Facts matter. Facts in context matter more. They tell a story, deliver meaning, prompt action. The numbers in this issue, by themselves, are reference points. It's what you do with them that counts. Journalists are not typically numbers people. There's an old joke that blames the plague of math-phobic journalists on universities. The punchline suggests that journalists chose their major because there was no math requirement. The joke ends up on them, of course, Numbers figure in almost any story of substance. Numbers are essential for context, to quantify a problem or concern. How many is frequently just as important and often more so than who, what, when, where, and why.
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