White House officials say they won’t release photos of bin Laden’s death

By Jack Rodenfels

A timeline on bin Laden's capture and the events that took place following his capture. Graphic by Jack Rodenfels.

Following the raid of Osama bin Laden’s headquarters in Pakistan, and subsequent killing on May 1, questions of whether proof of his death would go public began to rise.

On May 2, officials from the Pentagon said that bin Laden was dumped into the Arabian Sea after proper Islam rituals–including washing the body. Additionally, a senior intelligence official at the Pentagon, speaking on grounds of anonymity says that there was certain DNA proof that the body was, in fact, bin Laden’s.

The next day, ABC News reported that there were many photographs of bin Laden’s dead corpse following his regime’s demise.

On a "60 Minutes" interview, Obama said he would not release photographs of bin Laden's death. Photo courtesy of http://www.cbsnews.com

May 4, President Barack Obama said that the United States would not release photos of the recently-killed Osama bin Laden as proof of his death, citing a necessity to quell additional violence and anti-U.S. propaganda tools.

“It’s important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of someone who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence,” Obama said in an interview with 60 Minutes.

A recent NBC News poll saw that nearly two-third of American back the decisions not to release the photos.

“I don’t think that the U.S. should release bin Laden’s photos,” Elon sophomore Trey Newstedt said. “I think the death in itself will cause backlash. A lot of the people’s reactions to it in the U.S. — between the rioting and the celebrations are already causing international problems. It would only further exasperate the problems.”

Officials who have seen the photos of bin Laden say that he had a gunshot would to his forehead and the insides of his head are visible.

“Death, in any way, is something that should not be celebrated, flaunted, or manipulated in any way,” said Shereen Elgamal, an assistant professor Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Elon University. “There is a certain level of respect that should be associated with life and death.”

Elgamal says that no matter what the government does with bin Laden’s photographs, there is going to be opposition on any level.

“There will always be people who have their doubts,” Elgamal said. “It comes to a point where any level of explanation still would not be enough for some people. It’s a negative cycle that needs to stop at some point, and the government was right to stop it with not releasing his photographs.”

Elon junior Nick Livengood said before releasing the photographs, U.S. citizens should recall how they react when they see graphic photographs of soldiers killed.

“When we hear news stories of people releasing pictures of our servicemen or women who are killed or captured, there’s big uproar with us,” Livengood said. “It’s just not fair for us to do that to them.

Noting more than just not being fair, Elon senior Kelli Accardi said that releasing bin Laden’s photos can have additional, unwarranted damage on our society.

“It could be an issue of revenge,” Accardi said. “Without knowing their culture, it could just add fuel to the fire.”

Americans should also have faith in our government–that they have our best intentions in mind and are truthful in their actions, Accardi said.

“There are plenty of government officials confirming his death. I think we need to learn to trust our military and government and not require that pictures been shown of that because their words should be enough for us to believe,” Accardi said.

Looking ahead, it’s unknown what backlash will arise from opposition due to bin Laden’s death. However, releasing graphic photographs of his death would just add more incentive, Elon junior Kyle Shoemaker said.

“Our troops did what they set out to do. That should be enough,” Shoemaker said. “By releasing pictures, it provides the opportunity to make the opposition even madder.”

Math Tools for Journalists Ch. 9-12

Chapters nine through 12 are all about measurements. More than just journalists, these numbers and figures are useful for the common good. Everyday figures and numbers are ones that can be referenced often, and can be used all the time.

Chapter nine discusses directional measurements that everyone should know, as well as measurements that aren’t as well known. The chapter discusses time, rate and distance problems, as they are all linked to the same formula.

Distance = rate x time

Rate = distance / time

Time = distance / rate

In these examples, rate relates to how fast something happens over an amount of time. This could mean miles per hour, feet per second, etc.

Chapter 9 also discusses speed, velocity and acceleration. Wickham is quick to note that speed and velocity are not the same measurement. Speed simply measures how fast something is going, while velocity indicates speed plus a direction.

Acceleration is a measurement that is an amount of velocity over time. It can be found by using the following formula:

Acceleration = (ending velocity – starting velocity) / time

Wickham also describes in Chapter 9 that weight and mass are not the same figure. Mass is measurable amount. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity pulling on an object.

Momentum is a figure that is used to stop an object from moving. While all moving objects have momentum, it is the product of mass and velocity.

