National story with bigger local impact

Stars and Stripes ran an AP story today about segregation in the United States. (Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century)

The piece looks at the national picture with some snippets of information from local sites. But that is to be expected. The AP writes for a global audience.

So how aobut local reporters using the same data doing a local story.

It's not hard getting the information. It is all free from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. (This is not to be confused with the actual census.)

Unfortunately the bureau is doing a major reworking of its ACS site — including adding more data. All should be right by the end of the day Dec. 14. I'll do an update then.

In the meantime, think about the links between global and national affairs and local communities. There are always lots of story ideas there for those who want to look.