{
  "id": "1997-decemberjanuary-bits-bytes-and-barks",
  "slug": "1997-decemberjanuary-bits-bytes-and-barks",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1997-decemberjanuary-bits-bytes-and-barks.html",
  "year": 1997,
  "month": "December/January",
  "monthNum": 12,
  "headline": "Bits, Bytes and Barks",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "IRE and NICAR",
  "summary": "The Campaign Finance Information Center launches with a new website and newsletter, while NICAR expands its conferences, seminars, and online resources for journalists interested in computer-assisted reporting and investigative journalism.",
  "keywords": [
    "campaign",
    "journalism",
    "data"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Journalism & Newsroom",
    "Government & Politics",
    "Technology"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "Access",
    "SQL",
    "World Wide Web",
    "Internet",
    "Email"
  ],
  "full_text": "Campaign Finance\n\nThe Campaign Finance Information Center is in full swing. Data, tips, links and stories are on the center's Web site, www.campaignfinance.org\n\nAlso, coming soon to a mailbox near you will be the Campaign Finance Information Center's newsletter. Stories from the Fall '97 newsletter include reports about states with electronic filing systems, a look at how states are going to inform the public of the connection between money and politics and an explanation of in-kind contributions.\n\nConferences and Seminars\n\nNICAR is forging ahead with new seminars and new approaches to conferences and workshops. The annual conference, March 5-8 in Indianapolis, will not only include the usual panels and hands-on classes for beginners to the advanced, but also a set of special half-day sessions that will take in depth looks at how to use electronic information for particular beats.\n\nWe also are expanding our seminars for the intermediate range. Earlier this year we did a seminar on education and statistics. In the coming months, we plan to hold seminars on database design and data cleaning, use of SQL servers for the newsroom, mapping software, and business reporting. Watch our Web site at www.nicar.org for dates and times. For more information on seminars and boot camps, call (573) 882-0684.\n\nNICAR Net\n\nRecent topics on the IRE and NICAR listserv have included campaign finance data, troubles with traffic accident data, ethics, medical investigations and Access tips.\n\nTo subscribe to IRE-L or NICAR-L, send e-mail to listproc@lists.missouri.edu\n\nIn the body of the message, type: subscribe NICAR-L<your name> subscribe IRE-L<your name>\n\nAlso, check out the IRE-L and NICAR-L mailing list archives on our Web site at www.ire.org and www.nicar.org. You can see posts to both lists organized by thread, author and date. The list archives are available in html or in plain text format.\n\nChanging of the editor\n\nThis is the final issue for Uplink's current managing editor, Jody Sowell. Taking over for next year will be Brent Johnson. Johnson is looking for new ideas and new themes for the new year.\n\nAre there certain columns that you would like to add? Are there certain topics you would like covered? Have you done a story that you think should be featured in an upcoming issue? Do you have something you would like to contribute? A column about a CAR story you reported?\n\nSend comments, critiques and suggestions to Johnson at brent@nicar.org",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1998-september-bits-bytes-and-barks",
      "score": 0.437
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-august-bits-bytes-and-barks",
      "score": 0.427
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      "slug": "1998-february-bits-bytes-and-barks",
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      "score": 0.404
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  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1997-decemberjanuary-bits-bytes-and-barks.html",
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}