NICAR keeps adding to its database library. A partial list includes:
Federal Aviation Administration service difficulty reports that show the history of problems that a plane had before it crashed. FBI crime data that allows you to do detailed analysis of crime in your community and state. Social security death records that you can use for stories that go beyond simple listing. The database also permits reporters to circumvent states that have closed their death records. Federal procurement contracts. This database can help you discover the impact of cuts in defense spending, or the amount of housing and office space federal agencies rent in your city, or the amount of toilet paper the feds purchased in your community, or the biggest federal contractors in your state. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records that you use to look at disparities in minority lending. OSHA inspection safety records that show the most frequently cited employer in your state and what the work safety violations have been. Federal gun dealer records that show who is dealing in weapons or that a local police officer moonlights as a provider of guns to criminals.
To request data, call NICAR at 314-882-0684 or E-Mail us at nicar@muccmail.missouri.edu