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From a presentation I gave to the inaugural meeting of the Hacks & Hackers Ottawa chapter. It's a general survey on data journalism (nee computer-assisted reporting).
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2011-05-12Ottawa
computer-assisted reporting but it’s reallydata-assisted reporting.
or… reporting using data instead of, or along with, conventional sources.
data journalism
data journalism↕ ↕
useful data (old school)
• databases• spreadsheets• email• maps
useful data (now)
• tweets• geo-tagged images• foursquare updates• facebook status updates
anything online
why use data?• no more “according to…” state as fact, don’t attribute.• uncovers stories even the subjects don’t know.• confirms the obvious; reveals the unexpected.
other ideas
• overpass inspection records• mayoralty campaign donors• ambulance response times• health/safety reports in city-run apartments• complaints against taxi drivers.
other ideas
• single men/women by census tract• day most marriage licenses• pets by postal code
data sources
• inspection reports• complaints• incidents reports• discipline records• registrations and licenses
check reporting requirements.
data journalism inverted pyramid
of aggravation
obtaining data (hard)formatting dataanalyzing data
reportingwriting (easy)
where to get data
• ask for it• download it• scrape it *• build from documents• FOI or ATIP
finding the story
• think vertically • look at columns• cross-tab columns• chart over time• look for patterns• dig down from data
hacks are good at
• discerning news from info• interviewing subjects• providing context• writing• offering a big platform
hackers are good at
• obtaining data• processing it• analyzing it• building better platforms to present it
resources
• nicar.org• caj.ca• ire.org• thescoop.org• flowingdata.com• guardian data-j blog