Research

Journalists are often thought of as being “word people,” and however true that may or may not be, even the most diligent reporter can blanche when faced with a thicket of figures. But sidestepping or downplaying numbers can be perilous.

Appropriately and accurately used, they can be the very foundation of a story — a project is over or under budget; students’ graduation rates are above or below average; prices are collapsing or spiking. It can even tell you when something is fact or folly.

Tell a journalist that understanding how to read a financial statement could lead to some story ideas, and they’ll likely run as far away as possible. He or she got into writing for a living to avoid numbers.

Journalist’s Resource aims to bridge the gap between the media and scholarly worlds. We come at the problem from the media end of things. But our friends at the London School of Economics and Political Science’s “Impact of Social Sciences” blog are encouraging more scholars themselves to engage directly in the wider communications space.

Renée Loth, a columnist for the Boston Globe, is the newspaper’s former editorial page editor. In that capacity, Loth was the highest-ranking woman at the Globe for nine years. Having covered presidential campaigns and served in various oversight capacities as editor, she’s spent a career both sorting through spin and practicing the art of informed opinion.