Category Archives: Journalism

MORE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF PROBABILITIES.

MORE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF PROBABILITIES. I was of course pleased to see a report by a good journalist which expressed the opinions of informed professionals. The article gives a useful idea of the range of uncertainty … Continue reading

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A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT?

A 25% CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? In the Financial Times for January 27, Gillian Tett had the kind of article that I would like to see more of. She apparently talked to a number of senior bankers in Davos … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, History, Journalism | 1 Comment

ARE THE IOWA CAUCUSES UNREPRESENTATIVE?

ARE THE IOWA CAUCUSES UNREPRESENTATIVE? Since the Iowa caucuses assumed enormous importance in 1972, they have been presented as examples of grassroots democracy and therefore worthy of their enormous importance. This interview with a “shrewdly cynical professional” presents a view … Continue reading

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WHY YOU CAN’T SEE THE WHOLE FOOTBALL GAME.

WHY YOU CAN’T SEE THE WHOLE FOOTBALL GAME. Reed Albergotti explains why the National Football League will not let fans see the All 22 version of the game, even after the game is over: they do not want to open … Continue reading

Posted in Football, Journalism, Sports | 1 Comment

NOT SEEING WHAT HAPPENS IN A FOOTBALL GAME.

NOT SEEING WHAT HAPPENS IN A FOOTBALL GAME. I have wondered for over 30 years why television broadcasts of professional football games show only the part of the field near the line of scrimmage. The camera follows the ball, but … Continue reading

Posted in Football, Journalism, Sports | 1 Comment

ALBERT PUJOLS SHOWS LEADERSHIP.

ALBERT PUJOLS SHOWS LEADERSHIP. Over the years, some of the most violent criticism I have read in a newspaper results from a failure by an athlete to give an interview. The latest example followed an error in the ninth inning … Continue reading

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APOPHENIA AND SPORTS JOURNALISM.

APOPHENIA AND SPORTS JOURNALISM. In yesterday’s cartoon, the first character says: “A weighted random number generator just produced a new batch of numbers.” The other character replies: “Let’s use them to build narratives.” The caption at the bottom says: “ALL … Continue reading

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APOPHENIA—THE CARTOON.

APOPHENIA—THE CARTOON. I posted here on September 25 about apophenia, and I have since been encountering discussions of the phenomenon although they don’t use the new word. Nate Silver even linked to this cartoon which dramatizes the phenomenon. The site … Continue reading

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THE STORY OF A LONG SEASON.

THE STORY OF A LONG SEASON. The use of statistics represented by MONEYBALL changed sports journalism as much as it did baseball on the field. There was a flood of baseball writing by newcomers writing from a different point of … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Journalism, Sports | 2 Comments

MONEYBALL AND STORYTELLING.

MONEYBALL AND STORYTELLING. I have posted several times on MONEYBALL, the book by Michael Lewis. The movie of MONEYBALL has now opened to generally favorable reviews. The reviewers who seem to be the harshest critics are sportswriters, who point out … Continue reading

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