rachelwalexander

[rachelwalexander]

This is especially funny because I’d bet whatever point they’re trying to prove is belied by the large number of massive-wall-of-text posts that are technically photo posts because they start with a photo. (And I’ve often wondered how often that’s done to avoid the reblog-as-link default for longer text.)

Not to mention people using photos as links.

Tumblr photos.

#tumblr #data visualization

[rachelwalexander]

"The media doesn't care"

This week, I was one of the reporters writing about an assault on a transgender woman that happened last week at a bakery in Spokane. Here, I want to tell the backstory of how this story came to be, because I think it illustrates the problem with automatically assuming the media doesn't care about particular types of stories.

The woman was attacked on a Friday night, and I first heard about the story from a friend on Sunday afternoon. She'd texted me asking if I knew anything, and I told her I'd look into it on Monday when I was back at work.

By the time I got to work Monday morning, the city's Human Rights Commission had issued a call for citizens to show support for the victim. People spoke at city council. We wrote a story. All three of our city's TV stations wrote a story. The alt-weekly covered it. A bunch of LGBT media outlets picked it up. 

Police released photos of the suspects and arrested them less than a day later. Media followed up, publishing photos of the suspects and writing about their court appearance, where both men were released without bail.

Much of this came as a result of the bakery's owner, who made some phone calls and got local leaders interested in the case. We got wind of it soon after, and were quick to get a story up.

Our columnist spoke with the owner about her efforts to get the word out. She talks about waiting, for a full day after the attack, for the news media to report what had happened. When she heard nothing - from us, from the police - she decided to get the ball rolling.

I understand the impulse to think that the media doesn't care about particular crimes or particular victims. We pick and choose what we report, and often that process has the effect of further marginalizing people who are already marginalized. It's no secret, for instance, that we're more likely to cover a murder case from the initial gunshot to the final gavel if the victim isn't the type you'd expect to be killed - someone young, with potential and without a criminal history. 

Add that to the fact that media coverage of transgender people tends to lack context, misuse terminology or be downright offensive, and you'd be forgiven for thinking we might not care about this particular woman.

But we did. Without exception, we wrote about this as soon as someone told us about it. And had we known sooner, we would have written sooner. We can't do our jobs if people don't occasionally reach out and tell us what's going on.

My job is to cover crime and public safety. For the one-off, day-to-day stories telling people "this crime happened," I tend to get my information from scanner traffic (while the crime is in progress), police press releases (which usually go out for major crimes) and court documents (generally filed after an arrest has been made). 

That means if a crime happens during off hours (late at night, especially on the weekend) and the cops don't decide to send out information right away, we usually won't hear about it for a few days until it trickles through the grapevine - which is more or less what happened with this assault. So the best way for someone to get information out there, if they think the cops aren't paying attention or taking a crime seriously, or if their account differs significantly from the official one, is to call me and tell me what's going on.

I can't promise every reporter will always care about the particular story you have. I get a lot of calls from a lot of people who are convinced they've been slighted, injured, maligned, slandered and attacked. Some end up being stories. Most don't. But the ones that do are often some of my best work - I like writing about things I know people care about, especially when I feel like I can help amplify the voice of someone who might otherwise be ignored.

So instead of assuming we don't care, why not pick up the phone or send us an email and find out?

#reporting #media #LGBT #assault

[rachelwalexander]

I've been waiting to do this until I achieved my 2014 Goodreads goal, which happened today (48 books)! The complete list of what I read this year is here, but my favorites were:

The Residue Years, Mitchell S. Jackson—Hands-down the best book I read all year. It's Jackson's debut, a semi-autobiographical novel about growing up black in America's whitest major city (Portland, Ore.) during the height of the crack epidemic. He does amazing, beautiful things with the English language and captures the rhythm of street slang perfectly.

Redefining Realness, Janet Mock—The autobiography of a transgender woman and activist talking about how she was able to discover who she was and live openly as a woman. It's raw, honest and written with an inspiring amount of love.

