Jonathan Hiskes | Nov. 19, 2007
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| Photo by Ben Weller |
| Meyer told students they must be able to sort and present data effectively. |
“It’s not enough to get information into readers’ hands,” he said. “You have to know how to get it into their heads, too.”
Meyer is the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He spoke to the graduate class about the importance of data analysis in contemporary journalism.
Meyer is a leader in social science research methods, honing his skills as a Detroit Free Press reporter during the 1967 riots. His application of social science research methods, learned at Harvard’s Nieman Fellowship program, helped the staff win the Pulitzer Prize for general local reporting.
His 1973 book, Precision Journalism, urges journalists to use more rigorously the scientific method and the advances made in the social sciences. The book promotes computer-assisted data analysis and scientific surveying, among other methods, as antidotes to the increasingly sophisticated spin that journalists face. Journalism Quarterly named it one of 35 significant books of the 20th century on journalism and mass communication.
Following are video highlights from Meyer’s talk on computer-assisted reporting and the future of journalism:
Meyer’s coverage of the 1967 Detroit riots for the Detroit Free Press helped mark the beginning of a new “precision journalism.” Here, he tells how it happened.
His 1973 book, Precision Journalism, urges journalists to use more rigorously the scientific method and the advances made in the social sciences. The book promotes computer-assisted data analysis and scientific surveying, among other methods, as antidotes to the increasingly sophisticated spin that journalists face. Journalism Quarterly named it one of 35 significant books of the 20th century on journalism and mass communication.
Following are video highlights from Meyer’s talk on computer-assisted reporting and the future of journalism:
 |
| Photo by Ben Weller |
| Data and information must be presented so that readers of all skill levels easily can understand it, Meyer advised. |
- Lessons from Detroit: Sample survey of riot area (2.77MB) (1:13 minutes, 2.8 MB)
Data analysis has the power to uncover errors in popular assumptions, Meyer said. When Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, Meyer already was at work on a survey of African-American attitudes about civil rights activism. He disproved predictions about the end of nonviolent activism, as he explains here.
- Social science methods vs. conventional wisdom (2.27MB) (1:02, 2.3 MB)
For a teacher of methods that journalists may find intimidating, Meyer was clear about his philosophy on presenting information: keep it simple. He said journalists should write with the readers’ education levels in mind.
- Write for ‘milkman in Omaha’ (1.21MB) (:32, 1.2 MB)
Meyer addressed newsroom profitability and job cuts by explaining the “sweet spot” on a bell curve.
- Where profit and quality intersect (2.03MB) (:53, 2 MB)
The Internet requires journalists who can engage readers in conversations, but it primarily demands skilled data handlers, Meyer said.
- Get information into readers’ heads (1.61MB) (:44, 1.6 MB)
During his visit, Meyer met with a former student, School of Journalism Dean Brad Hamm, and held informal discussions with students Thursday and Friday.
