Journalism, the World and the Future
Discussion of the future of journalism from GMU
Archive for Reporting techniques
Update: I made an error in using the term “of Brazilian descent” when discussing the Census Bureau data. The number cited below are those born in Brazil. To be clear, the Census Bureau does not ask a persons residency status.
First posted at Journalism, Journalists and the World
Part 1
Here’s to Boston.Com for understanding that an important election 5,000 miles away has an important local angle.
Today (10/3) Brazilians went to the polls to elect a successor to the highly popular Lula. In Brazil about 95% of the 132 eligible voters went to the polls. (Voting is mandatory.)
And Brazilians overseas also got into the act. Local polling stations were set up in Paris and Tokyo. (I know this because Brazilian media reported it.)
And in Framingham, Mass.
Megan McKee filed a story about how the voting was going in Framingham:
Brazilians flock to the polls in Framingham for presidential election
Was it really that difficult for her to do that story?
I doubt it. All it took was paying attention to what was going on in her LOCAL area.
And suddenly she has a LOCAL story with a significant INTERNATIONAL angle. Or an international story with a local angle. (Take your pick.)
Bottom line is that Ms. McKee should be congratulated for seeing something in her area that other reporters in their areas have not seen.
Hers is the only — yes, ONLY — story I have seen so far about Brazilians voting in the United States.
Now, she did base her estimate on how many Brazilians in New England on the word of one of the Brazilian parties. She could have gone to the Census Bureau for a more unbiased account.
The 2009 American Survey shows that in Massachusetts, there are 69, 122 people born in Brazil. of Brazilian origin. Of that number. 78% are 18 or older, and therefore eligible to vote. (If they are Brazilian citizens.)
Nationwide there are 359,149 people who were born in Brazil of Brazilian descent and 75.7% are 18 or older.
BTW, statistically the number of those of Brazilian descent in Virginia is so low that the Census Bureau does not count them.
Part 2
The really sad part about this story, however, are the hateful and ignorant comments made to the article. These two are a good sampling of many of the comments made against people exercising their right to vote.
Besides being bigoted, these folks show a complete lack of understanding what is going on.
It is because of the ignorance of people like this that it is so much more important that LOCAL reporters find the GLOBAL story in LOCAL events.
truthnaturally wrote:
This should NOT be allowed. Americans (the real tru ones) have fought life and limb for the rights to vote and along comes this bunch of bubble butts and they get to vote in two….its not right, if you are here in America, whats the point of making changes in your own country (dont say family) I dont get to vote in your country! If want to change your countries politics, stop raping mine and go back.
10/3/2010 5:48 PM EDT
DisinterestedObserver wrote:
Hopefully, the Town of Framingham is making sure the Brazilian government is paying the utilities, double time rate overtime costs of the custodial staff and police details, and any other miscellaneous costs plus a hefty markup to allow a foreign election to be held at an American high school. There should be absolutely no costs associated with this election that aren’t billed to and paid for the Brazilian government. Also, is INS there to check if the Brazilian voter are legal US residents? Finally, why should American citizens be inconvenienced by a 1 mile traffic backup?
Seems Macy’s is once again showing that companies can help people affected by disaster and make a profit.
And it provides an opportunity for LOCAL reporters to do a story with a GLOBAL hook.
The Globe and Mail of Toronto had a story yesterday about how Macy’s will be selling the work of Haitian artists. (Haitian artisans strike deal to sell work at Macy’s)
See rest of story at: Local-Global: Macy’s helps Haitian Artists
There is no reason student journalists should not be able to go out and do this story.
- Look around campus for artists to talk to about the Macy’s project.
- Check the records to see what campus groups have provided help to the people of Haiti.
- See if those groups have done any innovative projects to help other areas affected by natural disasters or wars.
First posted at the web site of the Washington, DC Society of Professional Journalists.
This may not be an issue that directly affects international coverage but the impact of this so-called debate reaches beyond the borders of the US of A. It is worthwhile looking at the logic behind the reasoning for the AP decision.
Associated Press editor Tom Kent sent out a memo late last week with new guidance on how — under AP Style — reporters should refer to the mosque proposed for lower Manhattan.
(You can read the memo here and Kent’s discussion of the memo on Facebook.)
Bottom line: It is NOT the “ground zero mosque” and the site under question has been used for prayers for some time already.
The site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area. We should continue to say it’s “near” ground zero, or two blocks away.
Kent added:
It may be useful in some stories to note that Muslim prayer services have been held since 2009 in the building that the new project will replace. The proposal is to create a new, larger Islamic community center that would include a mosque, a swimming pool, gym, auditorium and other facilities.
