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Another year, another packed house for Lightning Talks. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success. In the coming weeks we’ll be uploading videos from the talks and posting them here, on our conference blog.
Darla Cameron from the Washington Post, listens to the introductions at NICAR 2015 Lightning Talks, which were the culmination of Friday's sessions. Cameron's talk was titled "The end of maps, in 7 charts."
Sisi Wei, of ProPublica, organizes presentations before the lightning talks start on Friday.
Jeremy Bowers, of the New York Times, watches a lightning talk presenattion as he keeps time for the speakers.
Chris Canipe, of The Wall Street Journal, talks about how hard it is to multi task during his lightning talk on Friday evening.
Photos by Travis Hartman
By Keytron Hill
Three questions for Glynn Hill, a senior at Howard University majoring in print journalism with a minor in political science.
Q: Why did you choose Howard University?
A: I needed a change of scenery from high school. I also felt that it was where I could grow the most personally.
Q: What made you change your major focus from broadcast to print?
A: One of my professors told me I needed to be able to write longform and hardcore reporting skills. That’s how it started. I decided to focus on that and go back and polish my broadcast skills later.
Q: What do you want to do with your degree once you graduate?
A: I want to be a print reporter coming out, but I don’t plan to stay there that long. I do a little bit of everything, I try to make sure I’m versatile and keep my options open.
Keytron Hill is a 2015 CAR Conference Knight Scholar and broadcast journalism student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
By Tierra Smith
Two IRE speakers helped journalists find data for business stories during a session at the 2015 CAR Conference. Andrea Fuller and John Schoen offered tips on where to look and how to use information to build stronger stories.
Schoen, an economics reporter at CNBC Digital, said the key to using data in business journalism is to first look at the numbers without a hypothesis. The resulting story will reflect more of "what the data actual says instead of what we want it to say," Schoen said.
Fuller, a member of the CAR team at The Wall Street Journal, broke business journalism in three categories: banks, corporate boards and financial filings. She then explained how to use different websites to find data for each topic.
"Our goal isn’t to tell people, 'Go do all these things right now,' but for them to know to where to go to get data," she said.
Fuller said that journalists don’t need to know how to use every data set. Still, it’s good to know what exists and how it can help.
You can use the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to investigate brokers in your community. FINRA collects data on brokers that may have black marks on their records.
Fuller mentioned traditional ways of finding information and then offered techniques for digging dipper.
When dealing with corporate boards, you can use Form 990s and guidestar.org. She suggests going a step further and using Capital IQ. This database allows you to look up all of the board memberships for one person. It also documents stock trends, company histories and links to SEC filings. The only bad news: It’s a paid service.
Want to report on banks? Fuller explained the usefulness of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Summary of Deposits. It gives information on branches, locations and deposits.
Fuller also explained how to use "business-ish" data sources. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Medicare, and oil and gas industries are all nontraditional business topics that could lead to good business stories.
"It’s a way to investigate business by not using traditional business data," she said.
Get more tips by downloading Andrea Fuller’s tipsheet.
Tierra Smith is a 2015 CAR Conference Knight Scholar and senior at Grambling State University. She is studying mass communication with a concentration in sports journalism. She is also the editor-in-chief of The Gramblinite at GSU.
By Glynn A. Hill
Ryann Grochowski Jones, Eric Sagara, and Helena Bengtsson co-hosted a panel called "Life after Excel and Access" at the 2015 CAR Conference to share tips about taking the next steps in data journalism.
Grochowski Jones, a data reporter at ProPublica, talked about the first steps. Below are some of her suggestions:
Sagara, a senior data reporter at the Center for Investigative Reporting, shared his experience learning programs such as Python and Ruby. He said that your field and need determine what programs you should learn.
Bengtsson, an data projects editor at the Guardian, offered suggestions for getting organizations on board with IT projects. She said it might be easier at a smaller organization—where there is less policy, and coworkers may live near you.
Still, she said, that shouldn’t discourage you from trying to find interested people or pitching data projects to your boss. But keep in mind:
Bengtsson said learning all of this is important to handle larger text files and web scrape for big data.
Glynn A. Hill is a 2015 CAR Conference Knight Scholar and budding multimedia journalist from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He's worked with The New York Times Student Journalism Institute as well as interning for organizations like USA TODAY, and most recently, The Washington Informer.
By Keytron Hill
Three questions for Jamie Grey, assistant professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and managing editor of KOMU-TV.
Q: What advice can you give to a student who wants to do broadcast or radio but doesn’t like the way his or her voice sounds?
