How Sources, Reporters View Math Errors in News.
A study was conducted to investigate the reasons for the tendency of the media to abuse and misuse numbers. Data were drawn from a survey of 1,000 news stories cited in a U.S. metropolitan newspaper to assess the rate of mathematical inaccuracy, to identify the types of errors, to measure the perce...
| Publicado en: | Newspaper Research Journal Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 49 - 64 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Newspaper Research Journal
Fall2003
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | A study was conducted to investigate the reasons for the tendency of the media to abuse and misuse numbers. Data were drawn from a survey of 1,000 news stories cited in a U.S. metropolitan newspaper to assess the rate of mathematical inaccuracy, to identify the types of errors, to measure the perceived errors, and to investigate how the mistakes happened. Findings revealed that numerical inaccuracy could be the result of an increase in number-based stories, an increase in the critical evaluation of stories, or an increase in innumeracy in the newsroom. |
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