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Why Data Journalists Learn Python

Melissa Lewis, a data journalist, discusses the importance of Python and SQL in data journalism, emphasizing the need for coding skills alongside traditional journalism expertise. She explains that data journalism involves using data to tell stories and encourages individuals to request public records to explore local data. The document also highlights various resources and notable figures in the field of data journalism.

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13 views3 pages

Why Data Journalists Learn Python

Melissa Lewis, a data journalist, discusses the importance of Python and SQL in data journalism, emphasizing the need for coding skills alongside traditional journalism expertise. She explains that data journalism involves using data to tell stories and encourages individuals to request public records to explore local data. The document also highlights various resources and notable figures in the field of data journalism.

Uploaded by

johnkalinga
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Why Data Journalists Learn

Python
January 14, 2022 1 min read

Melissa Lewis is a data reporter for Reveal, a Python teacher, the organizer of PyLadies Portland
and the Portland chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Melissa is here to share her work as a data journalist who uses


Python. By the end of our conversation you’ll understand:

 What is data journalism?


 Why are Python and SQL great languages for data
journalism?
 What skills does a data journalist need?
 Who is doing some of the best data journalism these days?
Q&A with Data Journalist, Melissa Lewis
1. What is data journalism?
Data journalism means using data to tell stories. For example,
that could mean using infographics like in Emily Eng’s work at
The Seattle Times, or it could mean presenting raw datasets to
increase transparency or support a thesis, as in The Texas
Tribune’s government salaries explorer.
2. What skills does a data journalist need and why are those important?
A data journalist often has a journalism background but also
relies on a strong set of skills for parsing data using coding
languages like Python, SQL or R.
3. How could I get started doing some “tiny data journalism” in my local
area? Maybe I don’t want to become a data journalist, but I’m curious to see
what data is available.
Ask for records! People think of this as a journalism thing, but
records serve the public. They are your right!

Mentioned in this episode:

1. NICAR
2. Ida B. Wells as a data journalist
3. Portland homeless accounted for majority of police arrests
in 2017, analysis finds
4. Melissa Lewis –The Metaphor of Semaphore: Explaining the
Internet – DonutJS February 2018
5. The Portland Police Bureau use of force report where
96/221 people on which force was used were “transient”
6. Tableau graphics
7. Census and federal funding
8. Eyeo Festival, annual data visualization conference
9. Amanda Cox’s talk “Visualizing Uncertainty”
10. Commute story with margin of error
11. The Queen podcast, for which author interviewed
other authors like David Grann, who wrote Killers of the
Flower Moon, and James Forman Jr.
12. “Racially charged”
13. AP Stylebook section on data journalism
14. Methodology for ProPublica’s investigation into racial
disparities in bankruptcy filings and outcomes
15. Methodology for Kept Out, Reveal’s investigation into
modern day redlining
16. Estimating the reproducibility of psychological
science
17. PyLadies
18. Matt Davis’ Twitter profile
19. Jessica McKellar’s How the Internet Works talk at
PyCon 2013
20. Jupyter
21. Center for Open Science
22. Periscopic
23. Think Python 2e
24. Regexextract google sheets
25. Regex101.com, tool to compose and learn regular
expressions
26. Navicat
27. Numbers in the Newsroom
28. Khan Academy Statistics
29. Precision Journalism
30. Hack Oregon

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