Category: Data journalism
Top 10 most read journalism posts of 2011 on this blog
When I first started this blog, I was determined that it wouldn’t just be my opinion on stuff, or rants about stuff, either. I’m not sure how well I’ve done in achieving that aim – but going through the most read posts of 2011 (I’ve done a separate list of FOI posts here):
1. Is this the most jaw-dropping CCTV still ever?
Do you remember the days when a police call which involved a promise of CCTV was pretty much always guaranteed to end up with a long battle with technology or a trip to the cop shop to pick up a grainy image which had more in common with Magic Eye pictures than it did with 20:20 sharp focus?
Friday’s first edition front page of the Manchester Evening News carries what I think is probably the most striking, and shocking CCTV still I’ve ever seen on a newspaper.
2. 10 Social Network search engines for journalists
Google Realtime, the search engine which was intended to integrate social network updates into Google, has been suspended, the company announced at the weekend.
Whether it returns at all remains to be seen – in my opinion, it’s the sort of tool Google can’t afford to be without.
It was a very useful tool for journalists too, especially as the ‘say what you see’ culture on Twitter exploded, providing excellent first-hand accounts and sources for reporters, especially local ones.
But there are plenty of other social network search engines worth checking out. Here are 10 of the best.
3. Council spending data: 10 tips for journalists looking for stories
Today marks the deadline for councils to start publishing details of all spending over £500. Local government minister Eric Pickles says he expects all councils to be as open as possible. Some, such as Liverpool, have admitted they’ll miss that deadline, and final details of exactly how all councils should produce the information has yet to be issued.
So how should journalists deal with the data? Here are ten points which I hope might help…
Data: What ingredients make for a good Christmas Eve front page?
It’s a tradition few outside a newsroom will have ever heard of: The battle to get the Christmas Eve front page. Unlike any other day when sales can be expected to be lower (lets face it, it’s pretty much a ninth bank holiday now), in every newsroom I’ve worked in, getting the Christmas Eve front page is a badge of honour. Of sorts.
In several newsrooms I’ve worked in, the Christmas Eve front page came with a prize. In others, it was seen as the pinnacle of the Christmas specials – and I know of several reporters who’ve come out of the Christmas slog with press trips to far flung destinations to look forward to in the new year.
So, what makes for a Christmas Eve front page? (Warning: what follows is unscientific).
Open data? Why the BBC had to use FOI to get data which was once published freely every week
The BBC today led several of its programmes with a news story which will be familiar to many local journalists: The delays ambulances encounter when they get to hospitals.
It’s not a new story. The problem has been identified across the country time and again for years. As far back as 2007, the Manchester Evening News reported on long delays getting people out of ambulances and into A&E.
That in itself doesn’t make today’s story by the BBC out of the ordinary – just because a problem persists doesn’t stop it being news. What struck me as odd, at first, was the fact the BBC said it had used FOI to get figures on ‘turnaround times’ from NHS Trusts around the country.
Why use FOI when the Department of Health publishes a weekly report on the number of ‘transfers’ between ambulance and A&E which took more than 15 minutes? The Department of Health’s well-hidden but well-worth-finding Information Centre contains a weekly report on ambulance statistics. The very information the BBC wanted was, in theory, there, ready and waiting.
Or rather, it was.
Data journalism combines with investigative journalism to leave an elusive MP with questions to answer
Ding Dong ... Sir Stuart Bell has some questions to answer
What’s the best way to rate an MP’s performance on behalf of his or her constituents? The number of times they have voted in parliament is one way, as is the number of times they’ve stood up and spoken in parliament. But most MPs, when faced with such data (if not positive about them) would argue there’s much, much more to being a constituency MP than just talking in the chamber.
And they would be right, to a point. Which is why I wanted to flag up this rather excellent piece of investigative journalism from the Evening Gazette in Middlesbrough, which has been doing some digging into Labour grandee and local MP Sir Stuart Bell’s performance.
Sir Stuart’s performance in the Commons chamber, according to theyworkforyou.com, is below average. But the Gazette has established that Sir Stuart hasn’t held a constituency surgery for 14 years. He is made even harder to contact by the fact he doesn’t have a constituency office.
According to the paper, his response to questions about this has been to point out that he meets with members of the public by appointment instead, and people can reach him by telephone at any time.
So reporter Neil Macfarlane set about trying to find out how easy or otherwise it was to get in contact with the MP. Over several months, the Gazette rang Sir Stuart’s Westminster office and his home number over 100 times. No-one ever answered. That’s despite claiming staffing costs of £82,896 last year. Contrast that with Teesside’s four other MPs, all of who have their phones answered at the first attempt.
Like this:
Making use of an act more powerful than FOI – for one month a year only
The Audit Commission Act offers a rare chance to pretty much tell councils what part of their accounts you’d like to inspect, and there’s very little they can do to hold the information back.
The drawback is that the accounts are only available for 20 days a year. Their availability has to be advertised ahead of time, normally via the public notices section of the local newspaper.
I think it’s fair to say councils get a bit of a shock when members of the public actually ask to use it.
Data: One set of data, two very different stories, and no-one any better off as a result
Politicians have always had a reasonably relaxed relationship with numbers – which is why making data behind decisions freely available is so important.
But if you thought that the publication of raw numbers would bring an end to confusing interpretations of data by politicians seeking to push a political point of view, then think again.
On Sunday, Labour went on the offensive over funding for Primary Care Trusts, claiming that funding was being moved from poorer – and generally unhealthier – areas to richer – and generally healthier – areas as a result in a change in the way funding is allocated.