Momentum = mass x velocity

Chapter 10 deals with area measurements, which pop up in all kinds of news stories. Wickham says that there is two ways to explain measurements. The first way is by analogy, by comparing one thing to another. This can be expressed through a statement such as “the tree was as tall as the four-story building”. The second way is through simple, accurate numbers that are easy to digest.

Perimeter can be used to find the area around an object:

Perimeter = (2 x length) + (2 x width)

To find areas of squares and rectangles, use length x width.

Circumference, which is used to find the area around an object, can be calculated using the following formula:

Circumference = 2π x radius

To find the area of a circle, you multiply π by the radius squared.

Chapter 11 deals more with volume measurements. Reporters can find these figures as being particularly useful, especially when figuring out how much something holds, etc.

Some common liquid conversions for volume measure include:

2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce
1 pint = 16 ounces
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
1 U.S. standard barrel = 31.5 gallons

The last figure, gallons/barrel is especially useful with journalists, as the price of oil is a current economic concern, and can be found in the news regularly. Knowing how many gallons are actually in a “barrel” can help differentiate the price of oil.

Finally, Wickham describes how to calculate the area for rectangular solids in the end of chapter 11. It can be found using the following formula:

Volume = length x width x height

Chapter 12 helps dispel errant thoughts about the metric system, and how to easily convert figures into the metric system. Since the metric system is based on the decimal system, users can easily switch from one unit to another very easily.

The prefixes for the metric system include:

micro (one millionth)
milli (one thousandth)
centi (one hundredth)
deci (one tenth)
no prefix (one)
deka (10)
hecto (100)
kilo (1000)
mega (1 million)
giga (1 billion)
tera (1 trillion)

To convert from American units to metric units, use the following coversions:

American lengths to metric lengths– multiply inches by 2.5 to find centimeters.
Metric lengths to American lengths– multiply centimeters by 0.4 to get inches.

American area measurements to metric area measurements– multiply square inches by 6.5 to find square centimeters.
Metric area measurements to American area measurements– multiply square centimeters by 0.16 to get square inches.

American mass measurements to metric mass measurements– multiply ounces by 28 to find grams.
Metric mass measurements to American mass measurements– multiply grams by 0.035 to get ounces.

Farenheit to Celsius– Celsius = .56 x (Farenheit – 32 degrees)
Celsius to Farenheit– Farenheit = (1.8 x Celsius) + 32 degrees.

Example problems:

John took the train from Boston to Washington. It took him 85 minutes to travel 250 miles. What was his average speed?

Average speed = 250 miles / 85 minutes = 2.94 miles/minute.

Chris wants to find how big the pumpkin that he picked from the pumpkin patch is around. The radius of the pumpkin is 9 inches. How big around is the pumpkin?

Circumference = 2π x radius = 2π x 9 inches = 56.25 inches around.

Sydney wants to find the total volume of a pitcher in order to put the most mount of lemonade in it. If the pitcher is 7 inches long by 6 inches wide by 9 inches wide, how much lemonade can she put in the pitcher?

Volume = length x width x height = 7 inches x 6 inches x 9 inches = 378 cubic inches.

Todd is in England and needs to change a car tire. However, he only has American measurements on his car tires. If Todd’s tire is 62 centimeters tall, how tall will Todd’s American tire have to be?

Inches = centimeters x 0.4 = 62 x 0.4 = 24.8 inches.

Math Tools for Journalists–Chapters 5-8

In the second part of the book, Chapters 5-8, Wickham continues to cover the most essential and important numbers that journalists run into on a daily basis. I learned a great deal from these chapters, information which I have heard before and needed reminding of, as well as information that I had forgotten over time.

Chapter 5 talked about the importance of polls and surveys. For journalists, pools and surveys make numbers real–they give the readers palatable information that they can take away from a reading. It’s important to discern the difference between a poll and a survey. A poll is an estimate of public opinion, and are based around a single question. A survey usually includes multiple questions in which the reader has an opportunity to respond. Both polls and surveys are used to gauge the general interest among a representative sample of the population.

One essential thing to both an effective poll and an effective survey is to have a good sample audience. It’s important to have an assortment of people within a sample to get a variety of answers. This can best be determined by having a subset of a population, such as a zip code or a school.

