Intermediate

Business tools and investigating companies

Learn how to scrape real-time and historical stock data from Google Finance into a Google Sheet and track it. It’s useful for anyone covering a specific industry or company.

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    • Investigating Nonprofits

    Learn how to read a Form 990 and where/how to go about obtaining these documents to track how money flows through non-profit organizations. We’ll also look at other tools for researching charities and also government agencies that investigate them.

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    • Converting criminal justice coverage to social justice coverage

    A conversation around how social justice storytelling can help humanize even the most tragic of stories and how we can ensure our reporting serves both our communities and our readership goals.

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    • Don’t count words. Make your words count.

    Writing concise, to the point stories isn’t about cutting until you’re under the limit. It’s about writing the story with the right words and nothing more. We’ll talk about finding the one thing that will drive your story, how a zero draft can start you in the right place, the magic of reading aloud and the secret sauce of short yet authoritative writing (that one, as they say, may shock you).

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    • Data visualization: Canva and Venngage 201

    Students will use a set of data points and data sets to build static and interactive graphics. We also will show how Flourish interfaces with Canva, since Canva now owns it.

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    • Reddit: How journalists can use the platform to grow audience, find sources and more

    With 430 million active users, Reddit is a gold mine of opportunity for journalists — but diving in can be challenging. In this session, we’ll help you learn how to confidently navigate the platform to discover and promote stories, find sources, cultivate relationships with new and existing audiences, and more.

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    • Data visualization: Flourish 201/301

    Easily turn your data into stunning charts, maps and interactive visuals for your stories. We will unlock the advanced features and settings in Flourish that will help you animate and bring your stories to life, while remaining true to our styles and branding.

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    • How to tell a story in 60 seconds or less on vertical video

    Learn how to easily tell a story for audiences on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube. Led by Wisconsin DOT Manager Lainey Seyler and producer Brooke Eberle, the session give tips on planning, creating and writing a script for vertical videos.

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    • Instagram for journalists

    What are all these Instagram terms I hear and why do they matter to my work? Get a crash course on the basics of Instagram and how the platform can help your stories reach a different audience in this one-hour course led by Des Moines Register Audience Strategist Brian Smith.

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    • Protected: Scrape-a-palooza and Google Flourish

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Protected: Advanced sports coverage using Google Earth Pro

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Protected: Google Finance scraping and other tools for business beats

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Protected: Data-scraping websites, PDFs and Flourish

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Business tools, Part IV: Covering inflation and consumer prices

    Learn how to use inflation calculation tools and track prices on Amazon, eBay and other digital platforms. Tools include the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Keepa.com, Google Shopping, FormDs.com and several other resources. We’ll also look at tools for spotting fake online sellers and fake reviews on online sales sites. 

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    • Protected: High school and college sports coverage tools, Part I

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Protected: Tools for covering inflation and consumer prices

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Tools for investigating non-profit organizations

    A look at tools for tracking non-profit finances, what their CEOs earn and much more. We also spend some time looking at Form 990s of charities and give you a chance to pull some on organizations in your area.

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    • Protected: Business reporters and editors: Tools for covering companies and industries

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Protected: Google Earth tools for your newsroom

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Data-scraping web pages, PDFs and Google Finance

    How to extract data from the web and PDFs and flow them into a spreadsheet. You’ll also learn how to scrape real-time and historical stock data into Google Sheets to track specific companies or industries. Code: data

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    • Identifying discrimination through data

    Jayme Fraser of the I-Team and Robbie Gutierrez of the DOT will show how to pick out patterns hiding in data sets.

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    • Master classes for business reporters and editors, Part II

    We will cover Charity Watch, SEC filings, Form 990s on Guidestar, etc. Google Dataset Search, Google Scholar, including ways to analyze case-law. We will learn to scrape Google Finance to isolate stock data and historical stock data. And will finish by learning how to scrape data from business sites and visualize it using Flourish. Code: business

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    • Diversity and the newsroom: Tips for expanding coverage and supporting reporters of color

    The Columbus Dispatch’s Erica Thompson explores a few big stories and offers tips on advocating for diverse coverage and better support of reporters of color.

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    • Master classes for business reporters and editors, Part I

    We cover Charity Watch, SEC filings, Form 990s on Guidestar, etc. Google Dataset Search, Google Scholar, including ways to analyze case-law. We will learn to scrape Google Finance to isolate stock data and historical stock data. And will finish by learning how to scrape data from business sites and visualize it using Flourish. Code: business

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    • Protected: Reporting tools for sophisticated shopping season retail coverage

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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    • Mapping tools that reveal inequalities in our communities

    This will use Census data and two new network tools: Diversity Dashboard and Pass the Mic, to see where stories land and how to cultivate follow ups with sources.

