Analytic Journalism and Decoding the Political Races Newspapers

Analytic Journalism and Decoding the Political Race(s) "Newspapers are a 'morning line' tip sheet. Tom Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism Santa Fe, New Mexico “Three Tuesdays @ SF Complex” Tuesday, 30 Sept. 2008 1

Analytic Journalism? Analytic Journalism: § Uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools and methods to measure the status & change of phenomena, primarily those involving people and their environment and context. § Results of measures and analysis drive creation and telling of news. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 2

Example: Bill Dedman’s “Analytic Journalism and Campaign Contributions” § Illustrates basic “theory of AJ process” § Data In § Analysis § Information Out AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 3

IAJ Cornerstones § General Systems Theory § Complex Adaptive Systems § Statistics § Visual Statistics/Infographics § Simulation Modeling AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 4

IAJ Activities § Introducing journalists to arithmetic § Research “new” disciplines and methods for journalists to use § Research the impact of the Digital Revolution on journalism § Always work globally AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 5

Candidates Use the Internet Web site Fund raising Email Online ads Webcasts of events Blogs and podcasts Take polls and surveys § Communicate with press § § § § Television ads on the § § § official site Campaign web video on other sites Participate in social networking sites Opposition research Manage field operations Text messaging AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 6

Data In - Interviews - Documents - Previous stories - Photos - Maps - Infographics - Quantitative Data AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 7

Analysis Data In Analysis - Make outlines - Hand-drawn flowcharts - Rough drafts - Minimal arithmetic AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 8

Data Out Data In - Interviews - Documents - Previous stories - Photos - Maps - Infographics - Quantitative Data AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 9

Voters Use the Internet § Find out about all candidates and issues § Contribute to candidates § Organize for and against candidates and § § § issues Tell their friends/family about political issues Post their own opinions in blogs Post video and audio related to candidates Rate posted videos Create their own sites Use social network sites AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 10

Objectives: § Don’t tell me what you feel, show me § § what you know! Data-driven analysis and argument Tools/skills to find the data. And then find it again. Tools to get the data off the web page and into… Analytic tools to help make sense of the data. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 11

Objectives: § 1 st Tuesday, 30 Sept. 2008 "Newspapers are a 'morning line' tip sheet. ” § Holistic journalism. No, it’s not “All about story. ” § DATA, not opinions. Online sites with demographic & political data. § Where do good DATA-driven stories come from? § Sophisticated bookmarks AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 12

Objectives: § 1 st Tuesday, 30 Sept. 2008 "Newspapers are a 'morning line' tip sheet. ” § 2 nd Tuesday, 7 Oct. 2008 "How to track the data's flow upstream. “ § Who’s behind those sites, anyway? § What’s in online data bases and how did that data get there? § How good, i. e. clean, is the data? AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 13

Objectives: § 1 st Tuesday, 30 Sept. 2008 "Newspapers are a 'morning line' tip sheet. ” § 2 nd Tuesday, 7 Oct. 2008 "How to track the data's flow upstream. “ § 3 nd Tuesday, 7 Oct. 2008 “How to make sense of those numbers? “ § More on getting the data off the web § PDFs, CSV & importing and exporting § Simple arithmetic and simple spreadsheet tips AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 14

What we’re aiming for today § Major changes in datasphere § Open Source § Web 2. 0 (aka “Cloud Computing”) § Effective search-and-keep tools § Refining and refined search engines (Hot Tip: Google ain’t the answer. ) § Look at some non-text-only web sites § Enrich your research § Bring new levels of truth, detail, verisimilitude to your writing AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 15

What’s going on in the “datasphere”? § Open Source § People writing applications, add-ons, widgets for FREE § Web 2. 0 § Applications moving from your computer hard drive to cyberspace § Places more “intellectual” demands on the browser and browser extensions/add-ons § Broadband demand loads § Be careful in cyberspace! http: //www. techcrunch. com/tag/deadpool/ AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 16

What all this means to writers §Data In Analysis Info Out § Datasphere is constantly changing § Need tools to navigate constantly changing datasphere § We can be better at what we do if we constantly adapt to those changes AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 17

How to navigate cyberspace? § #1 tool set: pencil and paper § Current - and updated - browsers § On how many of your computers? § Do you need portability? (USB drives) § Bookmark and note-keeping apps § Sophisticated, flexible search engines § “Invisible web” resources § What’s behind the closed digital doors? AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 18