Chapter 5 also talked about margin of error and confidence level, and how it relates to polls and surveys. Margin of error, Wickham says, indicates the degree of accuracy in the research. Over time, the margin of error increases as the confidence level increases. This is because there are more people being surveyed.

Chapter 6 begins to talk about common business terms that are used by journalists, and parts of business that are used in reporting — press releases, quarterly reports, annual reports, etc — to display information to a wider audience. The chapter also detailed the importance of business terms in reporting. For example, with financial statements, numbers are typically written in “thousands” or “millions”, where the last three to six zeroes are deleted. Also, when talking about net income, it’s important to display this amount over a certain period of time, so the audience can catch on to trends in the net income.

An important formula that is introduced in Chapter 6 is gross margin, which can be derived from the following formula:

Gross margin = selling price – cost of goods sold

The example the book uses is someone re-selling newspapers. If he buys a newspaper for 90 cents and resells it at $1.25, his gross margin is 1.25 – .9 = 35 cents.

Net profit is another term that was introduced in this chapter, and can be derived from the following formula:

Net profit = gross margin – overhead

In the example above, we see that the seller has a margin of 35 cents per paper. If he sells 50 papers, his cross profit is:

35 cents x 50 = $17.50

A balance sheet is a written financial statement of a company’s assets, liabilities and equities. It shows the financial stability of the company. Assets can be derived from the following formula:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

There are many definitions associated with balance sheets that are defined in this chapter, including fixed assets, liabilities, and dividends, among others.

Fixed assets include property, plants, equipment and deferred charges.

Liabilities are obligations, such as loans, that need to be paid at some later date.

Dividends are payments to shareholders that represent the distribution of the company’s assets.

This chapter really helped with legal and business definitions that can be tricky to understand, especially, for those who aren’t business majors.

Chapter 7 discussed stocks and bonds, discussing two important ways that businesses earn money.

Stocks are sold by corporations to raise money, while the public buys stock to be used as investments.

The chapter discusses important statistics that are often included with stocks that can be confusing. 52-week High/Low figures indicate the highest and lowest stock prices over the past year.

The stock itself is the letter symbol which is the shortened version of the company name. The div is the most recent annual dividend that the company paid to shareholders, per share.

Bonds are defined as loans from an investor to the government or other organization selling the bond.

With bonds, it’s important to derive the current yield, which is derived from the following formula:

Current yield = (interest rate x face value) / price

Chapter 8 discusses property taxes, which are defined by Wickham as the largest single source of income for local governments, school districts and other municipal organizations.

Property tax is determined by taking the total amount of money the governing body needs, and dividing it among the property owners in the taxing community.

The appraisal value of a property is based on many factors, including:

-The property’s use (residential, business, farm, etc.)

-The property’s characteristics (location, square footage, age, etc.)

-Current market conditions as determined by sales in the immediate area over a specific number of years.

and

-A visual inspection of the property by trained appraisers.

Calculating tax is an important thing for journalists to understand, as it can make the assessed value of a property easier to understand. The formula for calculating tax can be derived from the following formula:

Tax owed = tax rate x (assessed value of the property / $100).

The information in chapters five through eight helped me better understand the intricacies of business, and how I can better display that seemingly cumbersome information effectively as a journalist.

Examples:

Bond cost:

A town decides to issue $6 million worth of 20-year bonds to pay for a new community recreation center. If the bond coupon is 5 percent, how much will the town pay in interest over the life of the bonds?

$6 million x .05 x 20 years = $6 million

Current yield:

A man paid $700 for a $1,000 bond with a 5 percent interest rate. What is his current yield?

Current yield = (5% x $1000) / $700 = 7.1% current yield

Current ratio:

Coca Cola has $150 million in current assets and $39 million in current liabilities. What is its current ratio?

150,000,000 / 39,000,000 = 3.85

Coca Cola has $3.85 in assets for each dollar in liabilities.

Free to think, free to be: Speech, expression on college campuses

Deeply rooted in the extent of ideas, a liberal arts education is one that allows its students to learn general information about a variety of topics and studies.

Areas of learning through the liberal arts — such as literature, language, philosophy, history, mathematics and science — are intended to provide rich dialogue among students, while fostering intellectual growth, stimulating higher thinking and allowing students to freely and openly discuss their ideas and thoughts.

