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Journalism 772 and 472: Computer-Assisted Reporting

Philip Merrill College of Journalism

University of Maryland

Fall 2009

 

Student presentation Web sites

and Web sites for issues in the news:

 

Past semesters

 

 

Sample Format For Submitting Your Links:

 

Transportation

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation

www.dot.gov

 

The National Transportation Safety Board

www.ntsb.gov

 

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety

http://hazmat.dot.gov

 

Searchable Database

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

 

Downloadable Database

 

The Office of Hazardous Materials Safety

http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/inc/hmisframe.htm

 

Story:

 

“Rails Carry a Growing Risk;

With train traffic through the region surging,

a close call after a recent derailment in San Bernardino raises the question:

Are we ready for a real disaster?”

By Phil Pitchford, Ben Goad, David Danelski and Mark Kawar

The Press-Enterprise, San Bernardino, CA

November 20, 2005

http://www.pe.com/digitalextra/metro/trains/inland.html

 

 

Sites for class discussion:

 

Stimulus Program Spending

 

Data site:

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

Recipient-reported data download: 

http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/Pages/DownloadCenter.aspx?year=2009&file_type=National%20Summary

Recipient-reported data documentation:

http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/Pages/RRData.aspx

GAO report on dirty data:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10223.pdf

NY Times on dirty data (by JOUR 772 alum Bernie Becker):

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/stimulus-under-scrutiny/

Story on from database of stimulus spending in Florida- CBS 4, Miami: 

http://cbs4.com/iteam/stimulus.spending.florida.2.1322784.html

 

 

 

Shift

http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift

 

Readings for guest speaker, Monday, Oct. 26

[Come to class with three questions and/or comments]

“For Their Own Good”

St. Petersburg Times

Stories, video, photos, documents…

Part 1, April 19, 2009: http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/marianna/

Video: http://www.tampabay.com/video/?bcpid=2441023001&bctid=20008111001

Part 2, Oct. 11, 2009: http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/dozier/

About the story: http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/dozier/about.shtml

 

Photos for talk:   Documents      Outline    [password protected]

 

Kelley Benham wins Ernie Pyle Award: http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/13/Tampabay/Times_writer_wins_Ern.shtml

 

“Rampaging Rooster Attacks Girl”

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/04/NorthPinellas/Rampaging_rooster_att.shtml

 

 

 

Hunting accidents database story

“Data show 13 has become a dangerous age for hunters”

Tulsa World

By Gavin Off, Data Editor

8/17/2008

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080817_11_A1_Semino50376

 

 

Federal Election Commission – Contributions

Rules:  http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/contrib.shtml

Limits: http://www.fec.gov/info/contriblimits0910.pdf

 

Database of disciplined health-care workers

“Records Of Health Worker Misdeeds Kept Secret”

Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio

Sept. 3, 2009

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112490243&sc=emaf

[Thanks to Sharon for sending this link]

 

Mastery in many forms …

 

Landing in the Hudson

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CZivaR0tU

 

Animation with audio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imDFSnklB0k

 

Pilot interview

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4784012n&tag=main_home_MediaBox

 

 

Four-part fugue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVadl4ocX0M

 

Shadow puppet

http://jclass.umd.edu/cars/secure/videos/puppet.wmv

 

 

 

Sites for student presentations:

 

Zettler – K-12 Education

 

Educational Resources Information Center

http://www.eric.ed.gov/

 

America's Promise Alliance

http://www.americaspromise.org/

 

U.S. Department of Education

www.ed.gov

 

National Center For Educational Statistics

http://nces.ed.gov/

 

School Matters

http://www.schoolmatters.com/

 

Searchable Database:

 

School Data Direct

http://www.schooldatadirect.org/

 

Downloadable Databases:

 

Maryland State Department of Education

http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/esea/Supplemental+Educational+Services

 

Federal money allocated to education

http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/tables.html

 

Story:

 

“Gains in Houston Schools: How Real Are They?”

