‘Many Eyes’ on the Data

By: Sara Crouse

Journalists and researchers alike often find themselves with needing more than the perfect lead or lift out quote. Only a few decades ago a few reassuring words from top journalists and political figures were enough to calm Americans.

Words no longer hold truth, and we take it upon ourselves to look for it. Today the average American views it as their responsibility to find truth in news stories. Helpful data and graphs can help aid in this effort. I know visual aids are always appealing to me, and seem to be a reassurance of the facts.

Recently developed in 2007, by two IBM researchers in Cambridge, Many Eyes is a data tool that helps compare text from political speeches to interviews and pinpoints the most frequently used words. This has proven to be a very helpful tool in analyzing what issues are truly close the hearts of the presidential candidates.

Who wouldn’t mind this new tool that helps viewers recognize politician’s most addressed themes? No longer do we have to read five page speeches to grasp the most important things at stake. I’ve found this tool to be helpful in my busy schedule, while trying to catch up on the most recent convention speeches.

Finding the truth in the news isn’t as hard and time consuming as one would think. The average American just needs to be aware of biases within news, and be able to recognize them. Many Eyes certainly recognizes various ways to view and discuss data, which prevents from bias.

A New York Times article explains the tool Many Eyes is great for creating conversation amongst those who view its data and, “…when you have a group look at data, you protect against bias. You get more perspectives, and this can lead to more reliable decisions.”

Perhaps we should all take a look at Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech words on Many Eyes, rather relying on liberal reporters taking an automatic offense to her ideas. At least a visual lets me decide my own thoughts, rather than a biased reporter.