World War Z, Max Brooks—I did not expect to love this as much as I did. This oral history of humanity's war against zombies is fascinatingly detailed (and, I hear, nothing like the movie). With perspectives from all over the world and constantly shifting narrators, I never got bored and never stopped thinking.

Blasphemy, Sherman Alexie—He's a favorite author of mine, so there was no way I wasn't going to love this book. It's a collection of his greatest hits (short stories) plus a few new ones.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Sloot—Part science narrative and part family history, Sloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks and her descendents. Doctors took tumor cells from her in the early 1900s without her knowledge or consent, sparking a host of groundbreaking biological discoveries. Though her cells are responsible for many vaccines and other treatments and have made some people rich, many of Lacks' decendents can't afford health insurance today. A great primer on medical racism and a well-told story in general.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt—Half true crime novel and half travel narrative, this book is impressive in its scope - the sort of thing I fool myself into thinking I might like to write someday. It's drawn comparisons to In Cold Blood, but to me, it's much more about digging deep into the social life of Savannah, Georgia than it is about a thrilling murder. Either way, it's full of larger-than-life characters and keeps you turning the pages.

My Favorite Books I Read in 2014

So, in 2014 I managed to read 78 books. That’s an average of 1.5 books per week. Which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. I figured this achievement merited a review of some of the best books I read this year, so here goes.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - A haunting but beautifully written tale about the possible futures of a young women’s life in England during WWII.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - This was during my audiobook phase this year and boy was I happy I listened to this book. Neil Gaiman reads it beautifully and it adds so much texture to the already dark, twisted, scary and poetic prose.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - By one of my favorite authors, this book wins my vote for best fantasy I read this year. This is the second book in the Stormlight Archive and it was even better than the first.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I’m a little late to the party on this one, but it’s a good book, with a touch exaggerated romance.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhard - This is in competition for my favorite book of the year. A YA book that is tragic, heart-wrenching and brilliantly structured.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - An excellent, enticing story with funny and important commentary on race in the US.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - Another excellent sci-fi/fantasy book by a breakout author. This YA book that doesn’t seem like YA is Hunger Games-esque with smart commentary on social and political hierarchies.

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit - My favorite nonfiction of the year. This collection of essays about women and patriarchy, including the original essay by the same title, is so well said that the feminist in me cheers and also cries.

Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce - A fascinating and well written look into the life of a woman living on her own terms while also spiraling out of control.

Longbourn by Jo Baker - A story about the servants in Pride and Prejudice. My love of Austen’s original tale influenced my love for this, but this story is interesting and stands alone in its own right.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas - The third (but frustratingly not final) book in this YA series, about a young female assassin with a destiny and need for magic training (ah, how cliche). This book had strengths the previous two did not and thickened the plot for the final book.

The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe - An enchantingly written book about friendship between two very different girls trying to make their way in the world.

Follow me on Goodreads to see what else I read this year.

What were some of your favorite books you read this year?

#best of 2014 #books #goodreads

[rachelwalexander]

I'm on that reporter high where you've been working on a really important story for literally your entire life and your back hurts and you need caffeine but you're doing something important so it's totally worth it.

I love my job.

#journo life

[rachelwalexander]

Also, I want to resume my data project soon. Consider this your invitation to maliciously harass me to get back on track if I fail to deliver on that promise.

[rachelwalexander]

The best crime news in Spokane

I'm back!

Now that I've been doing my Fancy New Job for two months, I felt compelled to share a list of The Best Crime News in Spokane (or at least, the weirdest stuff I've had to report on):

Thieves steal five stained glass windows from church

Shooter, victim say they were trying to break up the same argument

Road rage incident leads to attack with metal mace

Woman arrested after breaking down apartment door, claiming to be special ops agent

I don't think I could ever write a fictional book that would be half as entertaining as some of the court documents I read on a daily basis.