Alternative Web Browsers § Major Browsers: Firefox, Opera, § § Safari More Cross-Platform Browsers: Mozilla and Flock Windows Browsers: K-Meleon Macintosh Browsers: Camino, Omni. Web and i. Cab Linux Browsers: Konqueror, Galeon and Epiphany AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 19

All of these ALT browsers feature: § Tabbed browsing; automatic updates § Modern web pages with HTML, CSS, SSL, § § § and Java. Script Cookies and cookie management Plugins and Java Ad blocking and/or pop-up blocking Download Managers Integrated Search Favorites/Bookmarks and import (and export) AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 20

Effective search-and-keep tools Establish your criteria § Are tools browser specific or generic? § Bookmarks on YOUR hard drive and/or in the digital cloud § Degree of control § Make folders and sub-folders § Annotate § Add tag words § Import/export entries § E-mail full or partial set of bookmarks AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 21

Finding bookmark utilities § Google Search words: [+free +bookmark +programs] § Surfpack § http: //freebookmark. surfpack. com/ (scroll down to see list) § Tucows (keyword: "bookmark") § Windows has 235 hits. Mac has 26 AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 22

Evaluation sites and tools § Search Engine Directory http: //www. searchengineguide. com/searchengines. html § Social Bookmarking Faceoff -- http: //www. readwriteweb. com/archives/social_bookmarking_f aceoff. php AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 23

Some major Bookmark tools § Fire. Fox’s Bookmarks § Only fair in capture (i. e. difficult to annotate). Good organization after capture: “Organize Bookmarks” Good export. Install “Fox. Marks” extension to synch multiple computers. § Scrapbook (Firefox add-on) § Pros: Save Web pages or parts of. Major features are: Save Web site hotlinks and other file format documents (i. e. PDF); Organize the collection in the same way as Bookmarks; Full text search and quick filtering search of the collection. Good highlight and annotation tools. Cons: can’t synch to online or other computers. Difficult to tag and save in multi-folders. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 24

Some major Bookmark tools § Furl. net § Opens Java window sometimes slowly. Good annotation and tagging. Private or shared links. “Save and e-mail” feature. § del. icio. us § Allows access to the same bookmarks from any computer; add bookmarks from anywhere. Use tags (i. e. keywords) to organize and remember your bookmarks, which is a much more flexible system than folders. [Well, maybe. ] AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 25

Some major Bookmark tools § Diigo. com TJ’s current favorite § Zotero. org Strong tool for building bibliographies. Only works with Firefox. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 26

Note-taking tools Criteria? § Just one desktop or multiple? § Browser accessible? § Synchronization? § Export to ? ? § Backup storage flashdrive, HD or web “locker”? § E-mail to yourself or others? § Receive notes sent via phone - text or pics? § “Search within” functions? AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 27

Social bookmarks jumpstation § 3 spots blog http: //3 spots. blogspot. com/2006/01/all-socialthat-can-bookmark. html - annotation § Here are over 200 social bookmarking services! Then see here to see over 300 digg clones! § Digg tools = Social web applications with an UPYES or UP/DOWN-YES/NO voting system. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 28

Major note-taking tools § Google Notebook for Firefox/IE § Web-based § Organize your notes. Keep notes organized by creating multiple notebooks or divide a single notebook into sections. Rearrange notes by dragging-and-dropping from one section or notebook to another. § Add your own thoughts. Click the "New note" button; start typing to add text notes to your notebook, or click the "Add comment" link within a note to add comments to clippings you've collected. § Search the full text of your notebooks. Easily find any information in your notebooks using the search box at the top of the page. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 29

Major note-taking tools § Jot+Notes www. kingstairs. com/jot 4 writers. html § Many rich and customizable features, but only on YOUR desktop. (Has good export tools. ) § Has a plugin for Google Desktop Search which will include Jot+ Notes notefiles in your search results. § Evernote - http: //evernote. com/about/what_is_en/ § Check it out, but it’s just in “beta” Let me know if you want an invitation. Looks promising, but we’ll see. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 30

First lesson of online research! § Have a web-search strategy § UCB “Five-Step Search Strategy” http: //www. lib. berkeley. edu/Teaching. Lib/Guides /Internet/Strategies. html § Understand how the search engine(s) work § Google: Always begin at “Advanced Search” and “Advanced Search Tips” § Yahoo More ”All Search Services” § Ask. com Advanced Search Tips AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 31

