ABSTRACT
Graphics such as charts can compactly and systematically present numbers that tell part of a story. By placing numbers in spatial arrangements that the eye can take in quickly or can linger on to make comparisons, graphics offer advantages over listing lots of numbers in narrative sentences. Media are evolving to include more charts, graphs, diagrams and maps. Comparing current issues of news magazines, for instance, to editions from a decade or more ago will show dramatic changes. Newspaper staffs include graphics editors who work with reporters and story editors to plan the visual aspects of a package. Editors need to pay close attention to surveyors' use of specialized terminology because many of those terms are used quite loosely—and inaccurately—in everyday conversation. Editors are the line of defense for the public; many such stories are worth publishing and are interesting to read, but editors have to decide on their newsworthiness and how prominently results will be played.