#spokane #crime #news #fancy new job

[rachelwalexander]

How colleges address sexual misconduct.

#sexual assault #domestic violence #infographics

[rachelwalexander]

It's my last day at my current job - I'm graduating from towns of 3,000 people to a city of more than 300,000. And this thing I made is the most fitting tribute to my time as a rural journalist.

(Every one of these things has happened to me at least once.)

#journalism #rural journalism #small towns #newsroom #journo life

[rachelwalexander]

I'm glad this is the story Walla Walla is getting national news coverage for. (Our version, which is both funnier and more than two paragraphs long, is here.)

#news #walla walla

[rachelwalexander]

Revelations about surveillance, intimidation, and exploitation of the press have raised unsettling questions about whether the U.S. and other Western democracies risk undermining journalists’ ability to report in the digital age. They also give ammunition to repressive governments seeking to tighten restrictions on media and the Internet.

To combat these trends, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today along with more than 45 supporting partners including The Associated Press, gettyimages, vicenews, humanrightswatch, amnestyusa, Bloomberg News, aljazeera, The Huffington Post, First Look Media, Slate, globalvoices, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation launched the campaign “Right to Report in the Digital Age.”

Join us. Sign the Petition.

#journalism #journalism industry #right to report #cpj

[rachelwalexander]

Personal announcement (aka, why I haven't been posting or doing data stuff)

I've been quiet on here for a month or so, but behind the scenes, a lot of exciting stuff has been going on. Starting on Oct. 13, I'll be moving to the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash. to be a breaking news/crime reporter.

^Roughly how I feel about this. (Though also, who doesn't want an excuse to use the Ron Swanson dancing gif?)

Excitement aside, I've also been frantically trying to find housing, write my how-to-cover-my-current-beat documentation, research all the activities I can do in a city with a slightly larger population, read up on the history of Spokane and its police force, and do a bunch of other things. Hence the lack of blogging and the lack of data journalism.

But good news: cops and crime are PERFECT for data stuff. I'm confident I'll have something exciting to blog in that regard before I've been in my new job for too long. In the meantime, though, it's going to be a bit quiet around here while I figure out my new life.

#Rachel's life #journo life

[rachelwalexander]

I've been slapped harder by my mother for taking pepperoni off the pizza she was making!

News editor, after an incident where an angry customer slapped him on the head after throwing (and breaking) our news clerk's computer. (She was apparently upset that she'd tripped over riprap near the city's creek and that no one was doing anything about it.)

#newsroom #journo life

[rachelwalexander]

Numerous media outlets and citizen journalists have reported excessive use of force by police toward those protesting the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., Saturday, Aug. 9.

Wednesday evening, two reporters were arrested while covering the third day of protests. Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post (and ONA member) details how he was instructed to stop filming police officers and was slammed into a soda machine while he was being arrested. Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post said police purposefully shoved his head against the glass of the building. They have both been released.

To follow the ongoing situation in Ferguson:

Garance Franke-Ruta’s Twitter list on Ferguson (31 members)

Kristen Hare’s Twitter list of St. Louis journalists covering the shooting of Michael Brown (82 members)

Circa’s Twitter list on Ferguson (34 members)

The St. Louis Dispatch has extensive coverage of Ferguson and is curating tweets.

Antonio French, Alderman of the 21st Ward, has been shooting photos and videos from the scene.

Three national reporters who have been covering the situation include Jamelle Bouie of Slate and Joel D. Anderson of Buzzfeed, who are on the scene, and Gene Demby of NPR CodeSwitch.

Photos via Jamelle Bouie on Twitter. Front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from Aug. 14, 2014 via Newseum.

