As author Philip Meyer sat in a college class listening to a professor lecture about systematic tools for measuring things like trust in government, a thought struck him: a journalist could do this

He thought about the newsroom conversations he'd had about the possibility of reporting on some interesting social phenomena. The group always ended with a shrug and a lament that there was no way to measure it-but he began to wonder.

It was an epiphany for Meyer, who went on to report on the 1967 racial riots in Detroit and write the groundbreaking book Precision Journalism. While others were arguing that reporters should not use scientific methods to make conclusions of their own, Meyer was using computers and statistical software to elevate the standards of traditional journalism.

At age fifty, he switched gears and entered the world of academe, where he continues to stir the pot. In "Paper Route," he recalls two interconnected careers and examines how journalism, quantitative methods, and original thinking led him to live the remarkable life that he's still enjoying.

Five years ago in ""The Vanishing Newspaper"", Philip Meyer offered the newspaper industry a business model for preserving and stabilizing the social responsibility functions of the press in a way that could outlast technology-driven changes in media forms. Now he has updated this groundbreaking volume, taking current declines in circulation and the number of dailies into consideration and offering a greater variety of ways to save journalism. Meyer's 'influence model' is based on the premise that a newspaper's main product is not news or information, but influence: societal influence, which is not for sale, and commercial influence, which is. The model is supported by an abundance of empirical evidence, including statistical assessments of the quality and influence of the journalist's product, as well as its effects on business success. Meyer now applies this empirical evidence to recent developments, such as the impact of Craigslist and current trends in information technologies. New charts show how a surge in newsroom employment propped up readership in the 1980s, and data on the effects of newsroom desegregation are now included. Meyer's most controversial suggestion, making certification available for reporters and editors, has been gaining ground. This new edition discusses several examples of certificate programs that are emerging in organizations both old and new. Understanding the relationship between quality and profit probably will not save traditional newspapers, but Meyer argues that such knowledge can guide new media enterprises. He believes that we have the tools to sustain high-quality journalism and preserve its unique social functions, though in a transformed way.

William F. Woo, born in China, was the first person outside the Pulitzer family to edit the ""St. Louis Post-Dispatch"" and the first Asian American to edit a major American newspaper. After forty years in the newsroom, Woo embarked on a second career in 1996 teaching journalism at Stanford University, where he wrote weekly informal essays to his students in the same personal style that characterized his columns for the ""Post-Dispatch"". Each made a philosophical point about journalism and society and their delicate relationship over the last half of the twentieth century. Woo was revered as both a writer and a reporter, and this volume collects some of the best of those essays to the next generation of journalists on their craft's high purpose. As inspiration for students from someone who knew the ropes, it distills the essence of the values that define independent journalism while offering them invaluable food for thought about their future professions. The essays touch on a wide range of subjects. Woo reflects on journalism as a public trust, requiring the publication of stories that give readers a better understanding of society and equip them to change it for the better. He also ponders print journalism conducted in the face of broadcast and online competition along with the transformation of newspapers from privately owned to publicly traded companies. Here too are personal reflections on the Pulitzer family's impact on journalism and on the tensions between a journalist's personal and professional life, as well as the conflicts posed by political advocacy versus free speech or a reporter's expertise versus a newspaper's credibility. Woo's idealistic spirit conveys the virtues of his era's newspaper journalism to the next generation of journalists - and most likely to the next generation of news media as well. Even as new students of journalism have an eye on an electronic future, Woo's essays come straight from a newsman's heart and soul to remind them of values worth preserving.

As author Philip Meyer sat in a college class listening to a professor lecture about systematic tools for measuring things like trust in government, a thought struck him: a journalist could do this

He thought about the newsroom conversations he'd had about the possibility of reporting on some interesting social phenomena. The group always ended with a shrug and a lament that there was no way to measure it-but he began to wonder.

It was an epiphany for Meyer, who went on to report on the 1967 racial riots in Detroit and write the groundbreaking book Precision Journalism. While others were arguing that reporters should not use scientific methods to make conclusions of their own, Meyer was using computers and statistical software to elevate the standards of traditional journalism.

At age fifty, he switched gears and entered the world of academe, where he continues to stir the pot. In "Paper Route," he recalls two interconnected careers and examines how journalism, quantitative methods, and original thinking led him to live the remarkable life that he's still enjoying.

