Some of the best databases are not the ones you buy or acquire through FOIA but the ones you build yourself, one fact at a time. That's what USA Today found when it set out to chronicle the thousands of lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The result was several stories that effectively challenged official reports of the death toll, as well as a major enterprise story that chronicled the last moments inside the World Trade Center.
On Sept. 12, USA Today's four database editors huddled to catch their breath and draw up a CAR-based plan.