Observing and experiencing data journalists in the United States

Essential Skills for data reporters

A complete data news department needs three kinds of people: editors, data reporters and network engineers. In some large online and nonprofit news organizations, data reporters often work with network engineers, one for content integration and the other for technology. With the advent of the large data age, we can access more and more data, but to the vast database analysis and collation, it requires some statistics and programming knowledge.

My initial exposure to "data News" was in graduate school, when Professor introduced some common tools for everyone, such as Excel, Google Fusion Table, tableau and so on. These software are easy to use because they do not require any programming background from the user. As long as the data is not too complex, in general we can use Excel to analyze it, using Google's powerful map resources for coordinate positioning, and then the spreadsheet and other information into the tableau, the data visualization, draw an interactive map. This mode of work is suitable for data Reporters without computer background, as well as small and medium sized media with limited human resources.

In addition, some basic programming language and database analysis knowledge will also bring convenience to our work. For example, when we want to get data from a social networking site, we can collect its user information through the application interface (API) provided by the company. For example, large databases that can't be analyzed in Excel can be sorted with more advanced R and access. Moreover, visualization, in addition to the use of tools to draw, people with programming backgrounds can also use JavaScript and other languages to write their own interactive charts, so as to avoid the limitations of the software itself and operational inconvenience. Programming languages and database analysis techniques are more difficult to master than the use of software. But luckily most of the programs we can use are free and the tutorials on the web are everywhere.

Data ignored by traditional media

"Public data" is one of the most proud things of American media people. The Constitution guarantees the right to information and freedom of expression, and the data and reports provided on the website of the government department are the concrete manifestations of this law. One of my colleagues said that he could hardly carry out his work without the public data. In fact, as an investigative journalist, he did get a lot of news material from the data. For example, the government department staff's consumption record, the police department's fine record, as well as the various levels Court has accepted the case record and so on. But the traditional media, whether paper or television, mostly just pass the data on to the audience, or use it as evidence to identify whether the object's words are true, but often ignore the story of the data itself.

For example, we heard that Colorado State a small town called Morrison, the most important source of government revenue in 2013 was the fines paid by the drivers to the Transport Department. He then applied to the local transportation Department for a 13-year record of all traffic violations. In the survey, we found that a small town with a population of more than 400 per cent issued more than 13,000 tickets a year, equivalent to the average local police to open at least 35 tickets a day. This result, the story is basically, but as investigative news reports, it still lacks details. For example: Morrison is a tourism town? What is the traffic condition in peacetime? How several traffic policemen are there? Where do they usually fine? If these questions are not answered, we do not know whether there is any malicious fines in the town's police station.

Before the data analysis entered the newsroom, most investigative journalists, after understanding the background, would visit places they thought were "material to dig", believing that seeing was true. And in the face of tens of thousands of information, reporters often do not start. When my colleague handed over the 13,000-odd fine records to me, it had been half a year since I first got it. In the process of analyzing the data, I found that every fine record indicates the date, place and reason of the accident. This means that we can at least draw three conclusions from this set of data: 1. The easiest place to be fined; 2. The most common cause of fines; 3. The day of the ticket is the highest in the year. As the answer surfaced, we had more information, such as a big outdoor concert in the town on the day of the most fine, and the most common penalty for speeding on the freeway outside the town. It is a road along the mountain, and the most fine place, happens to be a deceleration belt. A lot of cars were parked on the side of the road because they were too late to brake. Our survey found that this deceleration belt was newly repaired in recent years, and its emergence has undoubtedly brought good "economic benefits" to the local traffic management department. is the ability to analyze data, and let this forgotten story become interesting again.

Mainstream？ or marginalization?

In the three years of study and work in the United States, what I feared most was "marginalization". Most journalists need good eloquence and vast connections, and foreigners can be said to be "congenitally deficient" in these two points. Although I have seen many students with high levels of English, there are very few journalists who can do content in the mainstream media with a second language. I have also thought more than once that it would be nice if I could have an independent interview with my colleagues one day. But think of the previous failure of the job search experience, then understand that their advantage is not here. So how to be a foothold in the foreign media has become the most thoughtful question I have ever been in.

Avoid weaknesses, ask more and learn more.

As a job search, I try to show my strengths while avoiding the impact of my own shortcomings. Foreign journalists, in addition to language and networking, lack the understanding of local culture. For example, we have a list of Colorado State police equipment, which details the weapons allotted to each county police station, from a single bullet to an armored vehicle. In the course of the data analysis, I found that one county had more heavy weaponry than any other area, and its population was surprisingly low. In summary, I spent a lot of pen and ink to describe how the county is armed. While the editor was reviewing the manuscript, he told me that I had omitted an important message: It turned out that the sparsely populated area had the strictest prison system in the United States, which held several notorious murderers and terrorists in American history. As a result, the number of weapons has been reasonably explained. The news that I reported without understanding the background is somewhat distorted. From then on, whenever I found something out of the ordinary in the survey, I would go online to check the relevant background information, or ask my colleagues about the situation. This not only makes news reports more accurate and impartial, but also enhances local understanding.

Attend meetings and exchange discussions.

The meeting is various. Most news units have two regular meetings a day, one at a time in the afternoon and no more than half an hour each. Reporters in a newspaper, editorial audit, to participate in this fast-paced meeting very tempered people's eloquence and reaction ability. In addition, every once in a while, the editor sits down to think about new topics and discuss the outline of the story, as well as the necessary exchange of learning content. After work, actively participate in a variety of data news seminars, can know the outstanding peers, but also to understand the latest trends in the industry. From local to national, there are many awards, seminars, lectures, and short-term exchange programs for journalists in the United States. The use of these resources, not only can broaden their horizons, but also improve their skills, and no matter where, can be calmly confident reporters.