In this free-read article from Uplink, Gavin Off of the Tulsa World shows how he used local school crime report data to uncover a rise in incidents at local elementary schools. The article provides useful tips for journalists who’d like to cover school crime in their own areas.
Archive for the ‘Data Library Blog’ Category
It’s back: FAA enforcement actions
February 26th, 2009 
admin When covering airplane crashes, reporters have the opportunity to get at the “how” and “why” of the story by using some of the Federal Aviation Administration’s public databases. While many of these databases are freely available on the World Wide Web, the NICAR Database Library has recently updated a key dataset that, quite frankly, was very difficult to get.
Mapping, interactively
December 1st, 2008 admin We reached have yet another milestone in the services we are offering our members: the Database Library can now create interactive maps for news Web sites connected to investigative projects.
Housing up-data-ed
September 15th, 2008 admin NICAR’s copy of the Housing Mortgage Disclosure Act dataset for 2007 has been updated.
Reporters have used HMDA data for years to report housing trends with authority; in the current economic climate, that effort has become all the more important. Did lending institutions in your state grant fewer subprime loans than last year? By how much? This dataset can help answer those questions.
Posted in Data Library Blog, IRE Board, IRE Conference, IRE News, Member News, Training 
Comments OffIRE assists in tracking Clinton, McCain donors
August 29th, 2008 admin It’s easy to speculate on how much of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s support base has gone to Republican presidential candidate John McCain. It’s a little tougher to follow the money and use data to report facts instead of speculating.
Covering the bridge collapse, one year later, with NICAR data
August 19th, 2008 admin The one year anniversary of the Minnesota bridge collapse, Aug. 1, sparked a flurry of articles reflecting on the event. Many revealed that bridges in certain states are in worse condition now than one year ago.
