Helping journalists use data for investigative reporting

A team of Stanford University scholars are launching a data-driven initiative to help journalists find stories at a lower cost, to support local newsrooms explore public interest issues and fight against misinformation. With media outlets losing advertising revenues to digital platforms, some newsrooms no longer have the resources for investigative and public service reporting. Communication Professor James Hamilton directs Stanford's journalism program, which is part of the cross-departmental Journalism and Democracy Initiative. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero) The inability of news outlets to perform this traditional "watchdog" role puts democracy at risk, said communication scholar James Hamilton , who is concerned about what could happen - or not happen - when there are no reporters covering substantive issues in their communities. "Without investigative reporting, how will the public know what their elected officials are doing and which policies are working?" Hamilton asked. Hamilton, who is also trained as an economist, estimated that it can cost newsrooms up to $300,000 and six months of a reporter's time to do a deep dive into public interest issues like crime and corruption. In one case, it cost a newsroom $487,000 to produce an investigative series on local police shootings.