Real-Life Math
You're a media trainer preparing to give a seminar on the different
types of media. You tell your audience that in order to deliver an effective
message on radio, TV and in the newspaper, it's important to understand the
unique qualities of each medium.
To help clients get a real understanding
of TV and newspapers, you figure out how many words are in a typical noon
hour newscast, and how many words are on the front page of your local newspaper.
"You
don't need to do much math in this line of work," says media trainer Mark
Bernheimer. "In the earliest days of setting up a business, you may do your
own accounting, and would need to be able to compare different rates and set
up an equitable rate structure."
In addition, scheduling, setting up
and providing information at seminars may also require the use of some math.
"But it certainly isn't a higher level of math that is used," says Bernheimer.
As
you research the figures in your area, you find that the noon hour newscast
contains 5 news-related stories that run for 90 seconds each. A typical 90-second
story contains 500 words. The front page of your local newspaper contains
stories that together add up to a total of 3,000 words.
Does the front
page of the newspaper or the entire set of news-related stories on the TV
newscast contain more words? What is the word count difference?