The Los Angeles Times has quietly built a huge online resource that gives users the opportunity to explore information on their own. The data desk holds the results of 38 projects and more than 730,000 records: databases, lists, maps and rankings, both local and national.
Most of the entries are under politics–from donor lists to election results. Others are hyperlocal–LA’s dirtiest pools and top dogs, for example. But several might be worth replicating in other areas, perhaps as student projects. A map of red light cameras, for instance, or the “where the boys/girls are” map based on census data. One project you might just want to link to is a very cool “commute calculator” that figures out the annual cost of your daily drive.
(Thanks to Cyberjournalist.net for the tip.)
Filed under: 04. Reporting in Depth, 08. Producing for the Web |
Advancing the Story 
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