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There's Math in Journalism Now?

 I came into this class thinking data journalism would be super hands on with mathematics and determine the best way to deliver a story, and in our case it wasn't too far off. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would because of the content we were learning. It wasn't so much math oriented, but learning how to correctly sift through data and comprehend what you're looking at and how to work with it is the biggest takeaway I'm taking from this class. Percent change, census, social security data and more are some things I can put on my resume because of I've come to understand how to find data and then apply myself to it. I did enjoy coming to class because of Professor Maier's ability to complete these datas tasks, but also making it known he doesn't have all the answers to everything in our occupation, which in turn makes it easier to learn from and appreciate him being there coming back from retirement to teach one of the SOJC's most daunting class. ...
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The Steve Doig Show

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 Today in Data Journalism class on 5/18/22 we had the pleasure of being joined by data journalist and newly retired journalism professor at ASU, Steve Doig, who has been fundamental in the learning the keys to success while using data journalism. the biggest takeaway I got from Steve was the fact he brought up the Census as being one off the key contributors to his success. In class we've been working with the Census data most often, and connecting Steve's experience and our class work shows a direct line to where our skills we're working on can end up. Another takeaway I got from him that I'm sort of lost on is the secondary skill of mapping. Even listening I'm not too sure what it is or how it's super helpful, but it's definitely on my radar as he said it was the second most helpful tool other than the Census. It was inspiring(might be too cliché) to hear him basically learn data journalism on the fly in the 90's, and if he can do that without being sh...
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The Tales of Vingile and Dorathy

 My Grandfather's name is not Vingile, but Virgil. I know it it's him though because of his middle initial E-which stands for Eugene, matches up with the Census' middle initial of E. Plus the odds of there being a Vingile married to a woman named Dorathy are slim to none. The most outrageous information I saw was what the work hours for the last week of work for him was, and it was 85. As a farmer. Farming is no easy task as I've heard many times from my dad about the grueling summers picking onions in Walla Walla, Washington. While Virgil was out in the fields, Dorathy was at home with 0 hours of public work done. It's amazing to see what my Grandfather's work ethic was like back when he was 25. This information could be used in Journalism to compare other farmers in Washington or the comparison between farmers work lives and their wives work lives. 
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Lecture with Ed Yong: The Art of Science Journalism

 Somehow I've gotten myself into a Journalism class that focuses on Math, and now I've heard a lecture on Science in Journalism-who would've guessed, and on my final term too. I joined Ed Yong's lecture on Zoom through the University of Oregon today 4/20/22. My first takeaway came early in his lecture, and stuck with me because it's something I need to get way better at. He emphasized the importance of having a plethora of subjects and interviews. I'm lazy when it comes to this and figure I have all the information I can get at certain points, so trying to go above and beyond to get more information is something I need to work on. Another thing that's really interesting that Ed didn't touch on too much was the fact there aren't many people telling stories in a way that truly makes the reader feel a certain way. There are thousands of stories written about Covid, but ti really makes you thing-how many of those stories touched the reader in a way that ...
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Interviewing the Numbers

 Numbers provide more context in stories than we journalists originally think. I read Scott R. Maier's article  'Interviewing the Numbers' and it dove into the concept of how numbers play a role in journalism. There's no escape to numbers as they're evident in every story waiting to be written. Journalists are meant to make it easier for readers to understand a story as they most likely aren't an expert in the field, but journalists aren't experts either. Using experts as sources can be as difficult as numbers because it can seem as though you're experiencing a new language, but creating an environment for yourself as a journalist that allows you to understand the topic, and then produce it in a way that the reader can comprehend is critical. Numbers can help add to the story and while it can look like data bores the audience, it can actually liven the story up with information that can make a base layer of understanding, or an element of surprise for th...
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Welcome to My Page!

My name is Sam Criscola and I'm a Senior Journalism major and comics and cartoons studies minor at the University of Oregon. The UO has helped me expand my knowledge on every day material, but also more specifically inclined for my major. I'm interested in writing in sports-whether that's basketball, lacrosse, football or soccer. I'm not picky, but I just want an opportunity. My favorite hobby outside of writing is lacrosse where I'm in my final season playing at the UO. I'm excited to learn more about wordpress and spread my blogging portfolio!
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