Public vs. Private in First Amendment cases

At public universities across the nation, this type of dialogue is protected by the First Amendment, allowing individual certain freedoms from governmental interference. Since public universities are owned by the state, school administrators are limited in curtailing free speech, allowing collegiate media outlets to be as open and honest as possible.

But private universities do not have this same freedom. As a public entity, the First Amendment does not protect individual freedoms against private organizations.

“The First Amendment does not strictly apply to a private setting,” said Paul Parsons, dean of the School of Communications at Elon University. “Private universities have the opportunity to intervene in the content of its school’s media, although most typically take a hands-off approach, allowing its students the freedom of expression and thoughtfulness.”

Graphical display by Jack Rodenfels

A recent study by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) found that 70 percent of American colleges and universities have regulations that curtail free speech.

Simply because regulations are in place doesn’t mean that free speech on college campuses is limited. Largely, it means that there are regulations in place to restrain hate speech – speech that is defames a person based on characteristics such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and others.

“As a student, my most important right is to freely share my thoughts and ideas with others,” Elon University sophomore Alexa Behar said. “Through sharing with others inside and outside of the classroom, I’m able to collaborate with them and learn more about the world around me.”

Laboratory vs. Public Forum

More than just speech through classrooms, freedom of speech transcends into other aspects of university life, such as student media. In a private university setting, Parsons said there is a difference between student media as a “laboratory” and a “public forum”. A laboratory media outlet is one where students work to get a grade and a professor is residing over the class, deciding what gets put into the public eye and how that message is conveyed.

One such example of a laboratory newspaper belongs to Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. Students work in classroom settings under direct tutelage of professors to produce content for the school newspaper.

“By taking a class called staff practices, we get the opportunity to work on a college newspaper,” freshman Thomas McGeoch said, a student at Cuyahoga Community College. “An adviser looks over our material before we put it in the newspaper and gives input on our article choice and placement.”

A “public forum” media outlet, on the other hand, is one where students have more freedom to express their views. By having an independent media outlet, editors and staff determine the content of the newspaper, television, radio show, or other medium. There is no prior review of the content.

“Public forums for expression are given a lot more latitude and freedom than laboratory papers in terms of its overall content,” Parsons said.

Public forum media outlets give universities additional opportunities for students to exercise free speech, as students are responsible for the entire production process.

Speech Codes in concordance with First Amendment Rights

Across the country, many universities have enacted “speech codes”—regulations that limit and even ban speech, when deemed necessary, beyond the legal limitations of freedom of speech in the United States Constitution, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Graphical display by Jack Rodenfels

While applied and enforced to limit hate speech, it’s important to make sure that speech codes do not bleed into honest and open dialogue, while limiting constructive thoughts and ideas on college campuses, according to Monica Hill, director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.

“Speech codes should only be used when absolutely necessary – in instances of hate speech,” Hill said. “Otherwise, it means discrediting someone’s ideas, and writing it off to be censored.”

This is the cause for concern among colleges and universities in the United States — the rules and regulations that differentiate between public universities and private universities, and how First Amendment rights are uniquely apparent to both types of universities.

“Since schools like ours are funded by the state, free speech at public universities isn’t as pressing as an issue in public universities as it is in private universities,” said John Colwell, a former administrator at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. “Public universities allow for more open and honest discussion, even criticism from students, without the fear of reproach from administrators at that university to censor the speech.”

While private universities can censor speech, it is important to not practice censoring speech unless it is seen as imminently dangerous to its students, Frank Lebo, a professor at Baldwin-Wallace College said.

Graphical display by Jack Rodenfels

“Although we are a private university, we certainly allow for our students to engage in civic dialogue that adds to the common good,” Lebo said, teaching at a private liberal arts college located in Berea, Ohio. “We want students to actively and openly discuss their ideas and know that they are important and certainly valuable to our society.”

Free Speech Zones

Part of the dialogue surrounding the aforementioned speech codes center around designated free speech zones found at colleges and universities across the nation. Starting in the 1980s in the United States, free speech zones are places where students “can speak their minds, hold rallies and demonstrations, distribute literature and engage in unrestricted, robust, open discourse,” according to Student Press Law Center.

“Free speech zones are afterthoughts on many college campuses,” Hill said. “Confined within a small area, they are usually out of the way and aren’t heavily pursued. While limiting where free speech can occur, learning inside of the classroom becomes limited.”

