We start the new year with articles that show the ways in which computer-assisted reporting can be used on different beats and subjects.
Mike Wendland, a TV reporter, recounts the intense and widespread interest that stories on poorly-maintained restaurants can create. (After all, everyone eats.) Seth Hamblin interviews some of the better environmental reporters on how to use electronic information. David Armstrong, a long-time Boston reporter, talks about the treasure trove of stories that a parking ticket databases offers.
In addition, George Landau, a guru of cleaning dirty data, volunteers yet another clever way of standardizing the bothersome ways in which names appear in databases.
In next month's issue, we plan to offer more variety by doing an overview of some of the best CAR stories that we saw in 1994.