data. This is only the beginning of the journey and there are still many challenges on the table, but we have realized that the foundations have been laid. Now, by pulling on this end, specific needs can be met: on the one hand, continuing with training and preparation in media structures and deepening it, also refining organizational methods and integrating data analysis, to extract the juice from data; and on the other, exploring ways to better understand the user. Knowledge of data is essential for reflection and decision-making.
In this sense, as emphasized in the Summer Course, it is important that the data (and the analysis and conclusions derived from them) are linked to the interests of users and the objectives of the media and this criterion will be established by the media itself better than anyone else.
Regarding the Observatory, we also received good information during the conference to reflect on what needs to be done from now on. Once we have taken stock of this four-year journey, we will begin to define the next lines of work and one of the main tasks will be to find the resources and support that we will need to carry them out. Our intention is to continue collaborating with the institutions that have supported us so far, especially the Euroregion and the Department of Language and Policy of the Basque Government, always with the aim of creating a strong communication ecosystem in Basque.
