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Broadcast journalists share tips for bringing numbers to life on TV
Investigative broadcast journalists across the country gathered at the 2016 CAR Conference and shared some of their secrets for bringing data to life on TV. 1. Get raw data KXAS-TV producer Eva Parks explained how her team requested complaint and violation records concerning noise at the Dallas Love Field airport. Unfortunately, the city of Dallas…
Read MoreA Message from the President: A Departure from IRE
Dear Friends: I’m sorry to have to tell you that Mark Horvit has decided to take an exciting new job at the University of Missouri and will be stepping down as IRE’s executive director at the end of the summer. While this represents a huge loss to IRE, the board is hopeful that we’ll still…
Read More10 free tools to help you clean, analyze and visualize data
Freelance journalist Samantha Sunne and Helena Bengtsson, data projects editor for The Guardian, spent an hour at the 2016 CAR Conference going over free, open-source tools that can replace expensive data cleaning, analysis and visualization programs. Here are some of my favorite tools the speakers mentioned: 1. Google Sheets Google Sheets is a widely known…
Read MoreDownload our free data on SBA disaster loans
NICAR’s Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loans data is now updated with loans approved through February 18, 2016. The disaster loans are the only form of SBA assistance not limited to small businesses; the loans help homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations finance their rebuilding after a federally-declared disaster has destroyed their property. The data…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | BONUS: The Sounds of NICAR16
There are certain pieces of advice you hear over and over again at our annual computer-assisted reporting conference: Get out there, take risks and experiment. So at our recent conference in Denver, we sent University of Missouri journalism student Jack Howard to do just that. On this bonus episode, you’ll hear his five-minute experiment: capturing…
Read MoreTraining your newsroom to look for data and interactive ideas
By Raven Nichols Training a newsroom to look for data and interactive ideas isn’t always easy. At the 2016 CAR Conference, Dana Williams of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Rachel Schallom of Fusion explained how to introduce these concepts to your newsroom. The first step is to hold a training session. Here are a few suggestions:…
Read MoreTools to help analyze, verify and debunk visuals
By Kouichi Shirayanagi There are a lot of photos circulating on social media. Some photos, such as the famous sharks in a flooded mall or sharks jumping at a rescue helicopter, you know are fake. But how do you verify that photos used in the press are the real deal? Nikon award a prize in…
Read MoreIs your state keeping up with bridge repairs?
Now updated for 2015, the National Bridge Inventory database can help you assess the soundness of bridges in your area. Journalists can use the data to investigate bridges by identifying those with structural problems, or that haven’t been recently inspected. Other key fields include average daily traffic and overall sufficiency rating. The records represent information from the…
Read MoreHow to turn data into compelling audio and video
By Maggie Angst For journalists working with audio or video, it can sometimes be challenging to find the best way to display data in story. Joe Wertz, an environment and energy reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma, emphasized that although we really want a character to tell a story, sometimes the data can be the character. For…
Read MoreUse housing data to report on the economy, education and more
By Brittany Crocker Big data has changed the way we look at housing. We no longer have to view a house through the lens of a real estate agent. Zillow has a database of 110 million homes that includes data for buyers and sellers, renters, homeowners, real estate agents, property managers, mortgage providers…and reporters. Skylar…
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