Free speech zones don’t always effectively allow free speech, Hill said, noting prior cases at universities where administration limited free speech via the school’s free speech zones.

One such case included Brigham Young University where then-Vice President Dick Cheney was invited to speak at a commencement ceremony in 2007. With the right to protest the speech, BYU administration shut down free speech areas early, declaring that the free speech zones were interrupting campus life, when 700-900 BYU students and faculty were able to participate in free speech during the Cheney speech.

Future of Free Speech on College Campuses

With the ability to restrain and limit freedom of speech when seen as appropriate, private universities will continue to have the final say as to what speech, if any, is censored at their respective university.

While continuing to pursue different ways of allowing free speech among its students, taking teachable moments can prepare students for life after college, where they can be affluent, well-informed citizens looking to make a difference in their communities, Parsons said.

“There is a teaching element to student media and student’s dialogue,” Parsons said. “Students can learn through some guidance of an adviser, and the training aspect makes students ready for the real world.”

Universities – both public and private – offer First Amendment courses, where students can learn more about freedom of speech and expression, and how it values society, as well as the potential harms it allows in societies. Through these classes, universities are training young minds to better understand the First Amendment, and how it applies to their future.

“As we get older and become the dominant generation, freedom of speech issues will be increasingly found on the internet,” senior Dan Shulman said. “By learning about these issues, we can be more informed citizens and better understand what freedom of speech looks like.”

The Next Step: Elon wide receiver attempts to play in the NFL

Jeffcoat caught more passes his senior season than his first three years combined. File Photo.

After three years as a receiver for the Phoenix, senior Sean Jeffcoat amassed 801 yards and four total touchdowns. At his best, he was the third option for senior quarterback Scott Riddle in a pass-heavy Elon offense that averaged 31.4 points per game and 297.7 yards per game passing in Jeffcoat’s first three seasons.

How a year can change everything.

In his senior campaign, Jeffcoat snared 72 balls for 1,025 yards and seven touchdowns.

Opposing teams, fans and scouts all began to take notice.

“Scouts began to come in during the middle of the season, and they wanted to talk to me,” Jeffcoat said. “They actually wanted to know more about me and learn about my background. It was the beginning of an exciting new step in my life.”

Following his senior season, Jeffcoat was elected to the FCS Senior Scout Bowl where he returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Jeffcoat described his months since the season ended in one word — hectic.

“Since the Senior Bowl to this point, I’ve been extensively training,” Jeffcoat said.

For six weeks, Jeffcoat went to Greensboro to train with his friend and four-year teammate, Riddle, who is also training and working out for teams in hopes of catching on with an NFL team.

“The only person that has been throwing to me through the whole process has been Scott,” Jeffcoat said. “We’ve been through it all together.”

Jeffcoat and Riddle aren’t alone in their pursuits to play professionally, as defensive lineman Brandon Ward, offensive lineman John Rubertone and linebacker Travis Greene have been actively training in hopes of being invited to different NFL camps, according to Jeffcoat.

Representatives from the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles have come to Elon’s campus in the past month to witness Riddle and Jeffcoat on the field and in the weight room. Jeffcoat’s big break came when he attended the North Carolina State University Pro Day March 23, where he and Riddle were able to throw passes and compete in front of multiple teams.

“There were some good things and bad things from the Pro Day that I already knew that I had to work on,” Jeffcoat said.

Among those areas of work that Jeffcoat has been developing through training include flexibility in the ankles and hips needed to make quick turns up field and shed blockers, as well as overall conditioning.

His strengths he said include size, speed and elevation. Measuring at 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds, Jeffcoat’s vertical jump was measured at 36 inches at N.C. State’s Pro Day, giving him the ability to jump over smaller defensive backs, a plus at the next level.

Jeffcoat and quarterback Scott Riddle have been training together with the hopes of both playing in the NFL one day. File Photo.

Additionally, his 40-yard dash time ranks in the high 4.4-second range on a track, and was measured at 4.53 seconds on grass at the Pro Day.
While the NFL Draft start commences April 28 in New York City, Jeffcoat is going to continue to stay busy in the upcoming weeks.

“It’s become a waiting game. I’m just waiting for Draft Day,” Jeffcoat said. “From Pro Day to Draft Day, you’ll get calls to fly out somewhere for a visit, so you can work with the different franchises.”

