According to Telling the Story by The Missouri Group, “Journalists have a responsibility to understand numbers so that they are able to report clearly and accurately on everything from courts to schools.”
When Numbers are included in a news story they can be useful sometimes but depending on the circumstance numbers can be extremely confusing to the reader.
It may be difficult for the reader to remember numbers in a story and be able to comprehend what the story is actually saying.
On the other hand numbers can be very effective when comparing data or explaining poll results.
Numbers are also useful when assisting a story; it helps the reader put the narrative into perspective.
A good example is the one that Kathleen Kiely used in her post; “Many people were at the beach today” might not be so effective.
However if a reporter were to say, “Over 500 people were at the beach today,” readers would be able to visually see that number.
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