If you have a story that needs to be told, don't wait for a huge attachment to show up in your inbox. Hunt for the data that will help you tell your story. And keep in mind that a data expert can be an invaluable guide along the way.
It started as a series of reports on the dangers Latino children face when they're not placed in car seats. It bloomed into a full-scale public awareness campaign. Here’s how one dogged reporter made it happen.
KCRW reporter Avishay Artsy set out to report on ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes. After originally planning on covering three groups, he found he was able to tell more compelling stories by narrowing his focus to African-Americans and colon cancer.
For her three-part series on the health effects of rising violent crime in Merced County, reporter Ana Ibarra interviewed victims and family members struggling with pain and raw emotion. Here she shares a few of the reporting lessons she learned along the way.
Earlier in my career, I thought I needed “big data” to take my reporting to the next level. But I didn't understand at the time that truly big data was beyond my grasp. Most reporters don't need to manipulate such huge datasets to carry out smart, data-driven journalism.
“In many African American communities, mental health issues have a history of being undertreated and underdiagnosed.” That was the beginning of the host intro for my radio series on mental health care within African American communities, and a focus sentence that led me throughout my reporting.
I experienced a crushing failure as an investigative reporter that I hope none of you ever have to experience. But I learned some important lessons along the way, including the need to focus my questions, narrow the scope, and embrace imperfect data.
As we pass the two-year mark on the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, journalists are still asking a lot of questions about just how well health reform is working when it comes to expanding coverage. Data journalist Meghan Hoyer shows data fellows how to interrogate the data.
If you're pitching a story that’s going to take you off deck for dailies, it helps to have two things: a great character and a clear wrongdoer. When I decided to look into a shortage of residential addiction treatment facilities in California’s Imperial County, I thought I had those ironed out.
A year after Thomas Eric Duncan died from Ebola after seeking care at a Texas hospital, what’s different about health preparedness in the U.S.? Reporter Anna Almendrala set out to answer that question, and found a series of heartbreaking stories of loss along the way.
