MDST*1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Microsoft Access, Deseret News, Microsoft Excel
Computer Assisted Reporting
Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR): refers to downloading databases and doing data
analysis that can provide context and depth to daily stories.
-Techniques of producing tips that launch more complex stories from a broader
perspective and with a better understanding of the issues.
-For example, A journalist beginning a story with the knowledge of the patterns
gleaned from 150,000 court records is way ahead of a reporter who sees only a
handful of court cases each week.
-Computer-assisted reporting doesn't replace proven journalistic practices. It has
become a part of them.
Databases
-Databases are created by people = they have omissions and errors that must be
corrected. Every database also is a slice in time and thus is outdated the moment
it is acquired and used = need to check & re-check data.
-A database alone is not a story: it is a field of information that needs to be
harvested carefully with insight and caution. It needs to be compared with and
augmented with observation and interviews.
-"Healthy skepticism" is as impt as ever with the use of CAR: interviewing multiple
sources and cross-referencing them becomes ever more crucial.
Short history of CAR
-1952: CBS tried to use experts with a mainframe computer to predict outcome of
presidential election.
-1967: Philip Meyer at The Detroit Free Press in Michigan used a mainframe to
analyze a survey of Detroit residents to understand & explain the serious riots
that erupted in the city that summer.
-Only a few journalists used CAR until the rnid-1980s, when Elliot Jaspin was
recognized for his work at The Providence Journal Bulletin in Rhode Island, for
analyzing databases for stories on issues like dangerous school bus drivers and
a political scandal involving home loans.
-In 1989, the value of CAR was recognized when a Pulitzer Prize was awarded to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its stories on racial disparities in home loan
practices.
-In 1989, Elliot Jaspin established an institute at the Missouri School of
Journalism now known as the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting
(NICAR).
-Use of CAR has blossomed largely due to the seminars conducted throughout
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Computer assisted reporting (car): refers to downloading databases and doing data analysis that can provide context and depth to daily stories. Techniques of producing tips that launch more complex stories from a broader perspective and with a better understanding of the issues. For example, a journalist beginning a story with the knowledge of the patterns gleaned from 150,000 court records is way ahead of a reporter who sees only a handful of court cases each week. Computer-assisted reporting doesn"t replace proven journalistic practices. Databases are created by people = they have omissions and errors that must be corrected. Every database also is a slice in time and thus is outdated the moment it is acquired and used = need to check & re-check data. A database alone is not a story: it is a field of information that needs to be harvested carefully with insight and caution. It needs to be compared with and augmented with observation and interviews.
