Data Journalism 101:

A guide to Investigative
Reporting with data
Ron Nixon, The New York Times

What are we about today?

What is computer assisted reporting or

How to identify and collect data.

How to produce stories across beats

education, courts, biz and government
using data.

How to backstop/fact check data stories.

How to build your own database.

How to use data for breaking news.

How to deal with dirty data.

By Flickr user Nick Piggott

data journalism?

Data journalism
Data Journalism is an umbrella term, that to my mind, encompasses an
ever-growing set of tools, techniques and approaches to storytelling. It
can include everything from traditional computer-assisted reporting (using
data as a source) to the most cutting-edge data visualization and news
applications. The unifying goal is a journalistic one: providing information
and analysis to help inform us all about important issues of the day.
Aron Pilhofer, former assistant managing editor for digital strategy at The
New York Times.

No one knows what the Matrix is! Or

your story!

The elements of data journalism

Data analysis (using spreadsheets,
databases and statistical software)
Online database
Mapping
Visualization
Scraping Web data
Digital storytelling
Multimedia packages

Spreadsheets

Databases

Statistical software

Mapping software

New York Times: online databases

New York Times: mapping

AP: data visualizations

Snowfall: digital storytelling

Why journalists should use data

Allows journalists to see the big
picture.
Expands the story from competing he
said/she said.
Allows us to find stories that we might
otherwise miss.
Shift the focus from looking at one bad
fruit to the entire barrel.
Puts the reporter in control, rather than
sources.

Where to find data

Government agencies
Non-governmental organizations
Websites
Creating databases from scratch

Free tools for doing data journalism

Google Docs
SQL Lite
Data visualization tools
Free mapping software
Open Office

Free tools for getting data from the

Web
Readability
Downthemall
Google Chrome Scraper Extension
Outwit

Data journalism handbook

Math for journalists

Case studies
The following are data journalism projects that I have
done at The New York Times and other places that show
that these kinds of stories are possible.

Railroad Police

US State Dept. Counter Terrorism

Mail Covers

Bad Roads, Bridges

NYT: Iran sanctions

NYT: Bed-rail deaths

NYT: Foreclosures

NYT: RED

(MN) Star Tribune: Payday

loans/check cashing

NYT:African Development Fund

Writing the data-based story

What does the data show?

What does it mean in the real world?
Is there a Donkey to help guide the

reader?
Are their good anecdotes?
Craft a beginning, middle and an
ending.
Turn the data into prose!