Figuring Numbers

As a freshman in college, I did not understand why I needed to take to math classes to fulfill my degree requirement. I planned to work with words, not numbers. I, unlike most journalists, like numbers, but I wanted to take as many classes that would assist me with my writing, not math. However, I have found in both Jour 420 and Jour 425 that numbers are important. Many people who read the news have something in common with journalists; they need help understanding numbers too.

According to the Newslab website, a common mistake in news writing is making sure that the numbers add up. Readers actually read stories. When they find that percentages add up to more than 100, they will find it. Because this is impossible in reality, a reader may call the news organization and complain. A simple solution, use a calculator at all times.

Most journalists do not like numbers, but readers do not care. Readers want to easily understand numbers in news stories. Journalists must think and “break-down” their numbers for the reader to understand. For example, instead of saying the crime happened 120 yards from the school, say that the crime happened a football field’s length away. Being able to visualize the difference helps people understand the numbers.

Using too many numbers in one paragraph makes numbers confusing too. This occurs in news writing when journalists do not really understand their material. I found a great example on the News by the Numbers website. One example taken from a published newspaper was, “A 30-year-old Molalla man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with a 10-year minimum in the death of a 16-month-old boy who died of head injuries three days after the baby was in his care.” Wow! That is a long sentence that contains five different numbers. How many numbers is too many? Several websites say that three numbers in an entire paragraph is the maximum any reader will want to read. Use few numbers, but tell entire story. Sometimes less is actually more.

In a few short minutes I found an abundance of information about journalistic numbers. One thing is true, journalists struggle with them. Journalists who want to be “good with numbers” need to practice.

Here are a few places to get started …

Online Calculators can helpful.
Number Quizzes can make numbers less daunting
Books are even available on this topic like Math Tools for Journalists by Kathleen Woodruff Wickham