tcij.org twitter.com/cijournalism
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tcij.org Twitter.com/cijournalism. Computer Assisted Reporting. What is CAR? Examples Tools and methodologies Mistakes and misconceptions. Computer Assisted Reporting. New approaches to Journalism born from: 1. New technology 2. A cultural shift towards openness - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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tcij.org Twitter.com/cijournalism
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Computer Assisted Reporting
• What is CAR?
• Examples
• Tools and methodologies
• Mistakes and misconceptions
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Computer Assisted Reporting
New approaches to Journalism born from:
1. New technology
2. A cultural shift towards openness
3. Application of social and computer science techniques to news gathering and reporting.
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Computer Assisted Reporting
• “CAR is the use of computers and social science methods to acquire and analyze information to do stories that otherwise would be difficult or impossible”
– Steve Doig
• Pioneered by Philip Meyer and others in late 1960s (Detroit Riots, Pulitzer prize)
• Increasingly used across newsrooms in Europe and America
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Government Increasingly open
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Open Data Campaigners opening the Vault Political, corporate, economic data
Free, accessible and reusable
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• Wikileaks: a watershed moment
• 250,000 US Embassy Diplomatic Cables
• 391,832 Iraq War Logs
Scale of data releases demands new approaches and techniques.
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Within CAR, 2 Key StrandsData Driven Journalism
• Requires trained journalists to analyze data, and uses traditional publication model.
Database Journalism
• Produces databases of ‘facts’ that are continually maintained and improved
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Data Driven Journalism
• Traditional reporting – but using Data as your ‘source’
• Data is the primary source material that is analyzed by journalists who report the findings to their readers.
• Requires trained journalists to analyse data, and uses traditional publication model.
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Data Driven JournalismExamples:• MP’s Expenses• Iraq War logs• Baby P Investigation• Election and campaign finance investigations• Anything produced by Guardian, NYT, LATimes
Data Desks.
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Database Journalism
• Produces databases of ‘facts’ that are continually maintained and improved
• Instead of stories, products are interactive, offering ordinary people instant access to information that previously required curation and publication by journalists or public officials.
• Requires programming expertise to build platforms for sharing and accessing data, such as websites and APIs.
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Database Journalism Examples:
• TheyWorkforyou.com Database of MPS, their registered interests and Voting habits.
• OpenCorporates.com/CompaniesHouse.gov.ukDatabase of all registered companies.
• Police.ukMaps crime data. See the crimes reported in your area.
• FixMyTransport.comDatabase of local transport issues – Allows direct reporting of problems to authorities.
• FarmSubsidies.orgDatabase of EU farm subsidies and their recipients.
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Methodology
• Analysis – Process ‘raw numbers’ into narratives and stories your readers can understand.
• Visualization – Present abstract statistics to readers in a way that makes them accessible and impactful to your audience.
• Mapping – Allow readers to understand and check information as it relates to their neighborhood/region. Check/Compare service provision in your area
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Mapping Data
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Visualisation
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Invest in Data projects – Ongoing returns
• 12 member multi-lingual team• 1 database• Nearly 600 data sheets• 21 languages• More than 640,000 records• More than 100 agencies• 2 dozen stories … and counting
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Where Can I find Data?• Data is everywhere
• Get in a “data state of mind”: forms, databases, statistics, press releases with numbers. Don’t take numbers given to you at face value
• Online databases (publicly available)
• Freedom of Information requests (requesting whole databases)
• “Scraping data”
• Databases constructed ‘from scratch’
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• Plain and simple Excel
• Data cleaning tools (Google Refine…)
• Database managers (SQL, Access)
• Scraping software (or code) and tools (imacros, OutwitHub, ScraperWiki…)
• Visualisation tools (Tableau, Omniscope)
Tools of the Trade
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Mistakes and Misconceptions• Giving up because you are told no
• It’s too expensive• We can’t download it• It’s private information• We don’t hold it
• Keeping your data to yourself: publish and be DAMNED!
• Pretty visualisations are not an investigation
• Being geeky and knowing the latest tools does not an investigative journalist make
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Conclusion• “Analysing data is the future for journalists”- Tim Berner’s
Lee
• Transparency in Data is accountability – Demand data releases from authorities and governments
• Data journalism demands new technical skills from journalists – Reach out to those with programming and technical skills. Will augment your existing digital efforts
• Don’t be left behind – Cannot ignore the added value to your publication that a data desk will bring. Not an optional ‘extra’. ‘I don’t do numbers’ no longer acceptable.
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Train or Fail• Russell Square, Algate, Edgware Road, Reported as most dangerous
(crime) stations in London – Stations were attacked by terrorists. -Context
• Telegraph claimed public sector pensions cost each citizen £4000 a year. More than most people pay in income tax. -Common Sense
• 100% Increase in risk. From 1 in a million to 2 in a million. 13% increase in chance of death. To 113%? – Basic Numeracy.
• Correlation and causation – Do mobile phone masts increase fertility?
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Buzz Data – Collaborative data sharing platformhttp://buzzdata.comData.Gov – Main hub for UK Gov Datahttp://data.gov.uk/London Datastorehttp://data.london.gov.uk/datastoreUK Public Spendinghttp://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/Scotlandhttp://www.esds.ac.uk/government/docs/ScotlandGuide.pdfUK Policehttp://www.police.uk/UK National Statisticshttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html
Some suggestions for finding UK Data