Smart searching § Always begin by reading Search Engine Tips/Help/Advanced… § Google. com AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 32

The Deep - “Invisible” - Web #1 § Deep Web Research 2008 http: //www. llrx. com/features/deepweb 2008. htm Marcus P. Zillman: “The Deep Web covers [approx. ] 900 billion pages of information located through the world wide web in various files and formats that the current search engines on the Internet either cannot find or have difficulty accessing. Search engines currently locate approximately 20 billion pages. “This article and guide is designed to give you the resources you need to better understand the history of the deep web research, as well as various classified resources that allow you to search through the currently available web to find those key sources of information nuggets only found by understanding how to search the "deep web". AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 33

Navigating the “Invisible. Web” § Start with reference librarians § UC Berkeley Library’s excellent site www. lib. berkeley. edu/Teaching. Lib/Guides/Intern et/Invisible. Web. html § Note search examples for Google and Yahoo keywords AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 34

Prime sites for text research § The New York Times Archive (1851 - § Story on Mokelumne Hill § “A California Story” § Historical Newspaper and Magazine databases § Internet library of Early Journals http: //www. bodley. ox. ac. uk/ilej/ § Nineteenth Century in Print http: //memory. loc. gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/moahtml/sncho me. html AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 35

Prime sites for text research § U. S. News Archives on the Web http: //www. ibiblio. org/slanews/internet/archives. html § International News Archives on the Web http: //www. ibiblio. org/slanews/internet/intarchives. htm § British Library Newspapers http: //www. bl. uk/collections/newspapers. html § Newspapers Around the World on the Internet http: //www. bl. uk/collections/world. html AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 36

Newspaper Archives § Newspaper. Archive. com $$$ http: //www. newspaperarchive. com/ § Paper. Of. Record. com Global pioneer of searchable newspaper image documents presented in their original published form. http: //www. paperofrecord. com/ § ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers http: //icon. crl. edu/digitization. htm § Wikipedia: List of online newspaper archives http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Newspaper_archives_ online AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 37

Book: “Newspaper Archive Resources” AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 38

Prime sites for image research § Library of Congress “American Memory” http: //memory. loc. gov/ammem/index. html § Lo. C maps and bird’s eye views http: //tinyurl. com/5 cfmec AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 39

Teasing meaning from images § Timeline of Art History Photos of Édouard Baldus https: //metropolitanmuseum. org/toah/hd/bald/h o_1994. 137. htm# § San Francisco c. 1855 http: //sanfran 1855. notlong. com/ http: //sfomontgomeryblock. notlong. com/ AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 40

Online geography § Google Maps www. google. com/maps § Street map, street level photos of some cities, aerial photo, topography § Google Earth http: //earth. google. com/ § Fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3 D buildings and even explore galaxies in the Sky. Need to download program. § Maplandia http: //www. maplandia. com/ AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 41

Online Geography “Amateur" historians § Santa Fe Trail Research http: //www. santafetrailresearch. com/ § Aerial photo links for most of the major sites and trail ruts on the Santa Fe Trail http: //www. santafetrailresearch. com/spacepix/0 ur-space-link-page. html AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 42

Quick summary § Major changes in datasphere § Open Source § Web 2. 0 (aka “Cloud Computing”) § Effective search-and-keep tools § Refining and refined search engines (Hot Tip: Google ain’t the answer. ) § Look at some text and non-text web sites § Enrich your research § Bring new levels of truth, detail, verisimilitude to your writing AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 43

Discovering The World From Your Laptop Tom Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism Santa Fe, New Mexico 2008 Gold Rush Writer's Conference Mokelumne Hill, Calif. May 2 -4, 2008 44

Go 2 Web 20. net AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 45

http: //www. searchengineguide. com/searchengines. html Search Engine Guide AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 46

Search Engine Guide #2 News/Media Search Engines AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 47

Google Earth – San Francisco AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 48

Google Earth – 1495 Sutter St AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 49

Review § Data In Analysis Info Out § Think about process & forms of data plus methods § Need for new tools § Browsing § Book-marking § Note-taking § Smart search strategies AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 50

For next week – 7 Oct. § Go to workshop wiki http: //ajandpolraces. pbwiki. com § “Interrogate” the sub-pages, their links and the data in those links. § List 5 story ideas - based on the data – that could be done § Find 5 “vested interested” sites that have data pertaining to political campaigns. AJ and Decoding the Political Race(s) © J. T. Johnson 2008 _____________Fall 2008 51