With a possible NFL lockout in the future, Jeffcoat is unsure of exactly what his future will hold. A possibility of the lockout would include NFL franchises with the inability to sign free agent rookies, therefore limiting some possible outlets to the NFL for Jeffcoat.

Throughout the whole process, Jeffcoat has embraced his unclear football future, while doing his best to prepare for whatever may come next.

“I’ve learned that you have to be mentally tough balancing this element of football with school,” Jeffcoat said. “I’ve learned not to take anything for granted. Even if I don’t get to play in any league, I’m still happy because I got the chance to get this far, and a lot of people can’t get this far.”

Elon students see need, importance of being environmentally aware

Photo courtesy of Rock Valley College

In the 2006-2007 school year, Elon University president Leo Lambert and the Environmental Advisory Council developed a Sustainability Master Plan to make Elon’s campus become more environmentally aware, as well as put initiatives in place to make the campus more sustainable.

Five years later, the Environmental Advisory Council is seeing the fruits of their labor flourish.

In an informal survey of 158 students on Elon’s campus, 145 students said that they consider themselves environmentally aware.

“We need to protect our home,” senior Dan Shulman said. “Without a conscious effort to be environmentally aware, our world will deteriorate quicker.”

For some, becoming more environmentally aware simply begins in the classroom

“Since every classroom has recycling bins, it makes it easier to recycle,” senior Richard Blount said.

Elon sophomore Scott Mills prepares a "tap vs. bottled water" presentation at College Coffee. Photo courtesy of Elon Sustainability.

Along with plastic recycling bins in each classroom, paper recycling bins and trash cans let students dispose of their waste at the appropriate locations.

Elon has two rideshare programs that allow students to use alternative methods to get places. With a seven-bus fleet, Elon’s BioBuses run on fuel that is 20 percent bio-fuel and 80 percent ultra low sulfur diesel. With tram routes throughout the campus and to downtown Burlington, it allows students to reduce their carbon footprint.

“It’s important for us to do our part by reducing our usage,” sophomore Jesse Hardin said. “To me, this means walking as much as possible and taking the BioBus.”

Alternative methods for Elon students to reduce their carbon footprint include carpooling and sharing trips off campus.

“Wherever I go, I try to bring a few friends with me,” freshman Bradley McClure said. “We carpool to the grocery, to dinner just so fewer people are driving.”

Over 81 percent of Elon students surveyed explained that their Elon experience has made a difference in becoming more environmentally aware.

“I’ve learned the importance of reducing my water usage,” senior Alli Stoehr said. “Taking shorter showers, turning the faucet off while brushing my teeth, every little bit helps.”

However, some Elon students with heightened awareness of the environment think it’s important to keep progressing, as the world changes and becomes more inter-connected all the time.

“I wish that dorms had more of an emphasis on recycling,” freshman Chandler MacHemel said. “It’s up to each room to consciously decide whether to recycle or not, and there is recycled material in the trash too often.”

Along with recycling, MacHemel said that students should unplug their outlets when not in use, and not keep lights on in dorm rooms when they are not being used.

“It’s a process,” MacHemel said. “We can’t rest. We have to continue to decrease our carbon footprint.”

While the debate continues on just how much of an emphasis global warming should be in the minds of global citizens, Elon students seek a need to act, as over 68 percent of Elon students surveyed say they are personally concerned with global warming and are taking personal action.

Math Tools for Journalists–Ch. 1-4

The first four chapters of Math Tools for Journalists details some of the important, basic facts that all journalists should know. These topics include the language of numbers, percentages, statistics and federal statistics.

All of these are important for journalists, as they can better convey and drive home important point for the readers.

In the first chapter, the language of numbers, it discusses the importance of conveying information through numbers and the appropriate use of numbers in text.

In the second chapter, percentages, the common uses for percentages in writing are discussed—percentage increase, percentage decrease, percentage of the whole and percentage points.

The third chapter, statistics, gives a basic understanding of statistics and the role manipulation of numbers plays for a journalist. This chapter talks about how statistics can be used to drive home the most salient and important points in text.

The final chapter, federal statistics, talks about unemployment rate, the CPI and GDP figures, and how to better understand them.

Chapter 2: Percentages in depth

The percentages chapter is especially important, as percentages can convey so many different ideas, and almost anything dealing with numbers in journalism can be manipulated into a statistic.

