IRE/NICAR Computer-assisted Reporting Bootcamp
Sharpen your journalism and computer-assisted reporting skills on Friday, Oct. 14, as SCPA hosts IRE/NICAR for a full-day boot camp. Sponsored by the SCPA Foundation Smoak Fund, this event will be a mix of training and hands-on work featuring the industry’s leading data-driven journalism organizations, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). At this event, you’ll learn to acquire electronic information, use Excel spreadsheets to analyze information and translate that information into stories. This event is catered specifically towards SCPA’s daily and weekly newspaper members – large and small – so regardless of your beat or your newspaper’s size, frequency or resources, you’ll walk away with practical skills and story ideas. At only $65, this is an unheard of value for top-notch training that will expand your skills and teach you cutting edge tools and techniques to help dig up vital information on deadline, and to quickly add depth and context.
Here’s a breakdown of the topics we’ll cover:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Investigative state of mind for daily watchdogs: Strategies, story ideas, resources and tips for watchdog stories on a variety of beats. How to find information quickly and dig deeper, even on deadline.
10:30 -10:45 a.m. | Break
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | Hands-On Excel Training: Part I | Use computer-assisted reporting for better watchdog stories and beat coverage.
12:15-12:30 p.m. | Break
12:30-1 p.m. | Working Lunch/Backgrounding strategies | We all know that people make the story, but how can you dig up information on them? This session offers some techniques and resources used to find people, verify their information and uncover their online presence.
1-3:30 p.m. | Hands-On Excel Training: Part II
3:30-4 p.m. | Taking it all home. How to integrate watchdog into your shift. Tips on time management, organization and daily watchdog stories, as well as further resources for finding help on the fly.
Attendees will need to bring a laptop with Excel to this event. If you don’t have a laptop, SCPA may be able to help. Just contact us!
This event is open only to SCPA members. Thanks to sponsorship from the SCPA Foundation Smoak Fund, the cost to attend is only $65, which includes a boxed lunch. This hands-on session is limited to 30 attendees. If you’d like to guarantee a spot, sign up today!
Meet the trainer:
Denise Malan joined IRE as a training director in August 2016. Previously, she worked at the Institute for Nonprofit News in a joint position with IRE for three years. She was a newspaper journalist for more than a decade, covering government, education, politics, the environment and more. Before joining IRE and INN, she was data/investigative editor at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in Texas, overseeing a team of four projects reporters and the paper's data-driven reporting efforts.
About IRE:
Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. IRE was formed in 1975 to create a forum in which journalists throughout the world could help each other by sharing story ideas, newsgathering techniques and news sources.
About NICAR:
The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting maintains a library of federal databases, employs journalism students, and trains journalists in the practical skills of getting and analyzing electronic information.