By Diana Jean Schemo and Ford Fessenden

The New York Times

Dec. 3, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/03/national/03HOUS.html?pagewanted=all

 

"For Houston Schools, College Claims Exceed Reality"

By Diana Jean Schemo

The New York Times

August 28, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/28/us/for-houston-schools-college-claims-exceed-reality.html?pagewanted=all

 

“State to Monitor Houston Schools to Ensure Reporting of Dropouts”

By Diana Jean Schemo

The New York Times

August 8, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/08/us/state-to-monitor-houston-schools-to-ensure-reporting-of-dropouts.html

 

 

Rachel – K-12 Education

 

The National Center for Education Statistics

http://nces.ed.gov

 

The National Education Association

http://www.nea.org

 

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

http://www.ncate.org

 

Searchable Database

 

SchoolDataDirect

http://www.schooldatadirect.org

 

Downloadable Database

 

2009 Maryland Report Card

http://www.msp.msde.state.md.us/downloadindex.aspx

 

Story:

 

“Teachers who fail:

A survey of certification-test scores yields alarming results”

By Chris Davis and Matthew Doig

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL

December 12, 2004

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041212/NEWS/412120357/1060

 

Sidebars:

"How we did this story"

“State Fights to Prevent Access to Teacher Information”

 

 

 

Jennifer – Higher Education

 

College Board data, reports & research

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research

 

U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2010

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges

 

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

http://www.ncaa.org/

 

University System of Maryland data journal

http://www.usmd.edu/usm/adminfinance/IR/DataJournal/

 

University of Maryland news desk

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/facts/

 

University of Maryland College Park Foundation

http://www.foundation.umd.edu/foundation/

 

Searchable databases

 

National Center for Education Statistics college navigator

http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

 

College Board college search

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp

 

U.S. Department of Education accreditation database

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

 

Downloadable databases

 

Southern Regional Education Board data library

http://sreb.org/DataLibrary/datalibindex.asp

 

Story:

 

“In college, first year is by far the riskiest”

By Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarros

USA Today

Jan. 25, 2006

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-24-campus-deaths-cover_x.htm

 

 

Diana – Executive Branch

 

The Office of the Federal Register

www.federalregister.gov

 

USA.gov

www.usa.gov

 

Office of Government Ethics

www.usoge.gov

 

Searchable Databases:

 

Federal Election Commission

http://fec.gov/finance/disclosure/disclosure_data_search.shtml

 

The National Archives

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/

 

Downloadable Database:

 

Budget of the United States Government: Public Budget Database Fiscal Year 2010

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/db.html

 

Story:

 

“District Dodges Spending Laws;

Companies Snare Contracts with Connections, Not Competition”

By Dan Keating and David S. Fallis

The Washington Post

November 27, 2005

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/26/AR2005112601139_pf.html

 

 

 

Nathan – Financial institutions / Banking

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

http://www.fdic.gov/

 

Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation

http://www.dllr.state.md.us/finance/

 

Bankrate.com

http://www.bankrate.com/

 

U.S. Security and Exchange Commission

http://www.sec.gov/

 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

http://www.federalreserve.gov/

 

Searchable Databases:

 

St. Louis Fed: Economic Data – FRED

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

 

Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation Licensee Search

http://www.dllr.state.md.us/finance/industry/licsearch.shtml

 

EDGAR tutorial

http://www.sec.gov/edgar/quickedgar.htm

 

Downloadable Databases:

 

FDIC’s Statistics on Depository Institutions – All Data

http://www2.fdic.gov/sdi/download_large_list.asp

 

Story:

 

“Borrowers Betrayed”

By Jack Dolan, Rob Barry qnd Matthew Haggman

The Miami Herald

July 20, 2008

http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/mortgage/

 

 

 

Tiffany – Nonprofits and Religious Organizations

 

GuideStar

http://www2.guidestar.org

 

SearchSystems Free Public Records Directory: Charitable Organizations

http://www.searchsystems.net/list.php?nid=1058

 

The Better Business Bureau: Charities and Donors

http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/

 

Searchable Database

 

The Maryland Secretary of State’s Charity Database

http://www.sos.state.md.us/Charity/SearchCharity.aspx

 

Downloadable Database

 

The IRS Charity Database by State (free)

http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/charitablestats/article/0,,id=97186,00.html

 

The National Center for Charitable Statistics (not free)

http://nccs.urban.org/database/index.cfm

 

 

 

 

News story:

 

“Pair build empire of nonprofit services

Combination with for-profit business raises questions”

By Jeff McDonald

San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, Calif.

