Andrea Elvir

Mussenden’s mistake no. 5 is something I had never thought of when dealing with data. It is easy to think that the data should be able to speak for itself since, as he mentioned in no. 1, we often think that data, unlike humans, cannot be flawed. But because humans collect data, or create the systems through which it is collected, there is room for error or confusion, especially when you are new to the data set. Somehow, even though we are often interacting with humans to obtain information as journalists, it hadn’t occurred to me that you could get help interpreting the data from a more direct source than the data itself.

I loved the Numbers in the Newsroom piece. I liked how it gives the reader a reasoning to follow when picking numbers to use for a rate. It often appears to me that complicated things (math and numbers!) are logical and obvious to everyone but me, and having the reasons for making certain decisions spelled out for me is useful. I am sure after some practice it will become easier but right now that sort of text is what I need to get started.