The answers vary widely. But as more and more newsrooms across the nation begin to use computers and data analysis on a daily basis, reporters and editors are looking for the key ingredients that separate the successes from the failures. For some newspapers, providing reporters with the ability to read data off government computer tapes is an investment that gives a quick return. For others, however, the pay-off is not so swift. Starting a computer-assisted program can be a long, complicated, expensive process that offers limited results. Uplink interviewed principal reporters in several computer-assisted programs to find out why some are flying high and others are having trouble getting off the ground.
Journalists who have experimented with computer-assisted reporting with few results give a number of reasons why they have had trouble starting a successful program: unenthusiastic reporters and editors; rarely used equipment that makes it hard to find help when problems occur; and the biggest issue, time. It is often difficult to balance other reporting duties with training and working on computer tapes.
"It's working out, but very, very slowly," says Dave Davis, who runs the program at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Most editors, he says "go crazy if you suggest they give you someone for two days."
"There're so many stories that have to be done for the next day's paper," says Rae Davidson, who runs the program at the Toledo Blade. Davidson, who received training two years ago, says the Blade's program is "definitely in its infancy." Only four stories have come out of the program. All of the reporters whom she originally trained have since left the newspaper, though she is currently working with another reporter.
Steven Bennish, a reporter for the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, trained at the MICAR two years ago. He says that even with the full support of the managing editor, he has produced no stories with what he learned.
"I don't think there's really been the time to do it," Bennish says. The Tribune employs eight full-time reporters.
The amount of money invested varies at the different newspapers. For the Tribune, the investment was a few hundred dollars for Bennish's training, because the paper hoped to use MICAR's equipment at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Davidson says the Blade paid $10,000 for equipment, and about $500 for XDB.
The Roanoake (Va.) Times and World News paid $10,000 for its equipment. However, leadership became an issue when the person in charge of the program resigned only weeks after attending a MICAR conference.
Copy editor Jim Ellison took over, mainly because he had a PC at home and knew a little about computers. He considers the program "halfway there," though it hasn't produced any stories. Ellison says he has "had to work in between writing headlines."
"My biggest problem is I forget this stuff as I go along," Ellison says, adding that the only way to become proficient with computer equipment is to keep working on it.
Ellison hasn't been trained in NineTrack Express, so sorting out problems with tapes takes him longer as he tries to reinvent the wheel. This problem also affects the program at the Plain Dealer. Davis says the newspaper invested $80,000 in equipment and has done some stories with it. But the Plain Dealer bought the UNISYS system, which Davis considers a mistake, because few programs use the system. "It's a problem if you're out of the loop," he says. "Then you're always on new ground," when you need help with your system. "You spend a lot of time and energy doing things people have already done." This adds to the problem of limited work time that reporters have at the Plain Dealer. Davis says that about a dozen of them can load tapes and do some basic queries. However, the newspaper is far from management's goal to have the program "touch everybody's beat and everybody's job."
Some CAR programs and their reporters have moved into the new information age with relative ease. What have been the keys to these successful transitions?
"Persistence," said St. Louis Post Dispatch reporter George Landau. "You run into so many problems working with government data. You need patience and determination to solve them."
Landau said the Post's program began when "they'd had some stories that could have benefitted from data analysis." A senior editor, Richard Weil, initiated the program in 1989. "I'd been working GA for a couple of years, and was pretty well versed in computers, so I was tapped for it."
Greg Reeves, reporter for the Kansas City Star who did the data analysis for the Pulitzer winning "Failing The Grade" series, said that helping other reporters with ongoing stories has been one of the successful qualities of the Star's program. "I've started some stories, but the peripheral stories are the most important."
Brant Houston, of the Hartford Courant, agrees that helping other reporters is essential. "You've got to have a willingness to spend a lot of time with people answering questions. If you think you're the only one who should be doing this, you're going to choke your program to death."
Houston also attributes some of his success to a willingness to stick with it, despite the initial hours. "You have to realize that 'full time' means anything from eight to 16 hours a day. It's as though for 10 hours you're a journalist, for four hours you're a technician, and for two hours you're a database administrator.
"There's no question that success is a two-edged sword."
Pat Stith, of the Raleigh News and Observer, credits "the newspaper's patience" with determining the success of their program.
He added that an open mind is helpful. "I learn something new every day. You never learn it all, you just get a little better as you go along.
"I've loaded 40 databases, more or less, and each one presents a different problem."
Implementing a computer-assisted reporting program is not cheap, and financial support from the publication is essential.
"We were able to wrangle about $12,000 for equipment when we started," said Landau. "The biggest investment was my salary, letting me do this full time."
Landau said that they were able to sell the idea to the Post's management as a "secret weapon" to gain a competitive edge over the now-defunct St. Louis Sun.
Most agree that to ensure success, a program should include more than one reporter. In-house training of reporters is essential to computer-assisted reporting. "This should be a routine tool in the newsroom used by a wide range of reporters," Stith said. "This is exactly where we want to go."
Stith has gone a long way to train his colleagues at the News and Observer and familiarize them with the technology, holding classes for reporters, editors and news researchers. "The class was successful in destroying the mystery of the computer. That's progress. You can't teach people computer-assisted reporting in 20 hours. It requires a lot of practice."
Stith said that about 15 reporters have produced one or more computer-assisted stories for the News and Observer in the last year. However, he said, "We don't have a situation where those reporters can do all their own work independent of anyone else."
It is important that computers be used for a broad spectrum of stories, Stith said. "We've used databases in reporting business stories and features," he said. "If we can get a database, load it in and crank out the data, why not use it for features?"
The Courant's Houston said being able to "crank" out the data is vital to a program. "The challenge now is to continue to integrate it into the newsroom-without creating a lot of bottlenecks," Houston said. "We have to figure out how to make it more accessible to people on the fly."
Although Landau said he has been doing most of the Post's data analysis by himself, "I would like every reporter to be able to do their own analysis when they need to. They would need training and periodic refreshers."
Houston said it is vital to have more than one person possessing the skills. "You need a couple of people who are up on things," he said. "Otherwise, if you're sick or go on vacation, everything comes to a grinding halt."