August 20, 2006

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060820/news_1n20mental.html

 

 

Maria – Financial Institutions / Insurance

 

Maryland Insurance Administration

http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us/sa/jsp/Mia.jsp

 

The Center for Insurance Policy and Research,

via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

http://www.naic.org/cipr_topics_page.htm

 

 Coalition Against Insurance Fraud

http://insurancefraud.org/

 

National Association of State Medicaid Directors

http://www.nasmd.org/Home/home_news.asp

 

Consumer Complaint Information - Texas Department of Insurance

http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/cpportal.html

 

Searchable Database

 

Maryland Judiciary Case Search

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/processDisclaimer.jis

 

Complaint and Financial Information Search

https://eapps.naic.org/cis/

 

Insurance Company Profile Search - Texas Department of Insurance

https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_search.jsp

 

 Downloadable Database

 

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (Permitted and Prescribed Practices)

http://www.naic.org/index.htm

 

Story:

 

“In Their Debt”

A three-part series on hospital debt collection in Maryland.

Despite a state subsidy system for charity care,

several Maryland hospitals sued the poor for payments.

By Fred Schulte and James Drew

The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Md.

December 21 - 23, 2008

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/bal-hospitaldebt,0,2121674.storygallery

 

 

 

Ben – Legislative branch

 

Searchable Databases:

 

Congressional Record

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/

 

U.S. Government Accountability Office

http://www.gao.gov/

 

Federal Elections Commission

http://www.fec.gov/

 

Congressional Budget Office

http://www.cbo.gov/

 

Downloadable Database:

 

U.S. Senate Office of Public Records

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/g_three_sections_with_teasers/lobbyingdisc.htm

 

Story:

 

“N.J. Governor Has Contributed $1.4 million to Key N.J. Democratic Funds”

The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

Elise Young

October 5, 2009

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/gov_corzine_contributed_14m_to.html

 

 

Raul – Legislative branch

 

The Sunlight Foundation

http://sunlightfoundation.com/

 

NCSL: National Conference of State Legislatures

http://ncsl.org/

 

OpenCongress - Track bills, votes, senators, and

representatives in the U.S. Congress

http://www.opencongress.org/

 

Searchable Database:

 

OpenSecrets.org Presidential Donor Lookup

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/search_donor.php

 

Downloadable Database:

 

Federal Election Commission: Detailed Files About Candidates,

Parties and Other Committees by Election Cycles Databases

http://fec.gov/finance/disclosure/ftpdet.shtml

 

Article:

 

"In Fine Print, a Proliferation of Large Donors"

By Michael Luo and Griff Palmer

The New York Times

October 20, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/us/politics/21donate.html?_r=4&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

 

 

Shauna – World of the Disadvantaged

 

University of Wisconsin – Institute for Research on Poverty

http://www.irp.wisc.edu/

 

Urban Institute: Children and Youth

http://www.urban.org/adolescents/index.cfm

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

Children – Health Insurance and Statistics

http://www.hhs.gov/children/index.html

 

Government Accountability Office – Social Services

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/topic.php

 

Searchable Database

 

National Center for Children in Poverty

http://www.nccp.org/tools/demographics/

 

Downloadable Databases

 

U.S. Census – Poverty Data

Data Overview:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty08.html

 

Microdata Access and Customizable DataFerret:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstc/cps_table_creator.html

 

Casey Foundation Kids Count Census Data

http://www.kidscount.org/cgi-bin/aeccensus.cgi?action=dataresults&area=24S

 

Story:

 

“For Want of A Dentist: PG Co. Boy Dies After Bacteria From Tooth Spread To Brain”

By Mary Otto

The Washington Post

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702116.html

 

Follow-Up Story:

 

“Pr. George's Getting Mobile Dental Office”

By Matt Zapotosky

The Washington Post

Thursday, November 13, 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111203062.html

 

 

 

Julie – Education

 

Story:

 

I-Team: “The Full Truth on Violence in Schools”

Reporting by Stephen Stock

CBS4, Miami

September 16, 2009

http://cbs4.com/iteam/iteam.student.violence.2.1188431.html

 

Searchable Database:

 

United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website

http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/OffenderSearchCriteria.aspx?Advanced=1

 

Downloadable Database:

 

New York Police Department (NYPD) Stop, Question, and Frisk Database, 2006

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/NACJD/STUDY/21660.xml

 

Justice Research and Statistics Association

http://www.jrsainfo.org/

 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

http://www.atf.gov/

 

Federal Bureau of Investigation

http://www.fbi.gov/

 