In his Facebook discussion, Kent said:
Incidentally, our note today represented no change in the way we’ve been writing about this case. The vast majority of our stories in recent weeks have referred to a mosque “near” ground zero, or “two blocks away.” But a few of our headlines have said “ground zero mosque,” and we felt that term wasn’t as specific as it could be.
So, can we move on and start using the correct term for the mosque, make sure we have the location correct and make sure the whole thing is put into context.
Once again one of my favorite resources has piles and piles of data about an upcoming event.
The Census Bureau recently released data related to back to school events with plenty of links to datasets and tables to back up the commentary.
Part of the importance of this data is that reporters can go to the tables mentioned to dig out information to compare local data with national or regional data.
For stories about colleges and college students look at the data below. And then compare it to your school.
Back to School: 2010-2011
By August, summertime will be winding down and vacations will be coming to an end, signaling that back-to-school time is near.
It’s a time that many children eagerly anticipate — catching up with old friends, making new ones and settling into a new daily routine. Parents and children alike scan the newspapers and websites looking for sales to shop for a multitude of school supplies and the latest clothing fads and essentials. This edition of Facts for Featureshighlights the many statistics associated with the return to classrooms by our nation’s students and teachers.
Back-to-School Shopping
$7.2 billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2009. Only in December were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores in August 2009 totaled $2.5 billion, an amount approached in 2009 only by sales in January.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services
For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound:
In 2007, there were 27,326 family clothing stores, 7,036 children and infants clothing stores, 27,213 shoe stores, 9,754 office supply and stationery stores, 23,756 sporting goods stores, 10,635 bookstores and 10,116 department stores.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2007
Students
76 million
The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2008 — from nursery school to college. They comprised 27 percent of the entire population 3 and older.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
Pre-K through 12 Enrollment
53%
Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
72%
Percentage of children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
56 million
The projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary through high schools (grades K-12) this fall.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
11%
Projected percentage of elementary through high school students enrolled in private schools this fall.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
43%
Percentage of elementary through high school students who were nonwhite (single race) or Hispanic, as of October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
22%
Percentage of elementary through high school students who had at least one foreign-born parent in October 2008. Five percent were foreign-born themselves.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
50%
Percentage of kindergarten through 12th-grade students in California who had at least one foreign-born parent in 2006. California led the nation, followed by Nevada with 36 percent. New York, Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey and Hawaii were some of the states that also had at least one-quarter of students this age with at least one foreign-born parent.
Source: School Enrollment in the United States: 2006
Nearly 80%
Percentage of students ages 12 to 17 who were academically on-track in 2006, up 8 percentage points from 1998. The odds of being on-track were 48 percent higher for these students if they were in a gifted class and 34 percent higher if they had never been suspended or expelled from school.
(Students were considered to be academically on-track if they were enrolled in school at or above the grade level appropriate for their age.)
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
52%
Percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who were highly engaged in school in 2006, up 5 percentage points from 1998. For 6- to 11-year-olds, the respective increase was from 56 percent to 59 percent.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
41%
Percentage of 6- to 17-year-olds who participated in sports in 2006, up from 34 percent in 1998. Participation in sports was the most popular extracurricular activity.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
Languages
10.9 million
Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who spoke a language other than English at home in 2008; 7.8 million of these children spoke Spanish at home.
Source: 2008 American Community Survey
45%
Percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in California who spoke a language other than English at home in 2006.
California, which led all states, was followed by Texas (35 percent), New Mexico (34 percent) and Arizona (32 percent). The national average was 21 percent. (The percentages for Texas and New Mexico were not significantly different from one another.)
Source: School Enrollment in the United States: 2006
Lunchtime
31 million
Average number of children participating each month in the national school lunch program in 2008.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 558
10 billion
The nation’s total apple production, in pounds, in 2009. The chances are good that the apples your children present to their teachers or enjoy for lunch were grown in Washington state, which accounted for more than half of the nation’s total production.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
College
19.1 million
The projected number of students enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 13.8 million 20 years ago.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
16%
Percentage of all college students 35 and older in October 2008. They made up 36 percent of those attending school part time.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
64%
Percentage of undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges in October 2008. Of those enrolled in such schools, 83 percent attended full time.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
49%
Percentage of 18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college in 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
55%
Percentage of college students who were women in October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
40%
Percentage of New Jersey residents who were college freshmen and attended school in-state, the lowest rate in the nation among states (as of fall 2006). Utah, at 90 percent, had the highest rate. (The District of Columbia had a rate of 29 percent.)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 277
26%
Among freshmen enrolled in colleges and universities in Rhode Island, the percentage enrolled in their home state ─ the lowest percentage in the nation among states in 2006. Texas (92 percent) had the highest percentage in 2006. (The District of Columbia had a rate of 7 percent.)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 277
How Many Schools?
