Journalists’ Toolbox GateHouse Media News & Interactive FOR AUDIO: ACCESS CODE:

Agenda Digital tools – why bother? Going beyond Twitter, Geofeedia, etc. Census graphics bring data to life Severe weather Numbers Hospital inspections The miracle of Evernote FOR AUDIO: ACCESS CODE:

Digital tools: why? Efficiency Organization Data & information Old school vs. digital tools FOR AUDIO: ACCESS CODE:

Favorite digital tools What this webinar isn’t Twitter Facebook Google Search Google Drive

Census Data Censusreporter.org Knight News Challenge-funded project Specifically geared to journalists Aims to help journalists digest and write about census data Constantly evolving Check out tumblr.com blog: censusreporter.tumblr.comcensusreporter.tumblr.com

Census Data Censusreporter.org Brings census data to life Presents data on demographics, economy, families Compares data based on topics

Census Data Censusreporter.org Cool graphics help you decipher info about your town

Census Data Censusreporter.org Compare towns in your region Springfield Peoria

Census Data Censusreporter.org: Story ideas Poverty data: Enrich stories around the holidays that encourage people to give by telling the story in numbers Housing data: Compare your town to similar ones in your region for housing vacancies, owners vs. renters Demographics: Compare towns in your region in areas such as median age and mobility. A higher than normal age plus low mobility tells a story of an aging population

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards … oh my Remember, these are traumatic situations. Check out the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, powered by Columbia Journalism School. Scroll down to advice for covering tragedies, from how to deal with children to guides for journalists and editors. tragedy

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards … oh my In the aftermath of a storm, check out DisasterAssistance.gov Links to news feeds and sourcing assistance

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards … oh my National Hurricane Center: Updates frequently; offers links to other resources

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards American Red Cross people finder: Allows you to input your name to say you’re safe Allows people searching for you to see if you’re safe

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards … oh my Storm prediction center: Searchable by city, state or ZIP Graphic shows weather watches in effect

Severe weather Tornados, hurricanes, blizzards … oh my The Old Farmer’s Almanac for weather history: Searchable by city, state or ZIP

Severe weather Covering disasters: Story ideas Perspective: How does this storm compare to others? Check out the Old Farmer’s Almanac for interesting data. Recovery: Help people find one another – post the Red Cross people finder link online, on Facebook, on Twitter Rebuilding: Use DisasterAssistance.gov for sourcing and other resources, and help your readers find this site, too.

Numbers Making numbers make sense Weird converter: weirdconverter.com Let’s says something weighs 3,676 pounds You can say it’s about the same as a midsize car or 21 kegs of beer

Numbers Making numbers make sense How big is the crowd? Don’t trust the organizers! Inflation calculator: How much buying power now vs. then? Football field & area: A football field is about 76% of an acre.

Hospital info Searchable hospital inspection info Association of Health Care Journalists searchable database of hospital inspections for some types of hospitals. Caveats about using site to compare or rank hospitals. Helpful info about how to read reports.

Getting organized Evernote for Journalists Great organizational tool Perfect for note taking Easy to search and file In the cloud – no chance of losing notes

Getting organized Evernote for Journalists Save interview notes Save links to websites related to projects or stories you revisit You can tag stories for easy search You can place notes in notebooks (files) Search function works on text

Getting organized Evernote for Journalists Desktop & mobile Sync to the cloud so you can work off of any computer/device You can take photos or audio in the app You can save web pages or images with text that are then searchable: handwritten notes, whiteboard plans

Takeaways Digital tools are good for: Coming up with story ideas (census, hospitals, weather, etc.) Making numbers understandable to readers Resources for history (record-setting bad weather, etc.) Organizing notes, ideas, research (Evernote)

Journalists’ Toolbox GateHouse Media News & Interactive Jean Hodges