With percentages, as stated before, there are four main statistics that can be used to convey important ideas for the journalist. The first type is percentage increase/decrease. These are used to show change over time. The formula is conveyed as the following:

1. Percentage increase/decrease = (new figure – old figure) / old figure
2. Convert to a percentage by moving the decimal two places to the right.

One real-world application for percentage increase/decrease is in salary change, with stories about workers with change in salary. To put this number as a percentage can give it drastic implications (15 percent increase, 30 percent decrease, etc.)

Percentage of a whole is the next type of statistic that can be sought from percentages. This can be conveyed through the following formula:

1. Percentage of a whole = subgroup / whole group.
2. Move the decimal point two points to the right.

This type of statistic lends itself well when there is something that is part of a whole, but often is a large portion of the whole, such as a football team’s budget in an entire collegiate athletic budget.

The third type of statistic that can be derived from percentages is percentage points. There difference between percent and percentage points. Percents is out of one hundred, while percentage points are based out of the whole, not necessarily out of 100 percent.

Other things that were emphasized in this chapter is both simple and annual interest, which can be derived from the following formula:

Interest = principal x rate (as a decimal) x time (in years)

Compounding interest is a term that accumulates over time, with more and more money being added to the interest as time goes on. Interest can be compounded monthly, annually, etc. The more often it is compounded, the quicker the interest will accumulate.

Example:

In Ohio, the May unemployment rate was 8.2%. In September, it was 14.5%. By how much percentage points did the unemployment rate grow from May to September?

Answer: 14.5%-8.2%=6.3%.

6.3%/8.2%= 76%. The unemployment rate climbed by 76 % from may to September.

America’s Best Newspaper Writing– “The Classics”

Classical writing can come from a bevy of different sources. It doesn’t necessarily have to be hard-hitting news stories. In fact, some of the best classical journalistic writing comes from weeks and weeks on the job writing a story that culminates to one point, as exemplified in America’s Best Newspaper Writing. Marvel Cooke, a writer for The Daily Compass took an investigative journalistic approach as she went undercover to exploit the unfairness of white women in the workplace.

The most important thing to remember while writing classical pieces is to catch the audience up with the information in the story, making it seem like they were at the scene for the time of the reporting. Vivid details and imagery help add to this type of classical writing, and allow audiences to feel empathy and unjust in a classical piece when they see it.

The following pieces are examples of classical journalism that succeed in bringing the audience into the situation and having their emotions elicit their true feelings towards an idea or concept.

John Reed was an American journalist and community activist. In a time of “muckraking” journalism, he sought to uncover the truth on stories that had largely been left untold. Such was the case when Reed wrote about the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. Reed experienced the Revolution firsthand, as he followed many of the prominent Bolshevik leaders during his time in Russia. In his work, Reed wrote about the inception of the Revolution, and how it came to power from a first-hand perspective.

Nicholas Lemann, a national correspondent for the Atlantic wrote a piece in 1991 entitled “The Promised Land” which talks about migration in the United States. The first great wave of migration came through Ellis Island at the turn of the 20^th Century. The second, Lemann says, begun in the 1940’s where over 5 million blacks from farms in the South moved to cities in the North. His writing follows African Americans as they travel North to find work, and change the face of the economy and job opportunities forever. In his accounts, Lemann is largely telling an untold story that is uncovered.

Ida Tarbell, known as one of the first prominent females in journalism, wrote on the history of the Standard Oil company, and how it has affected society. Known as a muckraker, Tarbell worked hard to uncover truths behind the Standard Oil company. Through her work, Tarbell showed the wrongs that Rockefeller did in his business.

The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which worked to uncover secrets behind the Vietnam War. Through the publications, The New York Times was able to uncover that the Johnson Administration had lied to the public and to Congress. A national issue, The Pentagon Papers brought light to issues that Americans had never known about.

Henry Hampton wrote about America’s Civil Rights years, largely between 1954-1965 and how it affected American life, entitled “Eyes on the Prize”. Largely considered to be the definitive writing on the Civil Rights Movement helped give a voice to the movement, through constant interviews and interactions with the people associated with the movement, it helped bring the story to the masses and give a voice to the movement.

Tips to budding journalists

Graphic by Jack Rodenfels

By Jack Rodenfels

After perusing the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s website, I was able to find an address to what the news media currently looks like, and where it is headed in the future. Titled THE STATE OF THE MEDIA 2011, Tom Rosentiel and Amy Michell discuss the state of the American news media.

