by Sonni Efron
Every journalist needs a great data scientist as a source. But in 2021, journalists who want to do serious investigative reporting from around the nation need more than a source. They need a partner. The National Press Foundation and DataKind DC have joined forces to help them find one.
Through a unique partnership, DataKind DC is recruiting and matching its volunteer data scientists to help NPF fellows get the data to power their unique coverage of the most important stories of 2021.
DataKind will continue working with NPF fellows through four different programs set for 2021:
- Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship: Brings together 22 early-career reporters either based in Washington for regional news organizations or working for national news outlets. (The 2021 fellows are here.)
- Covering the Statehouse in a Time of Crisis: We will select 25 reporters based in state capitals around the country. (The application is here.)
- Holding Power Accountable: Two training programs that will help 50 journalists from around the country understand critical financial policy issues that will emerge in the new Congress and state legislatures, as well as ongoing pandemic relief spending. (Dates TBD.)
This program is a continuation of the partnership that NPF and DataKind forged in 2020 to help journalists cover the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program loans and other pandemic relief worth nearly $4 trillion.
The CARES Act and related pandemic spending approved in late December represent the biggest bailouts in U.S. history – including the New Deal in the 1930s and the spending during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
What we did in 2020:
DATA PREPARATION: DataKind experts produced a set of databases designed to make it easier for journalists to track the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. While the government had released information on the program, it was incomplete. DataKind volunteers added in industry classification data and compiled the records by congressional district, county and address that had multiple loans. (DataKind’s John McCambridge explains what is available in this presentation to NPF fellows.)
PARTNERING WITH REPORTERS: DataKind experts worked with NPF fellows to execute PPP-related and other COVID stories. Once paired with journalists, DataKind volunteers provided support and in-depth analysis in whatever manner was needed. Several fellows published stories stemming from their partnerships:
- In the Tampa Bay Times, Jay Cridlin was paired with John McCambridge, producing a piece about a businessman who received 10 different PPP loans.
- In Business Insider, Rhea Mahbubani was paired with Dave Winkler, producing a story on some of the worst-rated nursing homes in the country getting PPP loans.
- For the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, Jared Bennett was paired with data scientist Mike Shumpert for a story on elevated COVID death rates in the poorest counties in the state.
- For Spectrum magazine, Alva James-Johnson was paired with data scientist M. D. Shuey for a story on Adventist schools and their decisions on whether to accept CARES Act funds.
- In the Arizona Republic, Craig Harris was paired with Nandini Nadkarni for a story on charter schools accepting PPP money.
Said Cridlin of the Tampa Bay Times: “I know that it wouldn’t have happened had I not been a part of the National Press Foundation’s workshop and been paired with great team at DataKind.”
And Harris of the Arizona Republic added: “Through the PPP seminar, I have been paired with an incredible data scientist.”
ABOUT NPF AND DATAKIND: The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit organization that educates journalists on the complex issues of the day and trains them to use the latest reporting tools and techniques. DataKind is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing social organizations with the pro bono assistance they need to tackle critical humanitarian issue in the fields of education, poverty, health, human rights, the environment and cities.
