Numbers, numbers, numbers…

Following up on my hypnotic lecture on reporting with numbers, I’ve got a couple of pieces for you to read.

The first one is from todays New York Times. If you remember, the topic came up in  class Wednesday when we were discussing  Sara’s presentation about Ted Conover.  Read the story and comment about how Adam Liptak used the numbers. Is it confusing? Enlightening? Do you think he presents the numbers fairly? Completely? Then follow the link to the original report (on the left hand side under the info graphic) and find another number or combination of numbers and tell me how you’d present that information.

The second story is from the LA Times.  I really like this story. It’s much less numbers driven than the first but it still uses a lot of figures to underpin the impact of the story. The other reason I like it is that it’s a business section story with a really human angle. And I’d never heard of the subject before so of course I’m intrigued.

So read this and comment on how the writer uses the numbers – too much, not enough? Are the sums he writes about no big deal? For a little extra, tell me how you think the journalist handled the subject matter? Is he fair? Or do you detect a bias?

Have fun. Steve

Trend Piece

This is a good example of a trend piece. The subject is golf but the idea is the classic trend piece – looking at a change in a topic of interest. Read it and take a look at the sources the reporter uses to give depth to his idea.

Here’s another…

The key to being a better writer is to read, right? Well that is doubly true in journalism. Good journalism is a alchemy of singular ideas, never-say-die persistent reporting and the hard earned mechanics of compelling, clear writing.

So along with the story above from the New York Times, here’s another piece of solid feature writing from a big time daily newspaper, the Washington Post. Read it and notice the idea behind it. Think about how the journalist came up with the idea. Then describe some of the reporting techniques you think the reporter used. Be specfic. Also come up with at least one question you wish the reporter had asked/pursued.

Oh yeah, read this for fun.

You may have to sign up for the Post and the LA Times to read these. It’s easy and free. And we’ll be reading more as the term goes on.

A story to read

This is feature from the New York Times.  Read it paying special attention to the reporting the journalist has done and the overall structure and flow of the piece. Comment on this post by 1) Indentifying the lede and nutgraf and 2) Identify at least three sources the reporter used.