98,793
Number of public schools in 2006-07. In 2007-08, there were 28,218 private schools.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Tables 234 and 255 (Note: Data for public and private schools pertain to different years because they were collected from separate surveys.)
4,352
Number of institutions of higher education in 2007.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 269
3,970
The number of public charter schools nationwide in 2006-07. These schools, exempt from selected state and local rules and regulations, enrolled 1.2 million students.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 233
Teachers and Other School Personnel
7.2 million
Number of teachers in the United States in 2008. Almost 3 million taught at the elementary and middle school level. The remainder included those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary, preschool and kindergarten levels.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 603
$63,640
Average annual salary of public school teachers in California as of the 2006-2007 school year — the highest of any state. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest pay — $35,378. The national average was $50,758. High school principals earned $97,486 annually in 2007-08.
Source: National Education Association and Educational Research Service as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Tables 247 and 250
$16.56
Average hourly wage for the nation’s school bus drivers in 2007-08.
Custodians earned $14.19, while cafeteria workers made $11.60.
Source: Educational Research Service as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 250
Technology
14.2 million
Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation’s schools as of the 2005-2006 school year. That works out to one computer for every four students.
Source: Market Data Retrieval as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 254
The Rising Cost of College
$14,915
Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an academic year (2007-08).
That was more than double the cost in 1990.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 282
$40,640
Average tuition, room and board at the nation’s four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2007-08). That also was more than double the 1990 figure.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 282
The Rewards of Staying in School
$83,144
Average annual 2008 earnings of workers 18 and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $21,023 for those without a high school diploma.
In addition, those with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $58,613 in 2008, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,283.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009
$75,621
Average starting salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates in petroleum engineering in 2008, among the highest of any field of study. At the other end of the spectrum were those majoring in a social science, who were offered an average of $39,476.
Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 287
Graduation
3.3 million
Projected number of high school diplomas that will be awarded in the 2010-11 school year.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 216
3.3 million
Number of college degrees expected to be conferred in the 2010-11 school year.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 216
Government Spending on Public Education
$9,666
The per-pupil expenditure on public elementary and secondary education nationally in 2007. New York ($15,981) spent the most among states or state equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($15,691) and the District of Columbia ($14,324). Utah ($5,683) spent the least per student, followed by Idaho ($6,625) and Tennessee ($7,113).
Source: Public Education Finances: 2007
Parental Involvement
89%
Among K-12 students, the percentage with a parent or other household member who attended a general school or PTO/PTA meeting during the 2006-07 school year. Additionally, 65 percent had such a relative who participated in school fundraising and 46 percent who volunteered to serve on a school committee.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 243
First posted on the DC SPJ site and the SPJ International Journalism Committee site.
Last Friday CBS News did a story about how Americans are craving different spices. NPR did the same story two weeks earlier.
At the time of the NPR piece I did a blog entry here (Getting a local story from international seasonings) and on my personal blog (A spicy nation — and why. Local-Global stories waiting to happen) urging journalists to look at the local-global connection.
And still, with such a fun topic and with two major news organizations looking at it, no one has bothered to look at the local connection. Naturally, I have another rant about this lack of imagination at my site, NPR gets there ahead of CBS, but where are the local stories.
Bottom line is that the idea of local-local-local has to include the rest of the world.But damn few people see it.
I was especially unkind to the DC-Baltimore media. Here is a major company in our area that is significantly affected by demographic changes because if immigrantion and yet no one is talking about the connection.
Just a little effort at the Census Bureau web site and one can quickly discover that of all the foreign-born in Fairfax County, 50 percent are from Asia. Another 30 percent come from Latin America. Those two numbers alone should say something about how the market for spices has changed.
Oh, and foreign born in Fairfax county accounts for about 25 percent of the population.
Foreign born in Montgomery County represent more than 27 percent of the county’s population. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America each constitute about 35 percent of the foreign born population. Africans and Europeans together represent about another 25 percent.
So maybe this mix of immigrants has a different impact on what spices or seasonings are sold in local stores.
How can one say that what goes on with 25 percent of the population in two major communities in the Washignton, DC area is not worthy of coverage?
Let’s face it, too many local publications ignore or don’t see the local immigrant populations as a news source for stories other than the immigration issue.
The Washington Post was doing a pretty good job a few years ago digging into the local immigrant communities. As the reporters covering that beat (all two of them) moved on, the amount of coverage dropped. But at least the Post had someone on the beat.
How many other local news organizations can honestly claim they cover their immigrant communities expect when the story involves immigration law or some other source of violence in the community?
