IRE

In this free-read article from Uplink, Gregg Hennigan of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids explains how he used FEMA data and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet tricks to examine the flood aid flowing into eastern Iowa last year. Hennigan, a local government reporter, completed the story after attending and IRE and NICAR computer-assisted reporting boot camp.

- David Herzog

IRE and NICAR are once again offering substantial discounts on ArcView mapping software. And your first opportunity to take advantage of the almost $2,000 in savings comes next month.

ESRI is offering ArcView single-use licenses at no charge to IRE members who agree to attend a GIS training event conducted by IRE and NICAR or ESRI. Purchasers must sign a three-year maintenance agreement with ESRI at a cost of $400 a year — with the first year’s fee waived. ArcView, the GIS program most widely used by journalists, lists for $1,500. During the maintenance agreement period purchasers will receive software upgrades and technical support from ESRI.

IRE members must attend a qualifying training session within one year of entering the agreement with ESRI, which is based in Redlands, Calif.  Qualifying sessions are IRE and NICAR’s Mapping Boot Camp; an online ESRI online training course, and ESRI classroom training.

For more information about IRE and NICAR training visit http://www.ire.org/training/index-training.php.

For more information about ESRI training see http://training.esri.com.  IRE members can also purchase discounted extension programs, which expand the analytical capabilities of ArcView.  The single-license cost for Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst and Geostatistical Analyst is $1,500 each. That is a 40 percent discount off the list price of $2,500 each.  To obtain an order form, please contact John Green, membership services coordinator for IRE, at jgreen@ire.org or 573-882-2772.

Little more than a week after enduring days of spreadsheet and database training, recent graduates of IRE’s Boot Camp in Minneapolis have produced quick-hit stories with their new computer-assisted reporting skills.

· An analysis by Jason Hoppin of The Pioneer Press found new voter registrations in Minnesota have pushed that state’s registrations to an all-time high. “Half of the new registrations come from three counties that voted heavily for John Kerry in 2004, potentially giving Democratic hopeful Barack Obama a boost in a critical battleground state as the 2008 presidential election enters the homestretch.”

· New building permits are easier to get in Duluth, Minn., but revenue for such permits has decreased since the city made changes in February. Brandon Stahl of the Duluth News Tribune used CAR to enhance this daily story.

· Gregg Hennigan of The Gazette, (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), analyzed data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help get a handle on how much money — more than $349 million — is going into Iowa’s disaster recovery. That sum is only a portion of what’s being spent in the state, Hennigan reports, and “23 of the 30 most expensive projects approved so far are in Cedar Rapids.”

Just days out of Boot Camp the attendees used data to punch up their everyday reporting. All three are excellent examples of how CAR can be used for daily and quick-hit stories. The 5-day boot camp was sponsored by the University of Minnesota and The Pioneer Press.

– Jaimi Dowdell, IRE Training Director