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Jaimi Dowdell, training director for the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), and Mark Horvit, executive director of IRE, offer a guide to using data in business reporting for the free investigative workshop, "Accountability in Indian Country - Be a Better Business Watchdog," on July 18, 2013. Presented by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, this workshop was part of the Native American Journalists Association's annual conference in Phoenix. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org. For additional resources on using data to empower your coverage, please visit the training archive page at http://businessjournalism.org/2013/07/17/accountability-in-indian-country-be-a-better-business-watchdog-self-guided-training/.
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IRE/NICAR
Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting.
IRE was formed in 1975 to create a forum in which journalists throughout the world could help each other by sharing story ideas, newsgathering techniques and news sources.
Training Resources Networking Conferences Data services
•Assume it’s public.•Assume it’s free.•Documents = databases.
Why data?
Uncover basic information. (Simple lookups)
Test government procedures, regulations and officials’ promises.
Enterprise reporting – do stories that no one else is doing.
In addition: Journalism that has data elements translates incredibly well online.
Data are never “perfect” Data can’t tell you everything. It’s just a
starting point. CAR doesn’t replace solid street
reporting skills.
Examples The basics of spreadsheets Searchable databases available online Finding and downloading data online Other databases that aren’t so readily
available
Test procedures, question officials, analyze regulations.
DATA: Built an interactive database using newspaper reports, court records and documents obtained from prosecutors and defense attorneys to compile a partial list of self-defense cases in Florida since 2005.
FINDINGS: Florida's "stand your ground" law is being used to free gang
members involved inshootouts drug dealers beefing withclients and people who shot their victimin the back
DATA: Federal Procurement Data System FINDINGS: At least 24 large companies since
2009 either based or with major offices in the Bay Area received at least 299 contracts labeled “small business” totaling $77 million.
DATA: Fire Department dispatch data FINDINGS: Fire Department falls short of the
standard that rescue units be alerted within one minute on 90% of 911 calls
In the more than 250,000 medical dispatches last year, the department took 75% longer, on average, than the national standard.
FINDINGS: A yearlong investigation found that Americans face higher risks of food poisoning and other dangers because the industry increasingly relies on a mechanical tenderization process and antibiotic overuse is leading to resistant bacteria in humans. Big beef paid for advertising and promotions, for example, getting lean cuts certified by the American Heart Association as “heart-healthy” food.
RESOURCES: reporters traveled to seven states and analyzed USDA data, lawsuits, scientific studies, government audits and research reports.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/08/3951701/how-this-series-was-reported.html#storylink=cpy
DATA: population data sets
FINDINGS: Populations around the facilities have swelled as much as 4½ times since 1980, evacuation times have not been updated for decades, More than 90 of the nation's 104 operating reactors have been allowed to run at higher power levels for many years, raising the radiation risk in a major accident
City Press – South Africa
DATA: workplace safety inspections
FINDINGS: Workers in many dangerous industries get a small fraction of the attention from inspectors that construction workers do.Two of Washington's most injury–proneindustries get Almost no attention from workplace safety inspectors: Nursing homes and Hospitals
“ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reviewed health department inspection reports for food and beverage outlets at all 107 North American arenas and stadiums that were home to Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association teams in 2009. At 30 of the venues (28 percent), more than half of the concession stands or restaurants had been cited for at least one "critical" or "major" health violation. Such violations pose a risk for foodborne illnesses that can make someone sick, or, in extreme cases, become fatal.”
The difference between a spreadsheet and a database.
Why use other software? Options?
Remember – any time a biz interacts with the government, information becomes public.
Ask for the document and/or data retention schedule. Arizona
Get a tour. Grab every blank form – both internal and
external – in all agencies you cover. Meet the document and data clerks and the
IT folks.
FOIA – Open records logs State and federal statutes Appendix and footnotes to audits and
reports Inspectors General State auditors GAO reports (Government
Accountability Office)
Major Information Systems – request a list from government agency: example US Marshall’s list here.
“The Electronic Freedom of Information Act of 1996 requires agencies to make available to the public an index and description of their major information systems.”
Something in a “chart” format may mean that a database exists: example California West Nile Virus here.
Online forms to submit information: example online form from the Internet Crime Complaint Center here.
Actually read a web site – don’t let it force you into predefined roles: example North Carolina Department of Revenue here. (site map, search) Search for keywords related to data:
download, database, information system, submit, searchable, inspection, enforcement, Excel, etc.
Work sources
Follow the money Grants Single Audit Reports (Reports will exist if they
receive more than $300,000 in federal funds. Can order full reports from Census)
Annual gaming income report from Alan Meister
Search by domain: .gov – government sites (other
types: .edu, .org, .com, .net, etc.) Example – search for “Oil spill” “2010” and limit
to site:.gov Search by file type:
.xls for spreadsheets; .txt, .csv for text files; .mdb, .dbf for databas files
Example – Same search as above but limit to filetype:xls
Search for words within a URL: Examples: ftp, download, data, inspection,
enforcement, 2010, etc.
In Excel format – example IRS Exempt Organizations here.
From the web – example Texas offenders on death row here.
In text format – example from data.gov search on “inspection” here.
Use DTA to quickly download records – example Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board monthly expense reports.
PDF to Excel – try cometdocs.com Use Web scraper for Chrome. Example:
World Bank Ineligible listings. Creative searching in forms.
OSHA workplace safety inspections DOL enforcement data Federal contracts (FPDS) (ex. Border protection) Recalls (look at tabs for topics) Economy at a Glance from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the
BLS EPA environmental data searches
Fatality Analysis Reporting System data (FARS) National sex offender registry (
Department of Justice) Transportation data from BTS Aircraft data (service difficulty reports, on-time
data, aircraft registry, etc.) NTSB Aviation Accidents (and more) FAA accidents/incidents and service difficulty reports
(SDRs) Flight tracker from flightaware On-time statistics
Nursing home, hospital and home health data from Medicare
Firearms data from the ATF Migration data from the IRS Tax data from IRS (tax exempt orgs) Mine Safety and Health Administration (
MSHA) National Agricultural Statistics Service
Batch Geo – for making interactive maps
Chrome Scraper – For gathering data online
Down Them All – For grabbing lots of files in one shot
EXIF Viewer – To get info from photos
Consumer Reports(pdf report)•On-time by airport (pg 7)•Departure by time (pg 13)•Chronically delayed flights (pg 15)•Tarmac delays (pg 25)•Mishandled baggage (pg 29)•Injuries and deaths involving pets (49)
From Bureau of Transportation statistics(Downloadable to Excel)•Flight delays•Bag fees by airline•Chronically delayed flights•Cancelled flights
American FactFinder for quick data profiles. Datasets from IRE– download profiles,
comparisons and more. Get information on the Census from ASU’s
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and IRE.
Fedstats – A to Z list of statistical data from the government.
Data.gov – Searchable catalogs of government data. (search for business, contracts, inspections, etc.)
USAspending.gov or FedSpending.org – Federal spending data including grants, loans, contracts, etc. (Ex. Coca Cola)
State Government Databases wiki from the American Library Association
BRB Publications links to public records sites
Portico
Some simple online tools
Example: Michigan CAFOs
Mark [email protected]