A: You have to remember that you will adapt into your own voice, your own style. You shouldn’t get too terribly hung up. Of course there are some things you can work on as someone who works in radio, but I think the best thing you should do is listen to people you like as far as storytelling style and try to pick out a couple of elements from what they’re doing.
Q: What should a journalism student in college be doing right now to prepare?
A: Internships can be incredibly valuable because they put you into a real newsroom type of situation. If you are looking to get a job, it’s important to start networking while you are in college. Every job I’ve ever gotten in my life has had to do with networking and, in television, that’s incredibly crucial. They are great because you get to work alongside with someone who has been doing it for so long.
Q: What do you feel the IRE conference does for students like myself?
A: I hope that this conference will make you inspired to go out and do great journalism because there are some of the best journalists in the world at this conference, who are doing some of the best work I have ever seen. Second of all, there are practical skills that you can get from this conference whether its learning how to use a little bit of Excel or something as advanced of coding. If you can take away one small technical skills from this to build upon, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of anyone coming straight out of college.
Keytron Hill is a 2015 CAR Conference Knight Scholar and broadcast journalism student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
**October 9, 2018 update: Starting today, Carto will no longer offer free account upgrades to IRE members. This will not affect anyone who previously received an upgrade.
Today IRE is announcing a partnership with Carto to provide upgraded accounts free to IRE members, who can use Carto to analyze data and tell stories with interactive maps.
Upgraded accounts include features from Carto's paid accounts:
You must have an existing Carto account before requesting the free upgrade. Sign up for free here. To upgrade your account, email cartodb@ire.org with the subject line: "Carto upgrade."
The 2015 CAR Conference begins this week. Below are a few bits of information to help you prepare for this great conference!
For the latest up-to-date information about panels, speakers and special events at the conference, please visit our conference website.
Hotel Information
The conference is taking place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Ave NE, GA, 30303.
There are several options for getting from the airport to the Marriott. For those interested, the MARTA runs from the airport to the hotel. For details, go here. We also have discounted airport transportation through Super Shuttle. Details on that can be found on the conference travel/lodging page.
Registration
Registration opens Wednesday at 1 p.m. and will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the International level of the hotel.
Weather
It looks like the weather is going to be a in the mid 50’s during the conference with some rain. See the 5-day forecast thanks to weatherchannel.com.
Wireless Internet during the conference
Stop by the registration desk to receive the access code for the wireless Internet being offered throughout the meeting space during the CAR conference. In addition, attendees staying at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in the group block will receive complimentary wireless Internet in their guest room.
Have a question or need help in a session
Room monitors will be stationed in the hallways during sessions and will be happy to answer your questions. Additionally, if you need something, email IREhelp@ire.org and IRE staff will respond as quickly as possible.
Hands-on room classes
We have a big crowd this year, and it's exciting to have so many new faces. We've added a number of hands-on sessions, but seating is limited. So if there's a hands-on class you really want to take, plan on getting there early.
CAR Conference App
Don’t forget to download the conference app before you leave for the conference. Have the latest schedule at your fingertips throughout the conference, check speaker bios, plan your own schedule, and keep up-to-date with any panel changes that happen. New this year, you can opt-in to network with other attendees and complete session/panel evaluations directly from the app. Please be sure to complete evaluations as these help us plan next year’s conference.
Internet is not required for the app to work once it’s downloaded, however, it is necessary to receive any updates that are sent out. Complimentary Internet will be available in the meeting space throughout the conference. The app is available for iOS, Android, Blackberry and web-enabled devices. Download today!
Conference Addendums
Be sure to check the conference app (daily updates icon) or your email each day, where you will receive the conference addendum with any last minute changes. Paper copies will also be available at the registration desk each morning.
Twitter/Student Blog
Use #NICAR15 during the conference and stop by the registration desk to see live tweets on the announcement monitor along with conference blogs. We’ve got a full team of bloggers and you can see their work online and in the conference app. Go here for an entire list of conference blog posts.
Membership Meeting
Please take a look at the blog that explains some changes we’re asking members to vote on at this year’s membership meeting, which will be held along with Lightning Talks and the Philip Meyer Awards on Friday afternoon. The meeting will only take a few minutes and we really need your help in considering these changes to IRE’s Articles of Incorporation. One big change would give student members voting rights.
We thank you for your continued support and are looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta!
Welcome to the 2015 CAR Conference! Please see below changes to the schedule and other notes. For the most up-to-date schedule and description information, be sure to visit the conference website or app.
New dates and times are listed below
CANCELLED:
Kimono: An easier way to scrape the web
Originally scheduled for Friday at 3:20 p.m.