Good lawyers have an ability to tell stories. Whether they are arguing a murder case or a complex financial securities case, they can capably explain a chain of events to judges and juries so that they understand them. The best lawyers are also able to construct narratives that have an emotional impact on their intended audiences. But what is a narrative, and how can lawyers go about constructing one? How does one transform a cold presentation of facts into a seamless story that clearly and compellingly takes readers not only from point A to point B, but to points C, D, E, F, and G as well? In Storytelling for Lawyers, Phil Meyer explains how. He begins with a pragmatic theory of the narrative foundations of litigation practice and then applies it to a range of practical illustrative examples: briefs, judicial opinions and oral arguments. Intended for legal practitioners, teachers, law students, and even interdisciplinary academics, the book offers a basic yet comprehensive explanation of the central role of narrative in litigation. The book also offers a narrative tool kit that supplements the analytical skills traditionally emphasized in law school as well as practical tips for practicing attorneys that will help them craft their own legal stories.

Philip Meyer's work in precision journalism established a new and ongoing trend-the use by reporters of social science research techniques to increase the depth and accuracy of major stories. In this fully updated, fourth edition of the classic Precision Journalism (known as The New Precision Journalism in its third edition), Meyer shows journalists and students of journalism how to use new technology to analyze data and provide more precise information in easier-to-understand forms. New to this edition are an overview of the use of theory and science in journalism; game theory applications; introductions to lurking variables and multiple and logistic regression; and developments in election surveys. Key topics retained and updated include elements of data analysis; the use of statistics, computers, surveys, and experiments; database applications; and the politics of precision journalism. This accessible book is an important resource for working journalists and an indispensable text for all journalism majors.

Five years ago in ""The Vanishing Newspaper"", Philip Meyer offered the newspaper industry a business model for preserving and stabilizing the social responsibility functions of the press in a way that could outlast technology-driven changes in media forms. Now he has updated this groundbreaking volume, taking current declines in circulation and the number of dailies into consideration and offering a greater variety of ways to save journalism. Meyer's 'influence model' is based on the premise that a newspaper's main product is not news or information, but influence: societal influence, which is not for sale, and commercial influence, which is. The model is supported by an abundance of empirical evidence, including statistical assessments of the quality and influence of the journalist's product, as well as its effects on business success. Meyer now applies this empirical evidence to recent developments, such as the impact of Craigslist and current trends in information technologies. New charts show how a surge in newsroom employment propped up readership in the 1980s, and data on the effects of newsroom desegregation are now included. Meyer's most controversial suggestion, making certification available for reporters and editors, has been gaining ground. This new edition discusses several examples of certificate programs that are emerging in organizations both old and new. Understanding the relationship between quality and profit probably will not save traditional newspapers, but Meyer argues that such knowledge can guide new media enterprises. He believes that we have the tools to sustain high-quality journalism and preserve its unique social functions, though in a transformed way.

William F. Woo, born in China, was the first person outside the Pulitzer family to edit the ""St. Louis Post-Dispatch"" and the first Asian American to edit a major American newspaper. After forty years in the newsroom, Woo embarked on a second career in 1996 teaching journalism at Stanford University, where he wrote weekly informal essays to his students in the same personal style that characterized his columns for the ""Post-Dispatch"". Each made a philosophical point about journalism and society and their delicate relationship over the last half of the twentieth century. Woo was revered as both a writer and a reporter, and this volume collects some of the best of those essays to the next generation of journalists on their craft's high purpose. As inspiration for students from someone who knew the ropes, it distills the essence of the values that define independent journalism while offering them invaluable food for thought about their future professions. The essays touch on a wide range of subjects. Woo reflects on journalism as a public trust, requiring the publication of stories that give readers a better understanding of society and equip them to change it for the better. He also ponders print journalism conducted in the face of broadcast and online competition along with the transformation of newspapers from privately owned to publicly traded companies. Here too are personal reflections on the Pulitzer family's impact on journalism and on the tensions between a journalist's personal and professional life, as well as the conflicts posed by political advocacy versus free speech or a reporter's expertise versus a newspaper's credibility. Woo's idealistic spirit conveys the virtues of his era's newspaper journalism to the next generation of journalists - and most likely to the next generation of news media as well. Even as new students of journalism have an eye on an electronic future, Woo's essays come straight from a newsman's heart and soul to remind them of values worth preserving.