The article said that the only major media sector that suffered continuous revenue declines in the past year was newspapers, where newsrooms are 30 percent smaller than they were in 2000. As a journalist, this helps me understand, and drive home the point that it’s essential to be multi-faceted as a journalist, and that I can’t be limited to one particular medium.

Detailing the future of the media in their article, Rosentiel and Mitchell say that lack of an audience won’t be a problem among mediums in the future, but rather, may not be “in control of its own future.” This is because new technological advancements connect content to both consumers and advertisers.

On the webpage is a SMALL NOTE written by Bill Kovach that gives advice for students interested in a career in journalism. While short, it gives great advice about the importance of having a strong foundation in ethics, immersing yourself in a local experience and above all, the importance of reading. Reading good journalism, fiction, classics that can help to understand human nature and the human condition.

As a journalist, it’s important to be engaged in headlines locally, nationally and internationally. On the PEJ website, there is a NEWS MEDIA QUIZ that helps indentify the key players, stories and headlines of 2010, and how it helped establish the news. After taking the quiz, it also helps to identify areas in the news where I struggle to obtain information, and what I need to brush up my knowledge on to be a better all-around journalist.

Rosenthiel also wrote an opinions piece for The Washington Post talking about myths about the future of journalism. In the article, it talks about how traditional news media are not actually losing their audience. They may go online, but to traditional news sources such as The New York Times or CNN. He also dispels a rumor talking about the solution to the change in media’s landscape is to focus on local news. By going “hyperlocal” these media sources are cutting down their reach as far as number of consumers.

This website definitely helps me identify the important issues associated with the changing landscape of journalism, and the best ways to merge with the changing media. Overall, the importance of being multi-faceted and reading and studying good journalism will help me become a better journalist as well.

News, information accessed via mobile devices with exceeding force

Juniors Sam Warren and Cameron Green discuss mobile devices and the news.

Video by Jack Rodenfels

As the world becomes increasingly connected and linked, the way people access the news has changed, too.

Especially true amongst college students, news accessibility has become more mobile, with students catching up with what is going on around the world often in the palm of their hand.

“I’m typically on my cell phone every hour or so catching up with what is going on in the world,” sophomore Sarah Davenport said. “To me, it’s so easy to just reach for my phone and access information in a few seconds.”

With more and more online and mobile-driven content, it begs the question as to whether print journalism is becoming obsolete. The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism surveyed 2,251 adults and found that 47 percent get at least some local news and information on their cell phone or tablet computer.

With such an emphasis on alternative forms of accessing the news, the research reported that 39 percent of adults say that the loss of newspapers would have no impact on them being able to access the news.

“It’s just so much easier to access information in real-time, rather than wait for the next day to catch the headlines,” senior Jo Beth Stoddard said. “The future of quickly accessing news isn’t found in print media.”

The New York Times' iPhone app. Courtesy of The New York Times

News, both local and international aren’t the only forms of information being accessed via mobile devices, according to the survey, as 42 percent of mobile device owners report getting weather updates and 37 percent get material about restaurants or other local businesses on their phones.

“I’m accessing maps, weather and venues more on my cell phone than I am news,” freshman Jason Vonick said. “While I also access news, the first place I go when I have a question is my mobile device.”

News outlets such as CNN and the BBC are used often for accessing international news, while The New York Times and USA Today are often used to access news domestically.

“I get a wide variety of news in order to educate myself as broadly as possible,” junior SGA executive president Sam Warren said.

While news and information is accessed so often via mobile devices, 99 percent of Americans are not paying for a news application to receive the news on their mobile devices. With so many free options, it’s easy to access the news without having to pay for it.

“As of right now, I would say no,” Warren said when asked about whether he would be for applications to access the news via his mobile device. “But if they all instituted a one dollar fee, I’d be more willing to do it.”

With so much news being accessed via mobile devices, there is still a place for news accessed online, and through print mediums as well.

“I feel like if I need that information, I would get that from people I’m around, not necessarily from a device,” junior Cameron Green said.

While indicating she stays current with what is going on in the news through online sources, she enjoys the separation from her phone and doesn’t see the need to be completely bogged down by her mobile device.

“I would just prefer to have a little bit of autonomy from my cell phone, at times,” Green said.