5 Charts

This is a chart I found from the Virginian-Pilot about foreclosures in Hampton Roads. With the news of foreclosures falling 10% in January, there were about 97 new stories out on GoogleNews from sources around the nation. I viewed at least half of those sources and this is the only chart I could find. I was surprised that for such a large issue no one would take the time to show readers the changing foreclosure rate over time. I would have liked to see at least half of 2008 added to the graph to show the comparison of what the housing market was life before it crashed. It is also interesting that RealtyTrac changed the way they report foreclosures now, not including any first stage defaults. I definitely think this graph could stand alone and does a good job giving information to the local community.


This is a chart from the Wall Street Journal regarding a study on a heart procedure found unnecessary by a government funded research group and how their findings effected the use of the procedure. This is an important chart because the procedure is covered by insurance companies. I think the chart's greatest strength is that it uses a scale that doesn't try to skew the numbers. When the news came out about the findings, the procedure's use dropped only 13%, which is a significant amount in a short period of time, but at the same time isn't a huge percentage. I'm glad they chose to show its usage over time, which is the best way to present this information and definitely enhances the story. I don't think this chart could stand alone because it doesn't explain what the Courage Study is and why it is significant.



This chart is from USA Today and is about the decrease in communities installing red light cameras. A weakness of this graphic is that it doesn't give enough context. I want to know why the y-scale goes about 100%. Also the story gives good information on the drop in dangerous t-bone crashes and the rise in not-so-dangerous rear-end crashes. I would have like to see additional graphics on these stats because I feel they are an important element in the story. I feel like the graphic adds to the story but could not be published alone.


This chart from the Columbia Missourian and is about proposed changes to electric rates in either the state of Missouri or Columbia. The problem with this is that it is not with a story on the website that I could find and there isn't enough context in the graphic to explain where or when this could go into effect. Also if the Large Transmission category only shows one consumer then the graph is skewed because it looks like residential is having to pay the difference for that one consumer to have a decrease. This graph should not have run alone because it give enough information about the topic.



This chart is something goofy I found from a personal blog. It charts what the media was reporting on the day Britney went into the Hospital. The first thing I would add is the date of her hospital visit because I think she went to the hospital more than once. I also think I would have done this in a bar graph. If the blogger only poled their favorite sources we would have no idea. It would show more objectivity to have a bar graph and show how many sources were reporting on each topic. This graphic does a good job of standing alone if you know anything about pop culture and Britney's troubled past.