#ferguson #journalism

[rachelwalexander]

If I had been a young-ish male journalist, the Very Respected Journalist might be recommending my work to other Very Respected Journalists right now. If I hadn’t shown disgust at what he did he would have helped me get my press pass in East Ukraine. If he hadn’t molested me maybe I would have written those pieces on the political repositioning of Poroshenko, the dynamics between the internally displaced people from Eastern Ukraine and the cities they have come to, a juxtaposition between the political use of space in Maidan and in Tahrir. I’d have more time to write about the political situation – to write about all the things I wanted to focus my energy on – if the inconvenience of being female in a world in which men can violently degrade and dehumanise women wasn’t taking up so much of my fucking time. The fact I’m writing this is a failure – not a failure of my ability to be professional, as the sushi-chewing Very Respected Editor implied, nor a failure to ‘be a good girl’, as the Very Respected Journalist who did things to my body against my consent commanded – but a failure to let women get on with their work, the work they want to do, without having to go through the exhausting eternal distraction of dealing with and recovering from sexism – including sexual aggression. The failure is all the unwritten articles and unwritten books of women who have had to instead spend their time recovering from these experiences, or – and who could blame them – decide to stop venturing into this world.

from First Night in Kyiv, an anonymous article by a female journalist who travelled to Ukraine to report on the political unrest and was raped by a well established western male journalist on her first night there (via thisismybyline)

#women in journalism #gender #sexual assault

[rachelwalexander]

Reporter to editor: “I refrained from using ‘clusterfuck’ in the headline.”

[rachelwalexander]

I just want to make sure I'm not violating federal law when I try to get my granny high.

Reporter, strategizing about bringing legal Washington marijuana across state lines

#newsroom

[rachelwalexander]

Data Project #3: A graph of Dayton School District enrollment using D3 (a JavaScript library for manipulating stuff using data).

It's taken me a while, but I finally put together a simple, clean graph of enrollment for the Dayton School District, which is one of several small rural school districts I cover.

You might look at this and think, "How did this take you 3 weeks?" And my answer would be, "Clearly, you have never tried to learn D3 during your spare time."

I relied almost entirely on this wonderful tutorial by Scott Murray, which involved a lot of hand-holding with the code, so I'm not as confident as I'd like to be that I could build something from scratch with D3. But I think I'd be better prepared to try, and I'd like to do that at some point down the road during this project.

As with the TileMill project from a few weeks ago, I feel like I've been exposed to an amazing, powerful set of tools for visualizing data and have barely scratched the surface.

Reflections on the data

I wanted to do so much more with this graph, and probably will down the line. It's related to a story I've been working on for several months about students who transfer out of the district.

Last year, a total of 89 students living within Dayton's boundaries were open-enrolled in other school districts or online programs, which cost them about $600,000 in state funding (versus $3.5 million total funding). It's a huge issue for them, and it's also created a chicken-and-egg situation where some of the things that might keep students in the district cost money they don't have because so many people have left. I spent this week drafting a story we're planning to run in a few weeks looking at why this is happening and what might be done about it.

Enrollment decline is related to the out-transfer issue, but it's also its own thing. I really wanted to plot enrollment on a line graph against county population (relatively stable from 1997-present) and county population ages 5-19 (declining over the same period, but I'm not sure by how much relative to enrollment). But my D3 skills are not quite there yet.

Reflections/self-eval

I really wanted to get year labels on the data, but wasn't sure how to do that using the tutorial we were doing. I did successfully make a separate set of text elements inside an SVG element to function as year labels, but I wasn't able to get them styled or visible or placed where I wanted, and I figured I'd spend long enough messing around with the graph.

While the utility without year labels is questionable, I like the overall look of the graph quite a bit: it's clean, simple and easy to spot the trend in enrollment.

SVGs are both awesome and confusing. I struggled with making them responsive: I was able to do it by making each individual rectangle its own SVG (instead of a "rect" element inside an SVG) and styling those SVGs in the CSS, but then a lot of the code later in the tutorial didn't work. There's probably a simple solution here, but I need to read more documentation about SVGs, clearly.

#RachelDataChallenge #data journalism #data visualization