Spreading CAR at small news organizations

These handouts are excerpts from handouts provided at IndyCAR and the IRE National Conference in New Orleans.

David Cuillier attended the May 1997 Advanced Boot Camp. So you are the only one at your small news organization who is using computer-assisted reporting skills, and you want to spread the knowledge. Most everyone seems interested, but few people actually do anything. And those who do take the initiative to learn often end up leaving for bigger ponds. Many of us have been fishing for a way to lure people into learning computer-assisted reporting at small news organizations. Here's a two-pronged approach to tackling it: Gillnetting along with precision casting.

Gill-netting

Like fishing boats that cast their nets wide, try making basic computer research tools available and easy to use for everyone, even those who don't seem to have any interest. You may find that even the most reluctant reporters will start to use the Internet, online services or CD-ROMs. Here are some ideas:

Location, location, location: If you have a designated CAR computer, put it in a central location in the newsroom on its own desk. Make it clear the computer is available for everyone to use - that it's not the domain of one person or department. Book smart: Set up a book shelf at the CAR station, filling it with self-help software manuals, back issues of Uplink and useful texts geared toward computer-assisted reporting. Hot off the press: Produce a monthly in-house CAR newsletter. Give praise for stories that benefited from CAR, especially deadline work. Also, write about what stories are in the works, and offer ideas for CAR stories that might interest reporters. Make sure to route copies to the editor, publisher, advertising director and other company managers. It will help build support for CAR work, future equipment purchases and interdepartmental computer trades. Get linked: Subscribe to the monthly newsletter Uplink, put out by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. Show beat reporters how they don't have to be CAR gurus to benefit from a subscription. Salt that data: Set up brown-bag lunches to show folks some data you acquired, how you crunched it and what you got out of it. Or show useful sites on the Internet or how spreadsheets can help look at numbers. Noteworthy: Type up cheat sheets for the computer resources. Laminate them or put them in plastic covers. Give each staff member a copy and put them in a binder at the CAR station. Group acquisition: When you run across an interesting database, get it, even not on your beat. Give it to the appropriate reporter with some ideas for what the data could reveal. If you're an editor, seek out data for every beat to pique the interest of all the reporters.

Precision casting

Some reporters become interested in learning advanced skills, and with a little focused help they may progress fast. If it's unlikely the bosses will send them to training boot camps or classes, the job may rest on you. Seize the interest fast.

You probably don't have a lot of time, so focus your energies on one person at a time. If you give them heavy training over three months with follow-up sessions, then you could train three or four people a year. For most small news organizations, that is exceptional. Even one or two a year would be great.

At least once a week, find a good time for both of you. Stick to it.

Use real data. Start small and work up. Let them do the work and go to you only for questions when they get stuck or need guidance.

If you attend CAR seminars, boot camps or conferences, take notes on how they teach the sessions. Take home the exercises and try them out on your "students."

Maintaining CAR on duct-tape budgets

The following are big resources for small newsrooms to overcome snags and boost skills.

In-house resources:

Techies: Computer services staff at your organization can help overcome problems or handle nine-track tapes. Bring them donuts. Bean counters: Accountants on your business department are probably proficient with spreadsheets. Also, they might have a spare copy of Excel hanging around. Marketing: Marketing/advertising might use mapping software for developing demographic reports for readership studies and advertisers. MapInfo is popular in the business world but can work in newsrooms. ArcView is what government tends to use.

Out-house resources:

Pros: Local computer experts are sometimes willing to help program or crunch data, often for free. Or consider giving them credit in the story. Universities: Take courses at universities or community colleges. Not only do you learn, but as a student you can get substantial discounts on software.

Online guides

Here are some places online to learn about CAR, use the Internet and get story ideas:

CAR guides: http://www.poynter.org/carl chome.htm. A guide tapping into online information by Nora Paul of the Poynter Institute. Includes introduction into CAR and explanations of resources. Deadline Online: http://www.deadlineonline.com. A great breakdown for finding facts, people and sources. By Alan Schlein, who also provides specialized Internet training for journalists. Reporter's Desktop: http://www.seanet.com/~duff1. Compilation of search engines, people finders and other resources for finding information on deadline. By Duff Wilson, investigative reporter at The Seattle Times. CAR/CARR: http://www.ryerson.ca/~dtudor/carcarr.htm. A list of links to CAR sites and other useful places to check out. By Dean Tudor, journalism professor at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Canada. The Beat Page: http://reporter.org/beat/ Internet links and CAR resources grouped by beat, from agriculture to transportation. Compiled by Shawn McIntosh of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. WWW Virtual Library: http://www.cais.com/makulow/jexercises.html. Many CAR resources by John Makulowich, including Internet exercises for journalists, Internet tips and links to journalism organization. Hosted by The Writers Alliance Inc. CARwash: http://www.wnpa.com/carwash/carhome.html. CAR stories done in Washington state, primarily by small newspapers, posted in full text. By David Cuillier, Tri-City Herald.

David Cuillier can be reached at (509) 582-1535 or by e-mail at dcuillier@aol.com