I hear good things about spreadsheet functionality in org-mode.
I've always, unwittingly, organised myself via two systems:
1. Lists
2. Matrices
I love the tables in Orgmode [0]. They are intuitive, simple, and just beautifully done.That said, the spreadsheet functionality is a different beast altogether. Even though it's the same interface as the tables, it adds an exponential layer of complexity, and separation from how most people view a spreadsheet. It's powerful, but a bit daunting, and I don't see many journalists being able to grok it.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHKrTsiz4JU&index=25&list=PL...
So that's quite amazing.
[0] http://ehneilsen.net/notebook/orgExamples/org-examples.html#...