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Harrison, S (2014) History of Numeracy Education and Training for Print Journalists in England. Numeracy: Advancing Education in Quantitative Literacy, 7 (2). ISSN 1936-4660
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Abstract
If the history of journalism education has been a footnote to accounts of the profession’s development, then the history of numeracy training for journalists must be considered a footnote to a footnote. Despite the universally acknowledged centrality of numbers to a clear understanding of the world, many journalism students and entrants are proudly number-phobic; it is even suggested that an aversion to maths is a key reason why some choose journalism as a career. This study traces the development of numeracy education for journalists in England. It is only with the incipient professionalisation of journalism from the mid-19th century that numeracy becomes problematic, partly because of the rise of mass education in the 1870s and partly because of the changing nature of news. Yet - drawing on manuals, biographies and personal accounts – it turns out it was as late as the 1940s before any systematic plan to counter the prevailing literary leanings of journalists was proposed, and a further 30 years before this took root in the academy. The picture today is mixed, with professional and accreditation bodies, industry-sponsored initiatives, non-journalism organisations and academic institutions all playing a part. The consequences of this are evident in misreported or under-reported news stories. The lack of a coherent approach to numeracy training, or even agreement as to what it should comprise, exposes a critical weakness in journalism’s mission to explain.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | numeracy; journalism; education; training; quantitative literacy; data journalism |
| Subjects: | L Education > LC Special aspects of education P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN4699 Journalism |
| Divisions: | Screen School |
| Publisher: | National Numeracy Network |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Sep 2015 08:58 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2021 13:59 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.5038/1936-4660.7.2.2 |
| Editors: | Vacher, HL and Wallace, DI |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1959 |
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