New Digital Toolsfor Investigative JournalismSponsored by the Gannett Foundation

Kate MarymontVice President/NewsGannett

Alison YoungInvestigative Reporter USA TODAY

Bill ChurchEditorStatesman Journal

AAJA 2010 Conference Los Angeles, California

Digital Tools for Watchdog Reporting:

Social network analysis

Embedding documents

Crowdsourcing

Timelines

Maps

Interactive graphics

Data visualization

WASHINGTON POST: TOP SECRET IN AMERICAJULY 19, 2010

THE NEW YORK TIMES: STOP, QUESTION, FRISKJULY 11, 2010

STUMP INTERRUPTED: BILL WHITETEXAS TRIBUNE

Social Network Analysis:

PROJECT

DATE REPORTERSJULY 2009

FLIPPING FRAUDSARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

MICHAEL BRAGA, CHRIS DAVIS & MATTHEW DOIG

Social Networking Analysis:Interviewed Adams' former business partners and analyzed land deeds, mortgage documents and other records related to his real estate deals.

Found he used a network of professional associates and a stable of regular buyers to control every aspect of his real estate flips.Multiple flips made Adams hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate sales commissions.

Embedding Documents:

California Watch: Documents detailing Palin’s speaking fee shredded by university-University lied about shredding documents.-Obtained copy of speaking agreement.- Officials who willfully refuse to disclose public documents can be prosecuted for. misdemeanors.

Crowdsourcing:

Crowdsourcing and Investigative Reporting:The use of crowdsourcing allows the audience to become involved by generating a story idea or assisting with investigation.

Information is usually gathered through a website or other automated agent.

By requiring additional information like first and last name, and zip code (to ensure locality) users can be verified.

ENGULFED: PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNALPNJ.COM AND CONTENT ONE

Crowdsourcing:

The Telegraph’s investigation into MPs expenses led to an enormous crowdsourcing investigative reporting project – by the Guardian

Giving power to the users to investigate or review documents

Sites like HelpMeInvestigate recruits users to assist make investigations possible and produced an in-depth investigation into the most ticketed streets in Birmingham.

Spot.Us brings readers in by asking them to sponsor reporting projects – community-funded reporting

CROWDSOURCING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTANCNN.COM

Timelines:

Tools for creating a timeline: Capzles

- The Detroit Free Press used Capzles to produce “Interactive timeline of the text-message scandal” showing events leading up to the resignation of the mayor.

- The Dispatch Online created a timeline for their report Broken Homes which detailed the city’s poor planning and its impact on impoverished neighborhoods.

Tools for creating a timeline: Dipity

Data visualization

USA TODAY: Toxic Air and America’s Schools- Investigation on air pollution around hundreds of schools nationwide.- Innovations: searchable database and graphic visualizations.

INTERACTIVE DATABASE OF SALARIES

USA TODAY: INVESTIGATION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH SALARIES

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNALREPORTER: MARTHA BELLISLE

Data-driven Stories:- Special Report “Drunken Driving” (series)

- Reporters discovered The Nevada Department of Corrections failed to adjust the parole-eligibility dates for the eight DUI offenders who were sent back to prison to serve a full two-year term.

- Following the investigation, the department reviewed an opinion by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto that said the two years is mandatory and adjusted the parole-eligibility dates for seven offenders. Most will spend another year in prison.

ON NORTH CONCORD, IT'S DESOLATION ROW INDYSTAR.COMREPORTER: JEFF SWIATEK

How they did it:Compiled an array of personalized data from property records, crime reports, tax statements and interviews.

Gathered historical, countywide vacancy data to give our readers the “macrocosm” look at what has happened over time across the city.

Interviewed residents (past and present).

Included a Google street view map embed.

PROJECT

AWARD REPORTERFOI WINNER MIKE CHALMERS

WILMINGTON NEWS JOURNAL SHUT OUT OF SOCIAL SECURITY

LIVING WITH CRIME IN BOOKER T. - FLORIDA TODAYJOHN A. TORRES, CRAIG RUBADOUX, CAROLINE PEREZ, DENNIS LOWE

Cashing in on kids: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Reporter Raquel Rutledge spent over a year investigating state funded childcare system called Wisconsin Shares, and discovered millions of taxpayer dollars were being stolen.

Result: State crackdown yielding $45 million dollars in savings for tax payers and prosecution of daycare owners

Investigative reporting tools allow us to:Data visualization allows us to generate story foundations and simply depict information for readers

GIS or mapping technologies allows us to see nuances and relationships between information and place

Crowdsourcing brings armies of assistants into play.

Online platforms allow us to tell deep and media rich stories.

“The problem with all these bribery and corruption stories is they are often quite complicated, financial and dry. Because of the legal problems, of which there are many, you have to be quite roundabout with the things you say.

But to find ways of doing it online that can bring it alive for people and give them a handle on it is a really exciting thing. You’ve seen these stories which say ‘Complex web of financial transactions’, and people’s eyes glaze over. This is about trying to find a way past that.”

---David Leigh, Guardian