Editing graphics

July 16, 2008Bill Cloud

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The agenda

• Game 1: Find the error.• A quick look at graphics.• Discussion: How can we reduce

errors?

A good map or chart:A good map or chart:

• Is free of errors.• Is easily understood by the readers.• Makes good use of its allotted space.• Is clearly connected to the story.• Has text elements that complement, rather than repeat, accompanying headlines.

A good map …

• Includes, in most cases, both a north pointer and a distance scale.

• Clearly labels the significant elements on the map.

• Labels streets and other landmarks mentioned in the story.

A good chart …

¶ Presents information clearly without wasting space.

¶ Reflects changes in the value of the dollar.

¶ Reflects changes in the population.¶ Puts numbers into perspective.

A map should be clear and uncluttered

(Unlike this one.)

Does this work?

• Would numbers and a legend (as done here) be more clear?

Distance scales:Needed or not?

Almost every map, including this one, needs to show distances.

Distance scales:Needed or not?

This is probably a reasonable exception because we’re showing the entire United States and aren’t concerned with distances.

Have we puzzled the reader?

Why is Palawan highlighted?

Readers shouldn’t be forced to search through a story to understand a map.

Do story and map connect?Here, the cutline with the map makes the

difference.

Does the map aid the reader?

Where is Eighth Avenue?

How will traffic detour?

Can we show the route?

When AP steals the good words

Strive to avoid word repetition between the headline and the graphic. Rewrite the graphic text, if necessary.

When we use the wrong words

Accounting for inflation

Stamp prices shown are misleading …

Accounting for inflation

…unless you consider the

changing value of the dollar, as indicated by the

lengthened

lines.

Check inflation at bls.gov

Accounting for inflation

Here’s an interesting

chart showing the growth of

the Maine lobster

business. The problem is …

Accounting for inflation

Value of lobsters in

2000 dollars

… It doesn’t reflect the change in the value of the dollar

Accounting for inflation

Price Per Pound in 2000

dollars

Actually, the price peaked in 1973!

1950

2002

6.00

$3.00

Controlling for populationThe chart shows differences in funding amounts among states and some cities, but those differences mainly reflect population differences. Compare it with a graph of the state populations.

Controlling for population

A per-capita comparison presents a very different picture.

Worth the

space?

Worth the

space?In this case, a table presents the infor-mation more clearly and allows us to add a crucial figure: the elec-toral votes available in each state.

Be wary of pie charts

• They do a poor job in ranking proportions.

• The numbers and the slices can be hard to connect.

• The slices get to be too thin for nourishment.

What to do instead?

• Often, simple tables are best.

• Consider the “cake” chart.

•Shares are more clear.

•Rank ordering is simpler. But: What about the number of accidents?

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1980-81 1990-91 2000-01

Car fatalities, by direction of impact –

1980-2001Driver deaths in cars 1-3

years old, per million cars registered

86 (52%

)62

(53%)

41 (46%)

42 (26%

)

37 (32%

)

32 (37%

)

36 (22%

) 18(15%)14(17%)

Front Impact

Other

Side Impact

Car safety experts shift focus to side impact

As highway deaths have declined, the share of deaths blamed on side impact crashes has risen.

A lot more information in

the same space.

A Clear ComparisonBut can the

graph show more?

Accounting for the change in population

Linear deception?Does something

look wrong here?

Linear deception?Why are injuries rising

and deaths falling?

1. Deaths are reported deaths; accident figures are estimates, based on a survey of 100 emergency rooms.

2. CPSC estimates actual deaths at figures higher than the reported deaths. Should chart use those numbers?

3. Should we include the 2004 figures at all?

Linear deception

Linear deception

Is the footnote enough here?

Shouldn’t we do

something else to show readers that

the ’04 figures are for part of a

year?

Here, change is clearly labeled

• But should we graph such a tentative number?

Linear deception

Out of?

For perspective, we should be told how many people are employed in each office and in the state as a whole.

Out of?Again, we need the

totals for the district and for each school to

understand the scope of the problem.

Out of?

With the recent round of corporate layoffs in the news, we remind everyone to include what percentage of the work force the cutbacks represent. This adds the needed context.

Saying, for example, that “Boeing will lay off 750 employees in Southern California after losing a lucrative military-satellite contract” leaves the reader wondering how many will remain on the job. For large conglomerates, it is most useful to give the percentage of the work force of the unit involved.

— Paul Martin, stylebook editor,Wall Street Journal

What’s my question?

What’s my question?

11th by population World Atlas.com (also 11th in population over 65)

What’s my question?

North Carolina ranks 28th in area

Why?“N.C. has over 215 Medicare-certified home health agencies, 250 hospices, and over 1,000 licensed home care or companion agencies that provide Medicaid PCS, PDN or non-Medicaid senior sitter type services.

“Just in Medicare and Medicaid alone, over 400,000 citizens received in home care last year …

Why?

“Plus over 1 in 8 North Carolinians are on Medicaid, and our Medicaid Home Care benefit is a positive benefit. Rural counties, distances between patients etc. …”

—Tim Rogers, executive vice president, Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina

No. 1 (a tie).•A. Spelling, grammar and style. Graphics come to us with gajillions of these mistakes. •B. Reporters and/or their editors, 95% of the time, never see the graphics that accompany their stories.

2. Fonts and type sizes are inconsistent within their categories.3. Factual inaccuracies and/or information in the graphic and the story don’t match.4. Incomplete or irrelevant information.5. The method for compiling the info differs from how it is compiled in the story--centimeters in the graphic, inches in the story.

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