There is no greater concentration of computerized information than in Washington, D.C. But strangely, in this capital of government record keeping, there seems to be a lack of computer-assisted reporting. Scripps-Howard Bureau Chief Al Thompson says that although he senses a growing interest in accessing government computer files, computer-assisted reporting is still a marginal technique at his office.
"We have our hands full just doing what we're doing day-to-day putting out the news, so we don't have a lot of time to discover what's out there and what's available," Thompson says. Rich Morin, who heads up the computer-assisted effort at The Washington Post, suggests that because most news organizations in Washington, D.C., are bureaus for out-of-state papers and national magazines, they are geared toward beats using more traditional means.
"There's quicker ways to get some of this information," he says, "though certainly not all of it." Tom Moore, formerly a Washington-bureau reporter for Knight-Ridder and now a graduate student at George Washington University, offers a more sociological explanation. He says that for many reporters, a position at the Washington bureau represents a hard-won plum, topping off a successful career in the newsroom.
Most Washington bureau reporters, Moore says, are older, more prosperous and more at ease using conventional reporting techniques. "There are exceptions," he says, "but the last time I looked, reporters in Washington were very far behind in information technology." Most major news organizations have appropriate technology at their disposal but don't employ it. Knight Ridder Bureau Chief Clark Hoyt says his office is equipped with computers and they try to keep a running database on campaign finances but they don't have anybody to work with these resources on a full-time basis.
If computer assisted reporting has yet to realize its potential in Washington, Hoyt says, "It's not because it's not a good tool. It's because we as an industry haven't taken full advantage of it. Cox Newspapers' Andrew Glass wants to change this. Cox recently invested in a CD-ROM player for its Washington bureau and has taken a more aggressive approach to the technology. "It's something we feel the time has come for," Glass says.
He says that instead of hiring some computer-jock to handle the chores for the office, he would like to see all staffers get involved to the extent that they are able. "We think it should be part of everybody's job, just like knowing how to type." Even though a multitude of think-tanks and public interest groups are providing the media with their own ready-made analyses of government files, Glass questions the sagacity of relying on such "canned" sources.
"It's garbage-in, garbage-out if you're not sure how you came by the data," Glass says. Another Washington-based organization that is counting on computers to give it a jump on the competition is Gannett's USA Today. The special projects department created a special computer-assisted unit in 1988. Julia Wallace, head of special projects, says the investment has yielded a number of significant stories from dangerous roads to troubled banks.
The special unit has been especially busy cranking out customized reports comparing 1980 and 1990 census data. Wallace warns newcomers that it is not as easy as it seems. "Logically, you think you ought to be able to press a button and get the answer right away," she says, "but the reality is things take twice as long and are twice as hard as you expect them to be." "But we're at the point where we've been through those learning stages.
It's a lot more fun because now we're able to do things a lot quicker and things that are a lot more complicated."