#12 - Numeracy

Numeracy

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of numeracy is the “ability to understand and work with numbers,”. Although at first glance it may seem journalism is more involved in the realm of English, math and statistics are just as important to the overall picture. We see statistics everyday in our day to day life in different forms, but they are especially important in journalism. 

Why is Numeracy important in journalism?

Numeracy is a significant skill to have in journalism. When coming across a story or a study that is dominated by numbers, it is an important skill to be able to display these statistics for an audience in a concise and understandable way. While in some cases, dealing with a large amount of percentages and stats can be troubling, it is important that all the important data is getting out to a viewer so they can be kept informed to the best of everyone’s ability. 

What should you be aware of?

While numeracy can be confusing or hard to work through at first, there are ways to improve one’s skills of working with numbers. The Journalist’s resource website published an article about the math basics for journalists, which features information about averages and percentages, which is particularly insightful. Using the right math and conveying the right data is important, it is also important that your data is accurate in the first place. As a journalist, it is important that the information you publish is the most accurate and honest information at the time. It is important to always double check the source to make sure your data is accurate.

Journalism may be considered to be a word dominated area, but the numbers are just as important. It is important for a journalist to have skills of numeracy and to learn ways of showing that information in a readable and concise way for an audience. It is also important that the information they publish is accurate and up to date to ensure they are delivering the best news they can.