Overview

"From the quality of the air we breathe to the national leaders we choose, data and statistics are a pervasive feature of daily life and daily news. But how do news, numbers and public opinion interact with each other – and with what impacts on society at large? Featuring an international roster of established and emerging scholars, this book is the first comprehensive collection of research into the little understood processes underpinning the uses/misuses of statistical information in journalism and their socio-psychological and political effects. Moving beyond the hype around “data journalism,"" News, Numbers and Public Opinion delves into a range of more latent, fundamental questions such as: · Is it true that most citizens and journalists do not have the necessary skills and resources to critically process and assess numbers? · How do/should journalists make sense of the increasingly data-driven world? · What strategies, formats and frames do journalists use to gather and represent different types of statistical data in their stories? · What are the socio-psychological and political effects of such data gathering and representation routines, formats and frames on the way people acquire knowledge and form attitudes? · What skills and resources do journalists and publics need to deal effectively with the influx of numbers into in daily work and life – and how can newsrooms and journalism schools meet that need? The book is a must-read for not only journalists, journalism and media scholars, statisticians and data scientists but also anybody interested in the interplay between journalism, statistics and society."

Full Product Details

Author:   Dr. An Nguyen (Senior Lecturer in News Media/Journalism Studies, Bournemouth University, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic USA
Weight:   0.413kg
ISBN:  

9781501354007

ISBN 10:   1501354000
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   22 August 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors Foreword Stuart Allan, Cardiff University, UK Introduction Exciting times in the shadow of the `post-truth' era: news, numbers and public opinion in a data-driven world An Nguyen, Bournemouth University, UK Section 1: Data and Statistics in News Production 1 Common statistical errors in the news: the often-unfulfilled roles of journalists in statistics-society relationship Fabienne Crettaz von Roten, University of Lausanne, Switzerland 2 More light, less heat: rethinking impartiality in light of a review into the reporting of statistics in UK news media Stephen Cushion, Cardiff University, UK; Justin Lewis, Cardiff University, UK 3 Numbers that kill: how dubious statistics shaped news reporting of the drone war Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, University of Stirling, UK 4 Poor numbers, poor news: the ideology of poverty statistics in the media Jairo Lugo-Ocando, University of Leeds, UK; Brendan Lawson, University of Leeds, UK 5 Statistics in science journalism: an exploratory study of four leading British and Brazilian newspapers Renata Faria Brandao, University of Sheffield, UK; An Nguyen, Bournemouth University, UK 6 Data journalism at its finest: A longitudinal analysis of the characteristics of award-nominated data journalism projects Julius Reimer, Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research, Germany; Wiebke Loosen, Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research, Germany 7 Numbers behind the news: audience metrics and the changing nature of gatekeeping An Nguyen, Bournemouth University, UK; Hong Tien Vu, University of Kansas, USA Section 2: Data and Statistics in News Consumption 8 The power of numbers, reconsidered Scott R. Maier, University of Oregon, USA 9 Big data, little insight: anecdotal and quantitative descriptions of threatening trends and their effects on news consumers Charles R. Berger, University of California, Davis, USA 10 Effects of statistical information in news reports on individuals' recall and understanding of events and issues: implications for journalistic practices Rhonda Gibson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; Coy Callison, Texas Tech University, USA 11 Numbers in the news: more ethos than logos? Willem Koetsenruijter, Leiden University, the Netherlands 12 Audience uses and evaluations of news visualizations: when does an infographic say more than a thousand words? Yael de Haan, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands; Sanne Kruikemeier, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Sophie Lecheler, University of Vienna, Austria; Gerard Smit, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands; Renee van der Nat, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands Section 3: Agenda for the Future 13 Toward a fruitful relationship between statistics and the media: one statistician's view Kevin McConway, The Open University, UK 14 Mind the statistics gap: science journalism as a bridge between data and journalism Holger Wormer, TU Dortmund University, Germany 15 Teaching statistical reasoning (or not) in journalism education: findings and implications from surveys with US j-chairs Robert J. Griffin, Marquette University, USA; Sharon Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA 16 Four conceptual lenses for journalism amidst big data: toward an emphasis on epistemological challenges Oscar Westlund, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Seth C. Lewis, University of Oregon, USA Index

Reviews

An Nguyen's excellent edited collection takes a big-picture, critical perspective on the Big Data hype in journalism and journalism scholarship. The included texts avoid (even argue against!) technological determinism and focus instead on the social, cultural and historical contexts of the use of data and numbers in journalism and tackle key issues using well-chosen case studies and analytical sharpness. A must-read for anyone trying to make sense of the increasingly numbers-obsessed contemporary news landscape. * Henrik OErnebring, Professor of Media and Communication, Karlstad University, Sweden, and Chair of the ICA Journalism Studies Division 2016-18 *

Author Information

An Nguyen is Associate Professor of Journalism at Bournemouth University, UK. He has published extensively on the diffusion and social impact of online/digital journalism, news consumption and citizenship (including citizen journalism), science journalism, and news and development in a globalizing world.

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