The Duluth $500,000 grant story uses numbers throughout to explain the current situation. First, the reporter used numbers to tell readers just how much grant money Duluth was getting. Then, the reporter used percentages to discuss the number of people who had insurance to cover the losses in the flash floods (5 to 10 percent out of 1,700). Finally, the story included numbers for other flood relief that has gone to the area ($167.5 million so far).
The numbers are not overwhelming. They are used simply to add background information to the story. The reporter did not use unnecessary numbers that would complicate the story and confuse readers, but used just enough to keep them informed. The reporter used math to find the number of people who had insurance when the floods hit. The foundation that is donating the $500,000, the Cargill Foundation, is the source of the first number. The reporter did not attribute the second number. I am assuming that he crunched these himself or got them from another story. He should have attributed these numbers to make his story more credible. The last number came from a meeting that state legislators held.
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