Jaimi Dowdell, training director for the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), and Mark Horvit, executive director of IRE, offer a guide to using data in business reporting for the free investigative workshop, "Accountability in Indian Country - Be a Better Business Watchdog," on July 18, 2013. Presented by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, this workshop was part of the Native American Journalists Association's annual conference in Phoenix. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org. For additional resources on using data to empower your coverage, please visit the training archive page at http://businessjournalism.org/2013/07/17/accountability-in-indian-country-be-a-better-business-watchdog-self-guided-training/.

1. IRE/NICAR

2. Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization
dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting.
IRE was formed in 1975 to create a forum in which journalists throughout the
world could help each other by sharing story ideas, newsgathering
techniques and news sources.

3.  Training
 Resources
 Networking
 Conferences
 Data services

4. •Assume it’s public.
•Assume it’s free.
•Documents = databases.

5. Know the Law
http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php

6. Why
data?

7. Uncover basic information. (Simple
lookups)
Test government procedures, regulations
and officials’ promises.
Enterprise reporting – do stories that no
one else is doing.
In addition: Journalism that has data elements translates
incredibly well online.

9.  Data are never “perfect”
 Data can’t tell you everything. It’s just a
starting point.
 CAR doesn’t replace solid street reporting
skills.

10.  Examples
 The basics of spreadsheets
 Searchable databases available online
 Finding and downloading data online
 Other databases that aren’t so readily available

15. Test procedures, question officials,
analyze regulations.

16.  DATA: Built an interactive database using newspaper
reports, court records and documents obtained from
prosecutors and defense attorneys to compile a partial
list of self-defense cases in Florida since 2005.
 FINDINGS: Florida's "stand your ground" law is being
used to free gang
 members involved in
shootouts drug
dealers beefing with
clients and people
who shot their victim
in the back

17.  DATA: Federal Procurement Data System
 FINDINGS: At least 24 large companies since
2009 either based or with major offices in the
Bay Area received at least 299 contracts labeled
“small business” totaling $77 million.

18.  DATA: Fire Department dispatch data
 FINDINGS: Fire Department falls short of the standard
that rescue units be alerted within one minute on 90% of
911 calls
 In the more than 250,000 medical dispatches last year,
the department took 75% longer, on average, than the
national standard.

19.  FINDINGS: A yearlong
investigation found that
Americans face higher
risks of food poisoning
and other dangers because
the industry increasingly
relies on a mechanical
tenderization process and
antibiotic overuse is
leading to resistant
bacteria in humans. Big
beef paid for advertising
and promotions, for
example, getting lean cuts
certified by the American
Heart Association as
“heart-healthy” food.
 RESOURCES: reporters
traveled to seven states and
analyzed USDA data,
lawsuits, scientific studies,
government audits and
research reports.
 http://www.kansascity.com
/2012/12/08/3951701/how-
this-series-was-
reported.html#storylink=cpy

20. DATA: population data sets
FINDINGS: Populations around the facilities have swelled as much as 4½
times since 1980, evacuation times have not been updated for decades,
More than 90 of the nation's 104 operating reactors have been allowed to
run at higher power levels for many years, raising the radiation risk in a
major accident

21. City Press – South Africa

27. DATA: workplace safety inspections
FINDINGS: Workers in many dangerous industries get a small
fraction of the attention from inspectors that construction
workers do.
Two of Washington's
most injury–prone
industries get
Almost no attention
from workplace
safety
inspectors:
Nursing homes and
Hospitals

28. “ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reviewed
health department inspection reports for
food and beverage outlets at all 107
North American arenas and stadiums
that were home to Major League
Baseball, National Football League,
National Hockey League and National
Basketball Association teams in 2009. At
30 of the venues (28 percent), more than
half of the concession stands or
restaurants had been cited for at least
one "critical" or "major" health violation.
Such violations pose a risk for foodborne
illnesses that can make someone sick, or,
in extreme cases, become fatal.”

31.  The difference between a spreadsheet and a
database.
 Why use other software?
 Options?

32.  Remember – any time a biz interacts with the
government, information becomes public.
 Ask for the document and/or data
retention schedule.
 Arizona
 Get a tour.
 Grab every blank form – both internal and
external – in all agencies you cover.
 Meet the document and data clerks and the IT
folks.

