prove your story,

then get a job




ADAM PLAYFORD

NEWSDAY

@adamplayford




Hello.




my name is Adam.




i work for Newsday



(that's on long island)




once i was a nerdy kid,

like you




NOW i'm a reporter


(who writes computer programs)


(and works with data)


(SO BASICALLY STILL A NERD)




you're probably
asking yourself...




why is that a thing?




why should i care?




here are some reasons:




i need interns




you need jobs




journalism needs saving




and badasses




badasses

prove

their

stories



ok,

but how?


1.

you need

something interesting

to prove



THEN YOU NEED

A hypothesis


like IT'S science

or something




then you need

a way to test it


(WE CALL THAT DATA)



SOMETIMES you get IT


SOMETIMES YOU MAKE IT IT






FOR EXAMPLE:

AP SCORES




At the request of the St. Petersburg Times, the Pinellas and Hillsborough school districts put together lists of nearly every AP teacher in each county -- about 800 in all -- along with their students' scores on the rigorous, standardized AP tests that accompany them.


"UNDER SOME TEACHERS,

EVERY STUDENT PASSES.


UNDER OTHERS, NONE DO."



"AP TESTS VEX TEACHERS, TOO"
12/12/2009, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES



Better example:

let's talk about

your cafeteria




"we think the food's

unhealthy"




"we think

we pay

TOO MUCH"





"we think the food

tastes bad'




"we think this place

is gross"


2.

YOU NEED

TO know stuff


(SO WHAT YOU PROVE MATTERS)


(AND YOUR HUNCHES DON'T SUCK)





A THREAT FROM THE UNION




ELECTION DAY




THE HUNCH




The Post matched employee databases from the school district with county voter records. To ensure accuracy, reporters then checked hundreds of records by hand.



"ELECTION DAY CAME

AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF TEACHERS

DIDN'T SHOW UP."





Teacher turnout was 24 percent, the Post found. Although significantly higher than the turnout of other county voters, it wasn't enough to change the outcome of a single district race in August.






In the county, the belief that most teachers don't vote has been talked about -- quietly -- for years.

the rankings

42%: school librarians

33%: History Teachers

32%: Principals/asst. principals

29%: Music teachers

25%: Math teachers

24%: English teachers

22%: Physical ed teachers

20%: Elementary teachers


3.

you need

to be able

to use a computer


(beyond im'ming)




spreadsheets:


excel


Google Docs



databases:


microsoft Access


mysql / sqlite



google fusion tables


for:

mapping

joining

basic stats


programming:


python (django)


javascript


ruby (ruby on rails)


R



google / BOOKS


school


nicar-l


4.

You need TO KNOW

WHAT'S OUT THERE




test results/data




demographic data



national center

for education statistics

(http://nces.ed.gov)



also,

you need to know

what you can get





school/district

budgets




teacher salaries




magnet program

enrollment/application stats




grade distributions

BY CLASS



5.

you need to

do something,

damnit




all done!


Questions?



@adamplayford
adam.playford@newsday.com

Prove your story, then get a job

By Adam Playford

Prove your story, then get a job

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Conference 2013

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