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    • Conducting a source audit and building a diverse source database

    You likely know the racial and ethnic makeup of your newsroom, but what about your sources? Let’s talk about why diverse sourcing is important, how to find out how well your sources represent your community and ideas on creating and retaining those sources.

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    • Backgrounding a business

    How to search for proxies and tools for covering business, non-profits and the economy overall.

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    • Secure communications with sources and tipsters

    Tips and traps: Tools such as Signal app, Freedome and VPNs to keep you, your data and your sources safe.

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    • Basic databases in Google Flourish and other tools

    A few easy tools to help you show your work: Google Flourish, Airtable and Tableizer.

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    • Advanced fact-checking for reporters

    Fact-checking images, video and verifying facts.

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    • What do you mean, it’s “statistically significant?”

    Advanced math for journalists.

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    • The best data about inequality

    What are the best datasets out there and what stories can they tell?

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    • Investigative/data skills series: Data visualization using DataWrapper

    In part I of our two-part series, “Data visualization for everyone,” we explore DataWrapper — an easy but powerful tool available to journalists across Gannett.

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    • Finding diverse expert sources

    This session will show you how to use expert databases to find vetted sources, what to look for with “faux experts” and how to follow experts when they publish.

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    • Fact-Checking IV: Fact-Checking Videos

    Was the video doctored? How can we see when and where a video was first published? We’ll explore how with Watch Frame-by-Frame and Amnesty International’s YouTube Dataviewer.

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    • Fact-Checking III: Put Your Photo Fact-Checking Skills to the Test

    We’ll give you three photos to fact-check with context shared (for real) on social media about each photo. Your job is to reverse image search each photo to see if the context is accurate or if the photo has been misrepresented.

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    • Fact-Checking II: Fact-Checking Photos

    How can we see when and where a photo was first published? We’ll explore how with Google Image Search, TinEye and FotoForensics.

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    • Intro to mapchecking.com

    Do you need to estimate a crowd size at a large outdoor event such as a protest, parade, concert or other ticketless event? Then MapChecking.com is the tool for you.

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    • Unlocking the power of Excel pivot tables

    Slice and dice data to to organize your reporting, find patterns and reveal better stories.

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    • Data visualization introduction

    Visualizations can help make a complex story simpler. Play with simple data visualization tools, learn how to automatically import data into a map, and explore the elegant templates of Flourish.

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    • Introduction to using data in your reporting

    An overview of the key data analysis tools and techniques used to produce investigative stories, with examples of stories that were made possible with these tools.

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    • Backgrounding like a boss: Reporting on people and companies with free tools

    Even great reporters can get tricked by fake names or sketchy backgrounds. We’ll walk through some websites and strategies you can use to create a routine and spot potential red flags before you get burned.

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    • Advanced Search: Power tools for search, research and analysis

    See what users in your area are searching and discover story ideas on Google Trends. Explore Backlight, an AI tool for parsing massive amounts of documents.

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    • Building a public records mindset

    A discussion on developing a documents state of mind — the key to doing solid watchdog work on a beat.

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    • How editors and managers can help keep reporters and photographers safe during protests

    Guidance for managers, starting with planning before a charged event, to communicating and adapting as conditions change to after-action debriefs.

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    • Earning trust in your election coverage

    Learn how to defend your coverage, explain it, and demonstrate to your audience why you’re a credible source.

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    • 9 remote interviewing tips for journalists

    From the technical to the legal, how to make sure you’re covered when you can’t meet a source face-to-face.

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    • Advanced backgrounding of people and companies

    From Investigative Reporters and Editors, here’s how to build a deep well of background to inform your reporting and writing.

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    • Reporting on farm bankruptcies in your own backyard

    Using a database created by Sky Chadde, the Gannett Agriculture Data Fellow at the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, you’ll be able to localize the impact of these bankruptcies and identify trends in your community.

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    • #DoJournalismWithImpact (for digital editors)

    Got a major project planned? Why not use Architect, the new external article template from GateHouse Media? Program developer Tyson Bird touches on how this tool can be used most effectively and shows examples of the template in action.

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    • Google: Geo and mapping

    Maggie Farley, a former Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent who now works with Google News Initiative, covers Geo and Mapping.

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    • Exploring Google Trends

    Maggie Farley, a former Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent, is now working with Google News Initiative to help journalism thrive in the digital age. This video covers Google Trends.

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    • Identifying and supporting trauma among fellow journalists

    A newsroom-wide briefing and discussion on trauma and journalism, introducing best practices in coverage and the basics of self-care and collegial support.

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    • 50 tools for writing well with Roy Peter Clark

    Organized into four sections, “Nuts and Bolts,” “Special Effects,” “Blueprints for Stories,” and “Useful Habits,” this series is infused with more than 200 examples from journalism and literature.

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