33.  FOIA – Open records logs
 State and federal statutes
 Appendix and footnotes to audits and reports
 Inspectors General
 State auditors
 GAO reports (Government Accountability
Office)

34.  Major Information Systems – request a list from
government agency: example US Marshall’s list
here.
“The Electronic Freedom of Information Act of 1996
requires agencies to make available to the public an
index and description of their major information
systems.”
 Something in a “chart” format may mean that a
database exists: example California West Nile
Virus here.

35.  Online forms to submit information:
example online form from the Internet
Crime Complaint Center here.
 Actually read a web site – don’t let it force
you into predefined roles: example North
Carolina Department of Revenue here. (site
map, search)
 Search for keywords related to data:
download, database, information system,
submit, searchable, inspection,
enforcement, Excel, etc.

36. Work sources
Follow the money
 Grants
 Single Audit Reports (Reports will exist if they
receive more than $300,000 in federal funds. Can
order full reports from Census)
 Annual gaming income report from Alan Meister

37.  Search by domain:
 .gov – government sites (other types: .edu, .org,
.com, .net, etc.)
 Example – search for “Oil spill” “2010” and limit to
site:.gov
 Search by file type:
 .xls for spreadsheets; .txt, .csv for text files; .mdb,
.dbf for databas files
 Example – Same search as above but limit to
filetype:xls
 Search for words within a URL:
 Examples: ftp, download, data, inspection,
enforcement, 2010, etc.

38.  In Excel format – example IRS Exempt
Organizations here.
 From the web – example Texas offenders on
death row here.
 In text format – example from data.gov search
on “inspection” here.
 Use DTA to quickly download records –
example Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
monthly expense reports.

39.  PDF to Excel – try cometdocs.com
 Use Web scraper for Chrome. Example: World
Bank Ineligible listings.
 Creative searching in forms.

40.  OSHA workplace safety inspections
 DOL enforcement data
 Federal contracts (FPDS) (ex. Border
protection)
 Recalls (look at tabs for topics)
 Economy at a Glance from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics
 Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the
BLS
 EPA environmental data searches

41.  Fatality Analysis Reporting System data (FARS)
 National sex offender registry (
Department of Justice)
 Transportation data from BTS
 Aircraft data (service difficulty reports, on-time
data, aircraft registry, etc.)
 NTSB Aviation Accidents (and more)
 FAA accidents/incidents and service difficulty
reports (SDRs)
 Flight tracker from flightaware
 On-time statistics

42.  Nursing home, hospital and home health data
from Medicare
 Firearms data from the ATF
 Migration data from the IRS
 Tax data from IRS (tax exempt orgs)
 Mine Safety and Health Administration (
MSHA)
 National Agricultural Statistics Service

43.  Batch Geo – for making interactive maps
 Chrome Scraper – For gathering data online
 Down Them All – For grabbing lots of files in
one shot
 EXIF Viewer – To get info from photos

44. Consumer Reports
(pdf report)
•On-time by airport (pg 7)
•Departure by time (pg 13)
•Chronically delayed flights (pg 15)
•Tarmac delays (pg 25)
•Mishandled baggage (pg 29)
•Injuries and deaths involving pets
(49)
From Bureau of Transportation statistics
(Downloadable to Excel)
•Flight delays
•Bag fees by airline
•Chronically delayed flights
•Cancelled flights

45.  American FactFinder for quick data profiles.
 Datasets from IRE– download profiles,
comparisons and more.
 Get information on the Census from ASU’s
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and IRE.

46.  Fedstats – A to Z list of statistical data from the
government.
 Data.gov – Searchable catalogs of government
data. (search for business, contracts,
inspections, etc.)
 USAspending.gov or FedSpending.org –
Federal spending data including grants, loans,
contracts, etc. (Ex. Coca Cola)

47.  State Government Databases wiki from the
American Library Association
 BRB Publications links to public records sites
 Portico

51. Some simple online tools

52. Example: Michigan CAFOs

54. Mark Horvit
mark@ire.org