Math Across the Curriculum... Journalism and Math
Do math and journalism mix? Yes. Everyday.

Journalists say sometimes seriously, sometimes jokingly, that they entered the profession so they wouldn't have to do a lot of math.

Fortunately or unfortunately, most working reporters have to deal with math every day.

A good reporter knows how to calculate a ratio, figure an average, locate a median and compute a percentage.

These websites can be helpful for journalists:

• Niles Online   statistics every writer should know
• Niles Guide to Finding Data on the Internet  
  
  
• Investigative Reporters and Editors   math test for journalists
• School of Journalism and Mass Communication UNC-Chapel Hill   math competency test for journalists
  
  
• Why Math Matters   by Chip Scanlan at Poynter.org
• Avoiding Numeric Novocain: Writing Well with Numbers   by Chip Scanlan at Poynter.org
• Learn more about budgets   by Dave Herzog at The Providence Journal
  
  
• No Train, No Gain: Numeracy Exercises   math and statistics toolbox cards for journalists
• No Train, No Gain: Numeracy Resources   training for newspaper journalists
• No Train, No Gain: Turning Date Into Prose
  
  
• Statistics.com  
• Online Conversion   Convert anything to anything, 5,000 units, 50,000 conversions
• Learn more about statistics online   American Statistical Association

– This handout prepared August 2005 by Dr. Anthony Curtis Department of Mass Communications University of North Carolina at Pembroke Sources: http://www.ablongman.com/stovall6e/chp04/chp04.html http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=71048 http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=23390