2.1 Polls and Surveys
Journalists rely heavily on polls and surveys to quantify information for their readers. Polls and surveys offer broad numerical data, which allows the reader to get a better understanding of the public opinion in a given area. However, they are often skewed one way or another. Journalists have to qualify the data that polls and surveys present for the audience.
The person performing the polling should try to get at least 400 people to participate. That is a rough number that gives enough of a balance between the two sides presented, while allowing room for a middle ground. The more people who are polled, the less likely error will occur.
Terms:
- Random selection: every person in the population has an equal opportunity to be polled
- Margin of error: the degree of accuracy of the research based on standard norms; expressed as a percentage; based on the size of a randomly selected sample
- Confidence level: the percentage of confidence researchers have in their information
- Adjusted figures: statistically manipulated figures that have been changed to compensate for missing information
- Z score: (aka “standard score”) shows how much one figure differs from the mean
- T score: (aka “Student’s t distribution”) used when the sample size is small (at most 100)
Formula: z score = (raw score – mean) divided by (standard deviation)
2.2. Business
The worlds of business and communications are very much linked. Without communication, the business world could not function. Without the business world, nothing else would function. They are the twin pillars keeping our global society on its feet. Journalists who write about business must be careful to keep all numerical data exactly correct. Business deals could be lost because of something incorrectly written by a journalist, which could cost people a lot of hard-earned money.
Terms:
- Financial statements: formal documents accessible to shareholders, regulatory agencies, and other people interested in how well or how poorly a company is doing
- Profit and loss statement: (P&L) shows whether or not a company is profiting
subtract expenses from income
- Gross margin: selling price minus the cost of goods sold
- Balance sheet: a written financial statement that shows the financial stability of a company
Formula: assets = liabilities + equity
- Current ratio: liquidity ratio measuring the ability of a company to meet its liabilities
Formula: current ratio = (current assets) divided by (current liabilities)
2.3 Stocks and Bonds
Journalists need to understand stocks and bonds to better understand the way businesses work, and to better report on them. Stocks are sold by corporations to individuals who, upon purchase, become co-owners of the company. Bonds are loans from an investor to the government or another organization that plans to sell the bond. Bond value changes due to supply and demand on the open market.
Formula for bonds’ current yield: current yield = (interest rate x face value) divided by (price)
Formula for bond cost: bond cost (interest) = amount x rate x years
Terms:
- Face value: the amount the owner receives back after the bond is sold
- Stock index: track the prices of groups of stocks, which allows investors to see briefly the overall market conditions; they track bonds, as well
- Divisor: takes into account stock dividends, splits, spinoffs, and other applicable corporate actions
2.4 Property Taxes
Property taxes are the largest source of income for municipal organizations such as school districs and local government. The rate of property tax is determined by dividing the total amount of money the area needs among the property owners in the district. This formula only works depending on the local and state government rules and regulations. More than one governing body often taxes property tax. The type of property also affects the tax paid.
Formula (assessed value): assessed value = appraisal value x rate
2.5 Directional Measurements
Bill Dedman developed a mathematical problem for journalists that involves time, rate and distance. It has become famous for its simplicity. The problem is for journalists to calculate how much time a truck driver had to cross a set of train tracks before a train reached the crossing. The point of this is to teach journalists the basic mathematical tools they need to be able to check officials’ work with ease.
Time, rate and distance can be switched around depending on the solution needed, but it’s important to keep in mind the units of measurements the same. For example, if the rate is miles per hour, the time needs to be in hours and the distance in miles.
Distance = rate x time
Rate = (distance) divided by (time)
Time = (distance) divided by (rate)
The difference between speed and velocity is important to note. Speed measures how quickly something is moving. Velocity adds direction into the equation. Mostly, journalists will only need to calculate speed. Average speed is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the time it took to get there.
Twitter: Journalists need to learn mathematical business information to write well.
