Geography and Politics Article Review

The most recent news at the cross section of politics and geography is the new census data, released in December. This census data shows the change in populations across the nation, and uses that data to reallocate seats in the US House of Representatives.  Technology has made assessing the information released by the government more readily available and readable. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have given rise to any person being able to use the data to make inferences as they see fit. Many of the immediate news articles to arise from this change were markedly objective. But there were also examples of subjective secondary source news stories that followed shortly thereafter. To compare the differences, two articles will be compared to see how they differ in content and information, based on the types of sources they use.

            The first article appeared in the New York Times on December 21^st. It presents a map, directly drawn from the US Census Bureau, that visually represents each state and whether each state will gain seats, lose seats or remain unchanged in representation. It presents three tables for each of those categories that identify the state, the population and percentage change, the number of seats and the change and what political party controls the state currently. For example, Texas is gaining 4 seats in the House, based on a 20.6% increase in population over the last decade. (Bloch, Ericson, & Quealy, 2010). This data is all objective in nature, presenting only facts with no bias or opinion. It is secondary data, stating specific facts drawn directly from published data by the US Census Bureau. The US Census Bureau’s report is an example of a primary source. The news story was printed within the first 24 hours after the Bureau published the data, which made it difficult to analyze the data further, with the intent to make a broader statement about the data, which would lead to subjective data.

            Two days seemed enough of a timeframe for subjective data to be created. The New York Post was able to present a commentary on the new census data by December 23^rd. New York lost seats in the House, something  they had done each decade since the 1950’s. The two seats were lost, despite the state increasing their population by 2.1% and remaining the 3^rd most populated state in the country(Bloch, et al., 2010). Yet, John Faso (2010) commented on the state having the lowest number of seats in 200 years, making the broad assumption that the reason for this loss was related to “confiscatory taxes and [a]dismal job climate”(Faso,  2010). These ideas are opinions of John Faso, based on his interpretation and opinions about the primary census data, making his statements a subjective, secondary source. 

            A reader interested in learning the changes in representation in the House of Representatives for the state of New York would be able to use either article to find the answer. It depends on what the reader is researching this information for to determine which article best suits their needs.

References

Bloch, M., Ericson, M., & Quealy. K. (2010, December 21). Census 2010: Gains and Losses in Congress. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

interactive/2010/12/21/us/census-districts.html

Faso, John. (2010, December 23). Wake Up, NY Census Fallout. New York Post. Retrieved from www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/wake_up_ny_woPzdOKxBjj27H3afV9CKK