Database Analysis - A Pressure of Ag Journalism

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1 Database analysis sparks international recognition in agricultural reporting What is database analysis? By Jim Evans Honors for reporting about EU farm subsidies A reporting effort that tracks farm subsidies in the European Union earned "European Journalist of the Year" honors for Nils Mulvad of Denmark during It also earned a 2007 Freedom of Information award for him and associates Bridgitte Alfter and Jack Thurston from the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) organization. They were recognized for their research methods, the impact of their tenacious efforts to gain access to public information and their success in building international cooperation among journalists. Earlier this year, Alfter and Hans-Martin Tillack received an "honorable mention" award in the Henri Nannen Prize, a prestigious German journalism honor. Their report in Stern magazine involved use of database analysis to track farm subsidies in the German region of North Rhein Westfalia. You can learn about these innovative agricultural reporting efforts by visiting the web site of The site describes what has become an international network of journalists, researchers and others. The Danish International Center for Analytical Reporting (DICAR) and EU Transparency (a non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom) coordinate Farmsubsidy.org. It uses analyses of open-access databases to identify payments and recipients of farm subsidies in EU member states. These data have generated news reports identifying flaws in the EU farm subsidy program. Farmsubsidy.org has also encouraged greater transparency in government reporting. Beginning in April 2009, for example, the European Commission will increase public access to such information through web sites for each member state.

2 What is this reporting tool, "database analysis?" In one sense, database analysis is one step in a larger process that reporters use. Philip Meyer, author of The new precision journalism, identified six steps involved in working with data: 1. Collect data 2. Store them, preferably in electronic format 3. Retrieve data that have been stored 4. Analyze data and search for patterns 5. Reduce data to workable scale 6. Communicate findings in understandable ways During this process, reporters may use online sources such as database libraries, electronic mail, discussion groups and bulletin boards to identify data they wish to gather. They may create their own databases, using spreadsheets to analyze numbers and database managers to organize sources. They may use statistical software and mapping software. And, of course, they use their basic journalism skills. "Good investigative journalism is key to making sense of the data," explains Jack Thurston, a London-based co-founder of Farmsubsidies.org. "Without the local knowledge and the inquiring minds, all we would have is raw numbers." Why database analysis isn't an "every day" tool for reporting Reporters and numbers - "An affair between love and fear" There seems to be nothing the media love more than figures and surveys, observes Professor Holger Wormer, chair of science journalism, University of Dortmund, Germany. He points to the popularity of opinion polls, rankings and other statistical tidbits of all kinds that attract attention and stir public conversation. "At the same time, journalists seem to hate nothing more than too many figures or even calculations," he said in a 2007 article, "Figures, statistics and the journalist." Wormer went on to describe how computer-assisted reporting (CAR) may improve this sometimes-strange relationship between journalists and data. "Journalists could combine an interesting statistical data analysis with a classical systematic investigation as well as helping statisticians to find an appropriate and understandable way of telling the story behind their figures and analysis in the mass media." Working in a "very stressed world" Marina Tell, IFAJ member in Sweden, puts it this way:

3 "I am aware that may reporters work in a very stressed world where they most of the time wish they had the possibility to go deeper into different topics, but never get the chance to work for a longer period with the same piece. That is a daily problem for many ag journalists (I think)." Catching a vision of how other ag reporters do things Liz Kellaway, IFAJ member in Australia, observes: "Our numbers are so small here and we work in such isolation that I am sure most don't realize the scale of ag journalism and the alternative ways of doing things." She emphasizes the value of IFAJ in encouraging excellence in the profession and giving opportunity to see how peers go about reporting in their own countries. Another internationally-honored example Two reporters of the St. Petersburg Times (Florida USA) have received honors for analyzing satellite imagery and wading through swamps and government records to document the loss of wetlands in that state. Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite "analyzed satellite imagery to answer one question government regulators could not: 'How many acres were lost to development during the No Net Loss period'?" Their series, "Vanishing Wetlands," began in They reported that despite a presidential policy of No Net Loss, Florida has lost at least 84,000 acres of wetlands in the past 15 years. You can learn more about this creative environmental reporting effort at: "Vanishing Wetlands" "They won't say no" Where to find databases and what to do with them Credible data on nearly every topic can be found on many Web sites, according to Brant Houston in a Global Journalist article, "Converting data bases into news stories." He identified these sources, as examples: > Methods and Classifications > National and International Data Sources. A list of links at the United Nations to national statistical centers throughout the world.

4 A list of databases maintained by the United Nations on demographics, housing, trade and other topics. A country-by-country collection of databases on diseases and other health issues in the member states of the World Health Organization. > Data and Research. Numerous databases on financial and trade issues at The World Bank site. International Archive of Education Data. A collection of databases on education from the U.S., but integrated with international studies and reports. U.S. Census Bureau international data Web pages for population and demographic data from countries throughout the world. Where you can find more information about this reporting tool Here are some online resources if you wish to learn more about using databases and computers to explore new frontiers in your agricultural reporting. "Computer-assisted reporting bibliography." "Converting data bases into news stories." Article by Brant Houston in the Global Journalist, January > Stories > First Quarter 2007 "Development of computer-assisted reporting" Research paper by Melisma Cox. "Farm subsidy database." A resource of the Environmental Working Group, Washington, D. C. Houston, Brant, Len Bruzzese and Steve Weinberg The investigative reporter's handbook: a guide to documents, databases and techniques. Fourth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, "Making data meaningful: a guide to writing stories about numbers." Report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting

5 > Database Library The new precision journalism. Online book by Philip Meyer. "Statistics every writer should know" What examples of database analysis have you seen in agricultural reporting? What agricultural topics might invite database analysis? What database sources have you found helpful? Please pass along your suggestions or questions to Jim Evans at (Note: This professional development feature is provided through a partnership of IFAJ and the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, University of Illinois.)