Digging out data and making sense of it

Every story needs context. As journalists we not only bring the news to our readers/viewers/listeners but we also explain why that news is important. (Or at least we are supposed to do that.)

One of the real difficults has always been getting all the correct connections and in a timely manner. (Remember we are all on a deadline.)

The Internet has made a lot of data research easier. Just look back at often in this space have I have brought forward information from the vast data mines of the U.S. Census Bureau. But a lot of Internet searching is still moving page to page. Sometimes connections — context — are lost in the process.

I just saw a great video from TED by Gary Flake about PIVOT.

I am just now in the process of downloading and trying out PIVOT — it only works on VISTA and Windows 7 systems. But the video explanation shows to me that PIVOT could be a vital research tool for journalists.