CAR in any newsroom
Making it work
By Penny Loeb U.S. News & World Report
In the three-and-a-half years I've been at U.S. News, we've done about 70 computer-assisted stories. They range from major projects on special education, bad blood, redlining and air safety to which Senator pays the most to fly home.
We've taught about 20 people at some level. They have been through 10 weeks of classes, gone to IRE conferences, learned on projects. We have one of the best computer setups anywhere, with a great amount of software, Web access and e-mail for everyone.
But there's a lot more to do. Here's what I've learned:
A mission statement is essential. Everyone from the top editor to the person who runs tapes for data processing must endorse CAR.
You need to let everyone know the possibilities of CAR. But you need to meet them at their level. Some people will go through the classes and do projects. Some will need someone to download and clean data.
You need to organize and prioritize. If you have a library, librarians should order and catalog data sets that are used routinely, such as contracts. You need to maintain lists of all data.
You need to make the data user friendly. Guides for use help. You can also write front-end search menus in Visual Basic.
You need a backup person who knows just about everything the CAR expert knows.
The hardest thing to teach is a data mindset: the ability to integrate the possibilities for data into every step of a story and the perseverance to survive the inevitable snags.
Penny Loeb can be reached at (202) 955 2640, or send e-mail to ploeb@usnews.com