Michelle Minkoff

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Any of us coming to the field know this. I speak often, perhaps obsessively, about my mentors. But who inspired them? What was it like to be part of the field bringing the rigor of data analysis and social science, and the precision of emerging technology, to our journalistic craft?  When I say the name Phil Meyer, some in our community know him personally, some may have read his landmark book Precision Journalism, some may recognize the name as part of Investigative Reporters and Editors annual award contest Read More...

In my "free" time, I help people who are also on the JavaScript learning journey.  Here's a query, paraphrased. How can I count how many points I currently have displayed on a Fusion Table layer of a Google Map? This would be especially helpful when we're using filters, to show how many points are currently displaying Read More...

I'm now just beyond five months into an amazing opportunity.  When I introduce myself as working at the AP, I always cringe a bit.  Perhaps people think I work there because it's the AP, and it's big, and has many resources, and there's a lot to do.  But that's not the sum total reason.  I am supported, appreciated, pushed Read More...

It occured to me that I haven't posted an update since the last one, which was a measured account of my self-doubts when it comes to programming.  I really appreciate the support and outreach I've gotten from the community about this.  Three weeks later, I finished said Backbone project, with a lot of help from smart people, but I did it Read More...

I've been in a rather dark, pressure-filled place in my journey the past couple of weeks.  You can tell, more posts here about my feelings, rather than code.  Less posting on Twitter about anything work-related, or anything at all during the work week.  The usual "How are you?" is greeted with an exasperated sigh, rather than my usual "Life is awesome!" It's something to do with another level I'm trying to attain in my career, a lack of balance, a frustration with not being able to do what I wish I could Read More...

Some people make New Years' Resolutions.  Some people make them before January 2.  I would not be one of these people.  But, instead, I publicly declare (for accountability's sake), that this year is going to be different.  2011 was the year of extremes. Life is great! (I learned so much!) Life is horrible! (Anything to do with needles and hospital beds Read More...

After my approach to a nervous breakdown last week, kind people in the community have helped me get back on track.  I have restructured my current big project so it no longer includes a "miscellaneous" function, and is sorted into logical pieces.  I am also seeking to learn the actual vocabulary fo what things in programming are called, because conversations like this are not really a good thing: "Then, I put it into the thing with the curly brackets, and then I tried to access the thing with the other thing, and there was an error, which mentioned another thing that I didn't understand Read More...

Learning to code with editorial intent has been a pet project of mine for years by now, but this week was the first time I literally found myself in tears, because I couldn't get something to work.  My father has a great story from his educational days, about how he changed degrees because he saw the first time, he didn't like school Read More...

I've recently gotten a few questions about Fusion Tables via email.  I'll keep the questioners anonymous, but I think it's worth sharing these answers with the community. Some questions paraphrased. Can I embed something with HTML/CSS/JavaScript using the Layer Builder on my Google Sites page/page that doesn't play well with JavaScript? This is part of my usual argument of why it's a good idea to host your own website Read More...

UPDATE: More of my thoughts on this are peppered in the comment section of a fantastic post on this subject by Matt Waite, posted after I published this.  I think he may have a solution to the issue I lament here.  You go read now.   But before you do, I'd also like to make clear that this ramble is not a comment against any particular professional organization Read More...