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Preface

The originalPrecision Journalismwas written in the 1969-1970 academic year

while I was the happy guest of the Russell Sage Foundation in ew !or" #ity$ It was

updated only once% in 197&$ The principles of social science research ha'e not changed

'ery much since then% (ut the technology has$ )nd so this (oo" is an attempt at a new

start$

It has a new title (ecause 90 percent of the material is new$ *nly one chapter% the

present chapter 6% has (een retained in anything li"e the original form$ ) num(er of the

original anecdotes and e+amples ha'e (een preser'ed% (ut the o'erall approach has (een

made "inder% gentler% and% I hope% more logical% informed (y si+teen semesters of

teaching this material to ,ournalism students$

The concept of precision ,ournalism is% as often happens in social science% much

older than the term itself$ For a long time% those of us wor"ing with the concept struggled

o'er what to call it$ y in'ol'ement (egan in 1966-1967 when I used my ieman year at

.ar'ard /ni'ersity to study social science research methods$ In the summer of 1967% I

applied those methods to co'erage of the etroit riot for the Detroit Free Press$ The

Russell Sage grant followed$ It was to produce a manuscript with the wor"ing title The

)pplication of Social and 2eha'ioral Science Research ethods to the 3ractice of

4ournalism$ ) proper title had still not (een found when the manuscript saw its first

classroom use5 Ted Frederic"son and .er(ert Strent produced photocopies with my

(lessing for students at the /ni'ersity of orth a"ota$

In the winter of 1971% 'erette $ ennis too" a lea'e from 8ansas State

/ni'ersity to teach a seminar on The ew 4ournalism at the /ni'ersity of *regon$ .e

included what I had done in etroit as an e+ample of one rather e+otic species of new

,ournalism% and he called it precision ,ournalism to contrast its scientific method with

the artsy approach of those li"e Tom olfe and 4immy 2reslin who used short-storytechni:ues to illuminate nonfiction$ I first heard the term at 8-State from ennis himself

while we were strolling from the old part of 8edie .all to the new$ Its earliest uses in

print that I "now a(out date from 1971$ eil Felgenhauer wrote a chapter on precision

,ournalism in The Magic Writing Machine% a (oo" produced (y ennis;s seminar and

pu(lished (y the /ni'ersity of *regon School of 4ournalism$ In that same year% ichael

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ordon 2lac"% Ro(ert .urd% 8athy

Fran"o'ic% and arren itofs"y helped me stay current on the art and science of election

polling$ The founders of the #arolina 3oll% Richard #ole% Ro(ert