Chapter 9 focused on the constant collecting and distributing of data. Journalism like every other profession uses data to justify its arguments and to make improvements on their product.
This is what I agree with the chapter on why data is so important to journalism:
• It is organized. Using data helps in categorizing what we are looking for in our stories and how to prioritize that information. For example in the book it mentions a business writer may look for some of the following: Name of the company, location, CEO, etc.
• Justification. It is unprofessional to write a baseless article. You cannot just have a gut feeling about a story. It needs to be supported with concrete facts because in journalism, the truth is all that matters.
• Influence. Facts cannot be ignored. The blog that was started by The Los Angeles Times literally saves lives. It was a homicide blog that ended up as a database with each murder in the city posted on a Google Map. While it is not a pleasant story, it is a real issue and helps everyone in the bad areas of that city.
Data can be real dry and boring, but it gets the job done. It is factual, concrete, and until otherwise proven different an accepted truth. And that is all that matters to a successful journalist, truth.