Advanced Editing Labsters:

After reading these abstracts and case study write-up, I wanted to pass this on to you as how I believe this should be done. Read it and adapt this template to your own writing style. – RRR

These Reading Abstracts for Week 5

As we discovered in class last week, statistics can be misleading. Robert Niles’ article titled “Margin of Error” is another example of this. Niles uses an excerpt from a wire story to show how the margin of error in polls can cause reporters to inaccurately assess polling data. The reporter in this story said that a new poll showed President Clinton had lost ground to Bob Dole in regards to the upcoming 1996 election. Ultimately, the reporter was wrong, Niles says. Because of the poll’s margin of error, there was no statistical difference between the initial poll and the subsequent poll. Dole had gained no ground on President Clinton.

Reporters and editors must be extremely skeptical when it comes to numbers and statistics in stories. Mistakes related to poll data can be detrimental when they result in false conclusions like in the example above. And statistical errors can mislead readers and give them an inaccurate assessment of a situation. Poll data is particularly tricky, and reporters must be sure to consider all factors that could influence the results before passing the information along to readers. The best way to get a good grasp of whatever it is you’re looking at is to analyze several studies, not just one.

My second reading suggests that there may be another case of plagiarism, this time at The New York Times. Reporter Andrew Sorkin is accused of using information directly from the Web site of a London newspaper without attribution. He claims an editor mistakenly added his notes to the end of his story. The similarities between his work and that of the London paper are unmistakable. Skeptics say his excuse is unlikely because the lifted information was not found in one large block at the bottom of his story.

Plagiarism is a huge problem in journalism. There is no excuse for using someone else’s words without giving him or her credit. This instance raises lots of questions about this reporter and the editors at The New York Times. If in fact the printing of his “notes” was a mistake, the paper must improve communication between reporters and editors to avoid this from happening. If it was not accidental, the reporter should be fired. There is no excuse for laziness in reporting. The New York Times is a highly respected organization and should have high standards for its employees. Negative attention like this can only harm the reputation of a paper. It certainly doesn’t help readers trust what they read.

A report on newsroom diversity by the Knight Foundation was the subject of my third reading. The goal of the report was to encourage journalists and their organizations to discuss how well their paper reflects the community it serves. Ideally, there would be parity between the non-white percentages of people in the newsroom and the community, but this is the case at only a small number of papers. While minority employees have generally increased in the newsroom, there are still several papers that are below their peak in terms of how many non-white people are employed.

The online report is a great way for organizations to better understand the minority breakdown in their communities. As the non-white population increases, newspapers must be aware and do everything possible to reflect the voice of the people. Race and ethnicity are obviously not the foremost qualities employers are concerned with when hiring, but if the community has a high percentage of blacks, that is something to consider. A newsroom that is perceived to be representative of its readers will be more highly respected and trusted by the community. There are issues specific to the culture that is part of being black, Hispanic or Asian, and an inside perspective is often more valuable than that of an outsider.

Growth of the internet has raised numerous questions about its influence on print. One of the main concerns is expressed in my final reading, which asks whether online newspapers are helping or hurting their print counterparts. Research shows that both print and online newspapers have a lot to be proud of. For example, online newspapers are users’ main source for local information and news. Several studies have shown that newspaper Web sites sell more subscriptions than they cancel. The problem, however, is that only a small portion of the online audience visits newspaper Web sites. Readership could be doubled if newspapers reached out to those who have never been to an online newspaper. The goal of this study was to help newspaper organizations see this and learn to draw untapped online users to their sites.

The fear that online newspapers could decrease print circulation is not an unreasonable one. But newspaper Web sites open the door of opportunity by attracting a completely separate audience that relies on the Internet for information. Drawing those online users to newspaper Web sites can substantially increase reach. The article makes a good point. People aren’t replacing print newspapers for online newspapers; they are shifting from print to online. This is a fact of the 21^st century, and newspaper organizations need to direct more attention to the Internet to keep up. A proactive campaign to reach out to this untapped audience should now be an integral part of newspaper companies’ agenda.

Margin of Error: A simple explanation of margin of error, for journalists and other writers who might not know math. http://www.robertniles.com/stats/margin.shtml

More Plagiarism at the New York Times? http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/36095/

Reflecting the Audience http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65591 

Online newspapers: are they helping or killing their print parents? http://www.mediacenter.org/content/p1434_c979.cfm

Case Study for Week 5: Numbers

The two stories we discussed in class include statistics on crime. While they both address the same time period, they present different statistics. This is a good example of how important it is to verify calculations when stories involve numbers.

Using the chart at the end of one of the stories, I calculated the percentage of change for crime in Gainesville, Fla., for each given category. The article says the city saw a 19 percent increase in violent crime when comparing the first six months of 2005 to the first six months of 2006. According to the numbers provided in the chart, the increase was 16 percent.

Errors like these are all over this story despite the fact that the chart is provided. The article even falsely states the number of motor vehicle thefts based on the information from the chart. The copy says there were 224 reported cases in 2006, and the chart shows there were 225. My calculations prove that most of the statistics in the other story from The Gainesville Sun are correct. It is easy to make mathematical mistakes, and editors should always check to be sure that statistics are accurate.

Another problem these stories highlight is the need for perspective when using statistics. It is important to include baseline figures to give readers a better understanding of what the percentages mean. For example, one story says, “Murder and arson reports doubled compared to 2005.” Initially this statement might catch the reader’s attention, but the chart shows that the number of crimes jumped from one to two in the murder category and from two to four in the arson category. These numbers are much less impressive.

To offer a clear understanding of what statistical information represents, there must be sufficient background information. The story should define the time frame, use numbers to put misleading figures into perspective, and explain exactly what is being measured. Tables like the one in our example are good tools for conveying this type of information. Most importantly, reporters and editors must do the math to verify that the numbers are accurate.