B UILDING YOUR D IGITAL T OOLBOX Prepared for “Digging Deep: Training for Reporters and Editors” March 26, 2011

T HE INTERNET IS TWO THINGS … Indispensable Challenging AND… it shouldn’t take the place of the kind of reporting that takes you away from your computer

New York Times Newsroom Navigator mesnavigator/index.html mesnavigator/index.html Created by the NY Times research staff IRE’s Beat Source Guide beat.html beat.html Investigative Reporters and Editors’ website in general is very useful ( Sree’s tips (Columbia Prof. Sree Sreenivasan)

F INDING SOURCES ExpertClick ProfNet

L OOK FOR WAYS TO MAKE COMPARISONS Databases U.S. Census web site Compare local demographic and business trends to national trends Bureau of Labor Statistics: Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance: National Center for Health Statistics: National Association of Health Data Organizations: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation:

A SK YOURSELF : “W HO WOULD HAVE REASON TO COLLECT THE TYPE OF INFORMATION I AM SEEKING ?” Then seek out web sites that cater to those audiences For instance: “Head hunters” – people who do executive recruiting – and the corporate offices that find candidates for executive positions also have Web sites they use, and you may learn something from these sites.

T ELLING A “ GREAT STORY ” WITH INFOGRAPHICS A growing trend: the “Data Visualization” Should be used to tell a great story. What are they? Visual representations of information “served up with a healthy dose of innovation and creativity” (Anthony Calabrese, MediaShift) Becoming a “best practice” for online journalists (and others) as they consider how to tell the best interactive story for their reader It can be a motion chart, a short video clip or an interactive

O R THEY CAN BE FANCY : The Trendalyzer Advanced motion chart that makes stats come to life Hans Rosling You can make your own motion chart at

Journalism in the Age of Data Hour-long video, with many examples (and links to places you can go to get usable data visualizations)

T HE G EOGRAPHY OF A R ECESSION Created as part of a graduate project by a student at American University Featured on several major news networks for its quick and clear impact of unemployment spreading like a stain across the U.S. LaToya Egwuekwe’s illustration

F INALLY, THE BEST WAY TO USE THE INTERNET : Share your ideas, share your best sources Don’t isolate yourself