Hungry for supermarkets: Data-journalism tools support AP analysis
A group of major food retailers have fallen short in their promise to open or expand 1,500 grocery or convenience stores in and around neighborhoods without supermarkets by 2016. It was part of an initiative led by first lady Michelle Obama.
AP to expand data-driven journalism with $400,000 from Knight
The Associated Press today announced an effort to expand public access to critical information and bring data journalism to a wider array of news organizations with $400,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
AP investigative reporter offers tips for seeking public records
The Associated Press is committed to fighting for access to information the public has a right to know. AP journalists across the country routinely file Freedom of Information Act requests to uncover critical information that the government would have preferred to keep secret. Washington investigative reporter Jack Gillum recently broke the story that Hillary Clinton used a private email server at her home, and he mined information on Instagram to track Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock’s spending. Gillum frequently draws from records requests to report exclusives. Here, he explains why they should be part of every journalist’s toolkit:
Where to find AP at SXSW Interactive
The Associated Press is joining thousands of digital and creative professionals from around the world converging at the 2015 SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, Texas, which runs March 13 through 17.
Dig into data journalism with AP
The Associated Press will be sharing expertise and learning from other data journalists from around the country at a computer-assisted reporting conference put on by NICAR and Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE). The annual event runs today through March 8 in Atlanta.
“Every year we pick up tools and techniques that become essential to our data journalism toolkit. And every year, I personally steal a few teaching ideas that help me bring the material back to the broader AP,” said AP Editor for Interactive Technology Troy Thibodeaux. “All this, and we get to compare notes and ask questions of the people in other news organizations whose work most inspires and challenges us.”
Here’s some of the hands-on training AP is providing:
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
- Grabbing data from websites without scraping
AP data journalist Michelle Minkoff co-leads a tutorial on how to get structured data from websites using a web browser with free tools and ad-ons.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
- Bridging the developer/journalist gap
AP newsroom developer Maureen Linke shares best practices for bringing together coders and non-coders alike in newsrooms to tell great stories.
- Introducing Geomancer: Don’t let your data be lonely tonight
Thibodeaux and AP data journalist Serdar Tumgoren talk about Geomancer, a new tool created by AP and a team of developers from civic technology company DataMade, that makes it easier for journalists to add context to a data set.
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
- Getting started with SQLite
This workshop led by Thibodeaux will provide an introduction to the world of SQL (Structured Query Language), “the lingua franca of relational databases.”
- Summing and grouping in SQLite
Thibodeaux will help journalists build their SQL skills in this advanced workshop.
- Visualization for reporting
Minkoff co-leads a workshop on how to use visualizations and graphics as a powerful reporting tool.