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Recycle your data, viz

and code

Maximize the value of your work by doing things that can be used again and again with quick updates.

THE FULL JOURNO NERD SPECTRUM IS WELCOME HERE.

These strategies work for: “lonely coders,” reporters just learning Excel, programmers and data wranglers.

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How this will work (we hope)

  • We’ll introduce ourselves
  • Then share a few examples of things we’ve recycled (or seen others recycle).
  • We’ll talk about how to identify these opportunities
  • And explain to editors why it’s worth your time.
  • We’ll spend most of the session in open discussion, brainstorming ideas that we’ll add to a Google spreadsheet.
  • Or, at your suggestion, we’ll abandon this plan and do whatever is most useful for you.

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Jayme Fraser

  • Reporter for The Malheur Enterprise and the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
  • Often have been a “lonely coder” in my newsrooms.
  • Cats or dogs? Birds are better.
  • Timbers fan looking for fellow soccer nerds to watch Saturday’s game.

@jaymekfraser

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Rachel Alexander

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  • Health reporter/data geek
  • Roller derby name: Minority Whip
  • Level 35 Team Instinct Pokemon Trainer
  • Infectious disease trivia nerd
  • Once deleted the entire homepage of the newspaper she was working for while trying to show off her Fancy New Job to her dad

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@rachelwalexande

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Kai Teoh

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  • Web developer at the Spokesman-Review
  • Likes pineapples on his pizza
  • Was voted the “Tobias Funke” of the group
  • Human disaster/scotch aficionado
  • Knows the words to “No Scrubs”

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@jkteoh

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Identifying opportunities

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  • What stories or products do I create every year or every quarter? Or topics you repeatedly explore?
  • What kinds of information do I need for those stories?
  • What are ways I use (or could use) that info in presentation or reporting again and again?
  • How often will it need to be updated to be relevant to work?
  • Can I save myself time in the long run by gathering/building/coding it now?

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Making it happen

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  • Write a memo to yourself (and your boss?) about what you hope to achieve, how the investment now will save time later and improve your stories.
    • If you can’t make a strong argument to yourself for your own time, it might not be as worth your work as you thought.
  • Document your process — even if it’s just a Word doc of notes.
    • Source of info and experts who know it.
    • Quirks in what it means or how it’s released.
    • Your steps for cleaning and building it.
    • Reporting observations and questions. Ask the same ones year after year or flag potential folos for later.
  • Set a calendar reminder for yourself to update or use it again.
  • Share it with your team to make even more of your work.

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Topic examples

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  • SCHOOLS
    • enrollment
    • test scores
    • school discipline
    • Tuition and fees
  • BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
    • Unemployment numbers
    • Housing starts or tear downs
    • New restaurants
  • COPS AND COURTS
    • Yearly murder round up
    • Drug convictions v usage rates
    • Police clearance rates
    • Court workloads
  • HEALTH
    • Death records
    • Hospital discharges
  • LEGISLATURE
    • Bills/veto history
    • Voting history
    • Demographics
  • DISASTERS AND WEATHER
    • Drought
    • Wildfires
    • Floods
    • Rain and snow fall
    • Temperatures
    • Crop conditions

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Scale it to your skills or learning goals

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Other code ideas?

  • Salary database into charts, super repeatable
  • Simple “games” to explain any issue you often find yourself re-explaining

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Brainstorming!

Let’s break into small groups to toss around ideas.

We’ll regroup and share in a bit.

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Links

This presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1X3Nc5ae5Uugj1C-CHS3K-UX3HhIMMcxZP-uq8TdcwOc/edit?usp=sharing

The Google Sheet of ideas: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10QRoWg1Sx4CQYUWz2t9MwdMZqV2Q_S1u7NlDKCo6SAs/edit?usp=sharing