Data Debacle

Apparently many journalists get anxiety over using data in their stories. However, I love to use numbers and statistics. In fact, I enjoy starting off my stories with an interesting statistic. Looking back on the work I've done in this class, I started off one of my reporting assignments with a statistic. To me, data is a great way to introduce the topic of your story and get the readers pulled in. I do understand the anxiety and concern behind using data in stories sometimes. I think the only concern i really have when it comes to finding numbers and statistics to include in your story, is just how reliable are they? Whenever i find data I want to use, I am always a little skeptical of whether or not the numbers are reliable. But i guess that all comes down to the sources you are getting your data from. You can't pull a random statistic off of a random, unprofessional website, and expect people to trust it. So I think as long as you are retrieving the data from a reliable source, such as a University study or poll, then you can trust that the data is true. Another way to address this concern, is seeing if the statistic you found comes up multiple times throughout different sources and studies, that way you can trust that it is a reliable number.

Photo: Twitter.com screenshot

As far as my two favorite sources for news, Facebook and Twitter, you don't really see them using data to lure people in to reading a story. I would say Twitter does a bit more than Facebook. Just now as i was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, out of the first 5 news related stories i saw that my friends had shared, none of them included data in the headline or summary blurb. Instead, stories i see through Facebook always have really intriguing headlines that catch your eye and get you interested. On the other hand, when twitter shares stories, it is more likely the tweet will have a number or data in it, which i think is really effective and eye catching. For example, in the screenshot above of my twitter timeline, the tweet starting with data: "4 homes damaged by fire this morning," stands out to me over the other tweets.