Here in a flash: What to make of speed camera data now it’s here
Say cheese
Last month, I blogged about how the government had given clear instructions to councils and police forces about the speed camera data they should release. They were also told to do it quickly.
This week, Lancashire’s Partnership for Road Safety - a multi-agency partnership no less – became one of the first to release the data. Lancashire County Council one of the partners, had refused Freedom of Information requests in the past asking for this very information, arguing it would impact on the ability of the cameras to cut crime (ie speeding).
So what do we learn from the data? Well, the partnership has released a pdf for each of the three authorities it covers – Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire and Blackpool – listing the number of speeding offences which resulted in a fine being paid, or a speed awareness course being attended, or led to a summons being issued or which were outstanding or which were cancelled.
FOI: Using the letters page to get some answers
It’s a dilemma many journalists have faced: What to do when 20 working days have passed since you submitted your FOI request and there’s no sign of life from the local council/health trust/police force.
Bryan Hubble of Bexhill-on-Sea knew what to do: he decided to name and shame the council in the local paper, the Bexhill-on-Sea Observer:
A week, later, on the same letters page, Mr Hubble was present again, this time revealing how the letter the previous week had prompted a response:
Proof of the enduring power of the letters page? Maybe? Proof that it’s worth mentioning, even in a small article, that an organisation is being secretive? Maybe.
Worth keeping an eye on the letters page of the Bexhill-on-Sea Observer to find out what happens when Mr Hubble actually gets answers and not just an apology? Probably.
DATA: Will speed camera secrecy be gone in a flash?
Say cheese
The Department for Transport yesterday posted some good news for journalists on its website – details of the data councils and police forces are to be obliged to release about speed cameras.
Back in December, transport minister Mike Penning announced he was setting up a working group to propose what data should be released. Given the working group was made up, in part, of councils and police forces – the very organisations which have refused countless Freedom of Information requests for speed camera data – I suggested at the time there was a long way to go before the release of the data was guaranteed.
Now the type of data councils and police forces must release has been confirmed:
Figures showing the numbers of accidents and casualties at camera sites – both before and after cameras were installed – will be published by local authorities.
Police forces will publish the number of speeding prosecutions arising from each camera in their area, as well as force-wide information about whether offenders are fined, complete a speed awareness course or are taken to court.
The Highways Agency will publish data for the motorways and trunk roads it operates.
So what data can we expect to be coming our way?
In the 12-page report of the working committee, it’s interesting to note that the group called for all speed camera data back to 1990 to be released – ensuring that before and after installation comparisons are available for every camera location in the country. Where this isn’t possible, the group suggests data for the five years prior to the introduction of a speed camera should be made available.
The report also suggests that details of different types of casualties – fatalities, serious injuries, minor injuries – are also easy to release. Indeed, in many cases that already happens.
The data released relating to casualties and collisions should also make clear over what length of road around the speed camera the accidents took place on. This metric differs around the country.
The average speed of drivers past speed cameras before and after their introduction should also be released – if that data is collected.
Interestingly, the decision to tell police forces to release details of the number of prosecutions from each camera in their area goes against the advice of the working group, which argued it would make speed cameras less effective (presumably if people thought they were less likely to be caught) and make the most profitable cameras the target for vandal attacks – an excuse trotted out by West Midlands Police to refuse information under FOI.
In response to that, a briefing note produced by the DfT says:
In relation to offence data the Department considers there is a strong justification in terms of public transparency and accountability to publish this information site by site for fixed camera sites. There has been further dialogue with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), whose roads policing lead has confirmed support for moving to a position where site specific data is released with a review after six months.
The group also said publishing mobile camera site data would be compromising to law enforcement and also be unreliable as the amount of enforcement from one year to the next would change at every location. Mr Penning has agreed to that.
So, when can we expect to see the data? Councils and police forces have to let the DfT know by July 20 where they plan to publish the data, which DfT will then link to from one central ‘hub’ – presumably in a similar way the Department for Communities and Local Government did with council spending data.
Mr Penning originally wanted to be in a position to get the data released by last April. That deadline has obviously been and gone – but the delay does appear to have resulted in a more definite set of rules for releasing the data, something still lacking in other forms of new data, such as council spending.
Data: Why Openlylocal has to be part of any council reporter’s toolkit
Southern Cross - a crisis which spread, and which can be tracked through data
Council spending data is something that has been available, in theory, since the start of the year.
The rush by the government to make councils publish the information has led to some confusion, with councils seemingly all releasing their data in different formats, with different levels of data published.
Ongoing uses for it for journalists are still to emerge – other than the obvious useful resource to scan which companies councils are spending money with.
The OpenlyLocal website was set up by journalist Chris Taggart to find ways to make councils more accountable, using open data feeds to make this possible.
Many councils provide their spending as a data feed as well as in PDF or Excel format. In total, 158 councils currently do this, and Openlylocal makes it possible to search the data at these councils by supplier name.
This has the potential to be a very valuable tool to journalists. Using Southern Cross as an example, it’s possible to find dozens of councils which spend large sums of money with Southern Cross.
Another story to hit the headlines recently was the plan by Capita to move IT support jobs to India. These IT support jobs were originally Birmingham City Council jobs, moved into the private sector.
A quick search of ‘Capita’ in Openlylocal throws up many councils working with Capita. While there are many arms of Capita, it does at least provide a start to finding a local angle on a national story.
It took me a while to get just how valuable OpenlyLocal’s tool for council spending could be – but the more I play with it, the more I think it’s the one example we have so far of councils becoming accountable through the availability of their spending.