 

 

Sharon – Law Enforcement

 

The GAO

http://www.gao.gov

 

The Southern Poverty Law Center

http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp

 

The American Civil Liberties Union

http://aclu.com

 

The Jeweler’s Security Alliance

http://www.jewelerssecurity.org/index.php4

 

Searchable Databases

 

The Youth Law Center

http://www.ylc.org/resources.php

 

Downloadable Databases

 

The FBI

http://www.fbi.gov

 

Story

 

“Dallas Police not counting all crimes”

By Steve Thompson and Tanya Eiserer

The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX

Sept. 6, 2009

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-underreporting_06met.ART.State.Edition2.4c33df0.html

 

 

Dan – Judicial System

 

FindLaw

www.findlaw.com

 

American Civil Liberties Union

www.aclu.org

 

National Center for State Courts

www.ncsc.org

 

Maryland State Board of Elections

(also contains searchable and downloadable databases)

http://www.elections.state.md.us/

 

Federal Bureau of Prisons

(also contains searchable database)

www.bop.gov

 

Searchable Database:

 

Maryland Judiciary Case Search

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp

 

Downloadable Database:

 

Western Michigan University Project on U.S. Court of Appeals

http://www.wmich.edu/nsf-coa/

 

Story:

 

“Child-care providers with criminal records getting licenses, state funds”

By Raquel Rutledge, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

June 13, 2009

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/48010777.html

 

The Story Behind the Story:

 

“Criminals in the child-care business: the story behind the story”

By Raquel Rutledge, Journal Sentinel Online (Milwaukee)

June 15, 2009.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/48084162.html

 

Article Summarizing Impact:

 

“Results from projects take time, persistence”

By Greg Borowski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

October 24, 2009.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/65919507.html

 

 

Yanne’ – Environment

 

The Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.epa.gov/

 

Council on Environmental Quality

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq

 

Envirofacts Data Warehouse

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/

 

Local Drinking Water Information

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

 

Searchable Database

 

The Pollution Information Site

http://www.scorecard.org/

 

Downloadable Database

 

Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program

http://www.epa.gov/tri/

 

Story:

 

“Toxic Waters:

A series about the worsening pollution in American waters and regulators' response: 

Cleansing the Air at the Expense of Waterways”

By Charles Duhigg

The New York Times, New York, NY

October 12, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/us/13water.html

 

 

Tahira – Health Care

 

Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

 

National Association of Health Underwriters

http://www.nahu.org/consumer/healthcare/state.cfm

 

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

http://www.justice.gov/dea/statistics.html

 

Searchable database

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Include/DataSection/Questions/SearchCriteriaNEW.asp?version=default&browser=IE%7C7%7CWinXP&language=English&defaultstatus=0&pagelist=Home&CookiesEnabledStatus=True

 

Downloadable Database

 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/ftp_data.htm#

 

Story

 

“Careless Detention: System of Neglect”

By Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein

The Washington Post

May 11, 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/immigration/index.html

 

 

 

Carrie – Energy and Utilities

 

Environmental Protection Agency

www.epa.gov

 

National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates

http://www.nasuca.org/

 

The Utility Connection

http://www.utilityconnection.com/page3c.html

 

Downloadable Database

 

U.S. Census Bureau

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/energy_utilities.html

 

Searchable Database

 

Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

http://www.dsireusa.org/searchby/index.cfm?ee=1&RE=1

 

Story

 

“Most residential water users wrongly billed”

By Matthew T. Hall

The San Diego Union-Tribune

April 8, 2007

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070408/news_1n8bills.html

 

 

 

 

 

David – Health Care

 

Health Canada Anti-Psychotics Advisory

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2005/2005_63-eng.php

 

"The Beers Criteria" - Drugs Seniors Should Avoid

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/seniorsdrugs/beers_table_more.html

 

IMS Health Report From 2008

http://www.imshealthcanada.com/web/end/0,3150,77303623_63872702_84335036,00.html

 

Downloadable Database

Adverse Reactions Database

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/databasdon/search-recherche-eng.php

 

Searchable Database

Notices of Compliance

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/prodpharma/notices-avis/index-eng.php

 

Story


"A CBC News investigation" into the increasing use of atypical anti-psychotics among the elderly"
By David McKie
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Toronto, Ontario
June 17, 2008
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/seniorsdrugs/off-limits.html