Data behind the news
Originally scheduled for Friday at 3:20 p.m.
NEW SESSIONS:
View the online schedule or use our mobile app to get session descriptions
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Facilitation training
Thursday from 9-10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: David Eads and Erika Owens
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Time & Task Management
Thursday from 10:10-11:10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Brent Jones
NICAR Commons: Conversations - News Nerd book club
Thursday from 11:10 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Adam Schweigert and Kaeti Hinck
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Creating a culture of constructive critique
Thursday from 12:20-1:30 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Tyler Fisher and Ted Han
NICAR Commons: California Code Rush – The CAL-ACCESS Challenge
Thursday from 1:30-5:30 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Ben Welsh and Aaron Williams
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Leaving journalism
Friday from 9-10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Joe Kokenge
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Let's get real about pay
Friday from 10:10-11:10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Nikole Hannah-Jones
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Handling side projects
Friday from 11:20 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Nicole Zhu
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Building a diverse pipeline
Friday from 12:20-1:30 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Emma Carew Grovum
NICAR Commons: Drones, the FAA and you
Friday from 2:10-3:10 p.m. in International Foyer
Speaker: Matthew Waite
NICAR Commons: Murder, you wrote
Friday from 3:20-4:20 p.m. in International Foyer
Speaker: Tom Hargrove
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Internal tools for large datasets
Saturday from 9-10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Alan Palazzolo
NICAR Commons: Conversations - Doing better by our international colleagues
Saturday from 10:10-11:10 a.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Jeff Kelly Lowenstein
Elections, what are they good for? (Sponsored by the Knight Foundation)
Saturday 10:10-11:10 a.m. in International A
Elections represent the best opportunity for Americans to shape policy and reimagine their shared future. It is also a chance for journalists to ignite people’s civic spirit. How can we do this better? How might we better inform voters and increase civic participation before, during and after elections?
Speakers: Derek Willis, Ryan Murphy, Sarah Bryner
NICAR Commons: Conversations - The "hybrid reporter" identity crisis?
Saturday from 11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Aaron Williams & Jaeah Lee
NICAR Commons: Conversations - The future of Tarbell
Saturday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: David Eads
NICAR Commons: Minezy – small data, big stories
Saturday from 2:10-3:10 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: T. Christian Miller
NICAR Commons: Cryptoparty
Saturday from 3:20-5:30 p.m. in International Foyer
Speakers: Jeff Larson and Mike Tigas
Kickstarter for Journalists 101 (Hosted by Kickstarter)
Saturday from 3:30-4 p.m. in International A
Kickstarter office hours (Hosted by Kickstarter)
Saturday from 4-5 p.m. in International A
Mine the documents, win a Pulitzer: reporting with Overview
Sunday at 11:20 a.m. in M106
Speaker: Jonathan Stray, Overview Project
Key data for investigating universities
Thursday at 9 a.m. in International 2-3
Additional speaker: Todd Wallack, The Boston Globe and Mark Horvit, IRE/NICAR (moderator)
Getting started: Intro to CAR and the conference
Thursday at 9 a.m. in International 8-9
Nils Mulvad, Kaas & Mulvad, replaces Jill Riepenhoff
Getting started with Access
Thursday at 11:20 a.m. in M105
Acton Gorton, University of Illinois, replaces Pam Dempsey
Impart.io: Web scraping without coding
Thursday at 3:20 p.m. in M107
Alex Gimson replaces Andrew Fogg
Thinking about interactivity
Friday at 10:10 a.m. in International 4-5
Additional speaker: Melissa Bell, Vox Media
How I learned to take command of the command line: A journalist's guide to getting started
Friday at 10:10 a.m. in M101
Additional speaker: Jue Yang, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Deep dives part 2
Friday at 3:20 p.m. in International 2-3
Additional speakers: Mar Cabra, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Blake Ellis & Melanie Hicken, CNNMoney; John Kelly, USA TODAY
Impart.io: Web scraping without coding (repeat session)
Saturday at 11:20 a.m. in M109
Alex Gimson replaces Andrew Fogg
Getting started with machine learning
Saturday at 3:20 p.m. in International 2-3
Jacob Fenton, Sunlight Foundation, replaces Robert Lannon.
Title change: Making your own data bot (Labeled as “Making your own Yo bot” in printed program)
Sunday at 10:10 a.m. in M104
Deep dives
Sunday at 10:10 a.m. in International 6-7
Additional speakers: Dana Amihere, Pew Research Center; Tom Nehil, MinnPost;
Cedric Sam, South China Morning Post
Gannett
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