{
  "id": "2004-january-february-data-shows-woes-for-middle-class-blacks",
  "slug": "2004-january-february-data-shows-woes-for-middle-class-blacks",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2004-january-february-data-shows-woes-for-middle-class-blacks.html",
  "year": 2004,
  "month": "January • February",
  "monthNum": 1,
  "headline": "Data shows woes for middle-class blacks",
  "kicker": "SPOTLIGHT: CENSUS REPORTING",
  "author_name": "David Mendell and Darnell Little",
  "author_title": "demographics reporter",
  "affiliation": "Chicago Tribune",
  "summary": "Reporters from the Chicago Tribune discuss their strategy of using U.S. Census Bureau data to investigate human-interest stories regarding the middle class.",
  "keywords": [
    "Census",
    "Demographics",
    "Reporting"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Demographics & Census",
    "Data & Databases"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "spreadsheet"
  ],
  "full_text": "Almost any demographics reporter can attest to this: Poring over spreadsheet after spreadsheet of U.S. Census Bureau data can be a mind-numbing experience. And even if done with the keenest demographic eye, it often leads to a numbers-heavy story with little potential for readership.\n\nSo as the two-man, tag team of demographics/Census reporters at the Tribune, we decided to take the opposite tack: Look at a fascinating human phenomenon that seems crystal clear to us in the real world, and then turn to the numbers to see if they",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
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      "slug": "2002-november-december-covering-income-commuting-with-sf3",
      "score": 0.318
    },
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  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2004-january-february-data-shows-woes-for-middle-class-blacks.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2004-january-february-data-shows-woes-for-middle-class-blacks.json"
}