Data-Driven Enterprise off Your Beat

Linda J. JohnsonJan. 21, 2016Lexington

Rule #1:DON’T PANIC!

Why bother?

1. As corny and boring as it sounds,

how about doing great journalism?

• Get corrupt people thrown in jail and/or fired• Change policies at local, state and potentially

national levels• Learn to ask better questions of those

officials by having the numbers BEFORE you go talk to them. Makes it harder for them to lie to you!

• Find things no one else has• Catch an escaped murderer, per chance?

Why bother, continued?

2. Do you want to be in a small

newsroom forever?

• How about learning some new skills that will help set you apart from almost every other journalist out there?

Why bother, continued?

3. For your editors:

• Posting databases online with your stories, or by themselves, generates hits, hits and more hits for your website. That translates to revenue. And potentially job security.

Why bother, continued?

Examples:

• Salary databases: any public payroll database, annual

• School test scores, annual• Property records, quarterly• Restaurant inspections (monthly – have a

plan!)• High school and your local college’s football

and basketball games. Ugh.

“To Infinity and Beyond”

Ok, for today, we’reprobably not reaching that far.But a working knowledge of your local and state FOIA laws and Excel will get you started.

Where we’re going today

• 5 ways to find data on your beat

• 5 steps in C.A.R. 101• Selected databases

for different beats• 4 rules for handling

data• Practice!

C.A.R. 101– Step 1

Get it• FOIA and

state open records

• Ask for it!

• Download from the Web

• Create your own database

It!

Learn to useGoogle’s advanced search

“We’re gonna need a bigger screen”

C.A.R. 101– Step 2

Clean and verify• Ok, so you

have some data, now what?

• Use the right software

• It matters, part I

Rule #2Never, ever F*** with your original

•Keep the original on a server somewhere that is regularly backed-up. Don’t touch it unless you really mess something up on a copy.

•Create a folder on your computer and put another copy there. As you start to work on it, if it’s not huge, put another copy in another folder, clearly labeled.

•Then, have fun.

C.A.R. 101– Step 3

Analyze• Use the right

software It matters, part II

• Map it

• Double- or triple-check your analysis

C.A.R. 101– Step 4

Report it out• Sorry, this is

no different than any other reporting

C.A.R. 101– Step 5

5. Presentation

• Maps, charts and graphics can help free up the numbers from the story

• Get your photogs and graphics folks in early on a big project

C.A.R. 101– 5 steps1. Get it

• FOIA and state open records

• Ask for it!

• Download from the Web

• Create your own database

• Google it!

2. Clean and verify• Ok, so you have some

data, now what?• Use the right software• It matters, part I

3. Analyze• Use the right software

It matters, part II• Map it• Double- or triple-check

your analysis

4. Report it out• Sorry, this is no

different than any other reporting

5. Presentation• Maps, charts and graphics

can help free up the numbers from the story

Start small

Dog licenses: popular breeds/names, location of pit bulls License plates: banned phrases U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features.htmlU.S. Department of Labor violations for clothing manufacturers, retailers and fashion-media companies: http://ogesdw.dol.gov/homePage.php

Must-haves on any beatInspection reports: nursing homes, taxi cabs, amusement-park rides, stadium food, restaurants

Licensing: nurses, massage therapists, mortgage brokers, food trucks

Disciplinary actions: teachers, doctors, lawyers, coaches

Property records: slumlords, foreclosures, unequal property assessments, nonprofits getting breaks for money-making property

Population figures: By state, county and place

SportsMinor league baseball: http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/

College athletic department salaries. See USA Today for top coaches’ salaries in football:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/ and basketball:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/ncaab/coach/

NCAA research data: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research

Major NCAA infractions: https://web1.ncaa.org/LSDBi/exec/miSearch

Academic progress rates for college athletes: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/NCAA/data.html

High school participation rates:

http://www.nfhs.org/ParticipationStatics/ParticipationStatics.aspx/

College coaches make how much?

Business and governmentWildlife strikes at airports: http://wildlife.faa.gov/

Data breaches: http://www.privacyrights.org/data-breach

Consumer complaints database: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaintdatabase/

The federal government’s catalog of datasets: http://catalog.data.gov/dataset

Census’ Federal Audit Clearinghouse: https://www.census.gov/econ/overview/go1400.html

Federal contracts, spending and grants by state, county, city: https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/Default.aspx

Campus crime 2001-2013: http://ope.ed.gov/security/

This is what a data-geek lives for!

Wildlife strikes

Rule # 3Make a plan for updating your databases:◦Create a spreadsheet to track them.

◦Create headers for the name, contact info and how you got the data. Also when it came in, when you posted it and when it needs updating.

◦Is it a one-time thing? Great, move on. If not, is it yearly? Monthly? Think before you ever start the FOIA.

Databaseshttps://www.medicare.gov/NursingHomeCompare/Resources/Downloadable-Database.html

Nursing home deficiencies –record layout

Nursing home deficiencies – data

MSHA – record layout

MSHA – datahttp://www.msha.gov/OpenGovernmentData/OGIMSHA.asp#jump

Rule #4:Don’t be afraid to ask for help.Best place to start: NICAR, a division

of IRE – www.ire.org

Credits: Several slides modified or shamelessly stolen

from Manuel Torres’ Monroe, La., NewsTrain handouts

(sports, biz and government, Google it!).

Linda J. Johnson

lindajjohnson45@gmail.com