Pre-release access to official statistics: The deep difference between granting privileged pre-release access to the government and to the media

Equal access to official statistics by users is an important pillar for impartiality and independence, broadly recognized as best practice for adhering to the UN Fundamental Principles and the EU Code of Practice. In this paper, privileged pre-release access to outside user is considered. The difference between privileged access by the government and the media is discussed. The thesis is that pre-release access reserved for the government, independently of motivations and the time of anticipation in respect to the scheduled release, is always to be excluded. The case of pre-release to the media is different. NSOs must facilitate the comprehension of the data, they produce. For sensitive and much expected data there could be a reinforcement of data security; a presentation to the media and disseminate press agencies a short time before the planned time to publish, in a specially designed press room to guarantee the embargo. Full transparency on participation should be designed. Recent experiences in this direction of the Italian National Statistical Institute (Istat) are presented.