Using Javascript for interactive Google charts

Posted by on Mar 29, 2010 in Blog, programming | No Comments

Want to provide interactive graphs to news consumers quickly and easily on platforms that simply don’t support Flash?  Enter the “hidden power of Javascript,” a key component of the Google Visualization API.  It was the subject of a recent “Lightning Talk” I gave at NICAR 2010 in Phoenix.  My slides and a more thorough walk-through ...

Data Delver: Mark Schaver, Louisville Courier

Posted by on Mar 28, 2010 in Blog, CAR, data delvers | No Comments

It’s all very simple for me to sit in front of my computer and proclaim myself a data journalist, or a programmer-journalist for that matter. I’ve spent a lot of time discovering my love for creating data-driven applications. But for many CAR reporters, the role of Web developer has chosen them as the field has ...

Bringing data journalism into curricula

Posted by on Mar 24, 2010 in Blog, CAR, programming, theory | 7 Comments

As a recently graduated Medillian (yay for entering the “real world, boo for having to leave such a nurturing and wonderful place), I’ve been thinking a lot about data journalism and my generation.  Why were there so few students at NICAR?  Yes, it costs money to get to a conference, but I’m not even seeing ...

Data Delvers: Ben Welsh & Ken Schwencke, LA Times

Using data as part of a package that drives user interest needs a strong team, and cross-collaboration between reporters, editors and web developers.  At the Los Angeles Times, two key people who work to bring it all together are Web dev duo Ben Welsh and Ken Schwencke.  It’s their job to enhance and enrich the ...

Why we do what we do: Pursuing the sparkle

Posted by on Mar 5, 2010 in Blog, theory | One Comment

“If you truly love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That was the main theme of the faculty speaker at my high school graduation back at Palatine High School in 2004.  It personified my pursuit of knowledge, and of a career, up until that point, and I’ve thought about those ...

Guest Post: Integrating data with our journalism

Posted by on Mar 2, 2010 in Blog, CAR, data visualizations, theory | No Comments

I was recently asked to write a guest post sharing some of what I’ve learned about data from my studies, random experimentation and musings that consume my life.  This is part of Adam Westbrook’s Fresh Eyes series, where he asks people within and without journalism with non-traditional perspectives to talk about how journalists can improve ...

Data Delver: Matt Waite, St. Petersburg Times

Posted by on Jan 31, 2010 in Blog, CAR, data delvers | 2 Comments

Journalism in the modern era. What is it? I’ve got some ideas, and a lot of questions, but I certainly don’t know the answer. It necessitates more than a story, more than an article, more than a photo, more than a Web page. I’m pretty certain of one thing, though: It’s got to do with ...

Data Delver: Perry Swanson, The Gazette

Posted by on Jan 29, 2010 in Blog, CAR, data delvers | No Comments

When we think of computer-assisted reporting, large-scale investigative projects are often what first come to mind. There’s no question of the value and impact such endeavors can have on society. But CAR has many other purposes, too. One is bringing evidence to and localizing breaking news, and helping people find out more about their communities. ...

Changes in the numbers of students majoring in programming and social sciences

What is a traditional path to programming nowadays? It’s a question I’ve been thinking about a lot, esp. in the realm of the journalist-programmer. So many people from the older school of journalism came through using databases as tools to help with reporting, not because they took a class in it. That’s certainly encouraging for ...

Committing fact errors in visualizations

Posted by on Jan 18, 2010 in Blog, class, data visualizations, tufte | No Comments

At Medill, there’s a wonderful tradition called the “Medill F.”  Make a factual error of any sort, and you fail the assignment.  The sadistic part of me likes it — a journalist’s job is to tell the truth.  If you miss the mark, you’ve failed the public, and failed at your job for the day. ...