Chapter 5 — Footer and the Name Behind Every Number

Footer was a small wombat. She was still a tween, with chunky, round paws. Her fur was a warm tan and cream, with soft brown paws. She wore a sturdy archivist-vest. It had lots of pockets. Footer always carried her special citation-card-deck. She also had a thick source-binder. These were her most important tools. The cards were for different kinds of sources. Like if she talked to someone, or read a paper. The binder held copies of everything she used. Footer was very patient about getting things right. She often said, “Every number has a name behind it. Tell the reader who counted.”

Footer taught something super important. It was called citation + provenance. This means giving credit for every single fact. Every number, every quote, every piece of information. You have to say where it came from. Footer said this was like the anchor of good reporting. New reporters often forgot to do it. They just wrote facts without saying who told them. But that’s not real journalism. That’s just saying stuff.

Footer believed that “Every number has a name behind it.” Someone counted it. Someone saw it. Somewhere, at some time. You need to tell your readers who that was. And how they found it out. When you cite your source, readers can check your work. They can see if it’s true. They can trust you more. Footer’s job was to show everyone this. She showed how provenance and citation make reporting honest. It makes reporters responsible.

Footer was always very clear. “Every number has a name behind it,” she’d say. “Tell the reader who counted.” She’d tap her paw on her binder. “Like this: ‘Source: interview with Cafeteria Director X, on May 10th.’ Or ‘Source: Town Census from 2024.’ Even ‘Source: a secret memo, found in the old library basement.’ You have to say where you got it. If you don’t, readers can’t check your facts. They won’t know if they can trust you.”

Footer taught many important rules for citation. First, you must cite everything. Every important fact. Every number. Every quote. No excuses. Second, you need the right way to cite. For an interview, you’d write: “Maria Chen, school director, interview on May 3.” For a paper, it’s: “Town Council meeting notes, Feb 15, page 4.” For big numbers, like from a survey: “U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 survey.” Each citation needs to say who said it, when they said it, and what it was. This makes your work verifiable. Readers can check it themselves. Bad citations are fuzzy. Like “officials say” or “sources report.” That’s not helpful. Good citations give names and dates. That makes it real. Sometimes, you can use anonymous sources. This is only to protect people. But even then, you still describe them. “A school worker who knows about the new rules.” And you say why they need to stay secret. What if your sources don’t agree? You have to say that too. “Director X said one thing, but a document showed another.” Be honest. All these citations help people trust you. They show you are responsible. Without them, you’re asking readers to just believe you. That’s not journalism. If you use numbers from a survey, you also say how you got them. “We asked 50 town residents in April. We didn’t pick them randomly.” This helps readers understand your numbers. Never use fuzzy words like “officials” or “studies show.” Name the person. Name the study. Be exact.

Footer grew up in the burrow-archive village. It was a special place. Her family had always been the village’s archive-keepers. They were wombats, just like her. They were famous for their neat burrows. They kept everything super organized. Generations of wombats learned from them. They kept records of everything. And they always knew where those records came from. They had a saying: “A record without its source is just a rumor.” Footer learned this lesson well. She carried it with her.

When Footer was twelve, she walked to InkQuest. Caret, her mentor, met her there. “What is citation + provenance?” Caret asked. Footer stood up tall. “Every number has a name behind it,” she said. “Tell the reader who counted. Give specific names. Give dates. Explain your methods. That makes journalism real. Readers can check it.” Caret smiled. “You are appointed,” she said. Footer had found her place.

In her workshop, Footer pulled out her tools. Her chunky paws carefully opened the source-binder. She laid out her citation-card-deck. “Watch this,” she told an imaginary student. She picked up a chalk. On a small slate, she wrote: “Many residents oppose the new policy.” She tapped the slate. “See? This is vague. It’s not journalism.” She shook her head. “Who are these ‘many residents’? How many? When did they say this?”

Then she erased it. She wrote a new sentence. This one was much longer. “In a survey of 50 town residents, done by the Town News from April 12-15, 2026, 32 people said no to the policy. And 18 people said yes.” She pointed to the words. “Now a reader can understand it. They know how many residents. They know the exact dates. They know who did the survey. They even know how it was done. This makes it verifiable.”

Footer put down her chalk. She looked at her tools. “I am Footer,” she said. “I teach citation + provenance. My big rule is this: Every fact has a name. It has a date. It has a method behind it. Always tell the reader.”

Footer was gentle, but very firm. “Don’t use fuzzy words,” she insisted. “‘Officials say’ tells readers nothing at all. Who are these officials? When did they say it? Was it in a meeting? Or a secret note?” She tapped her paw again. “Name the person. Name the date. Name the paper. That’s what provenance is all about. And provenance is journalism.”

She always finished with her favorite saying. “Every number has a name behind it. Tell the reader who counted.”

---