ISOJ 2008

1. Aron Pilhofer,
The New York Times
Opinionated Data

2. Interactive News
• Seven journalist/developers
• News-focused, data-driven projects
• “Web development at newsroom speed”

3. Interactive News
Where we’re a little different:
•Based in the newsroom
•Run by (relatively nerdy) journalists
•A news desk; not a software shop
•Focused on journalism, not news products

4. Interactive News
For example:
•Clinton schedules
•NFL Playoffs

5. Opinionated Data

6. (Un)opinionated Data

7. (Un)opinionated Data

8. • Sometimes works quite well, e.g.
ChicagoCrime
• What am I to understand from this?
• What is the context of this?
• Why should I care?
(Un)opinionated Data

9. Throwing data online without context or
analysis is what machines do, not journalists.

10. Opinionated Data

11. Biased Data

12. Slanted Data

13. Misleading Data

14. Opinionated Data
• It’s about making editorial decisions
• It’s about telling a story
• It’s about providing context, analysis
• In other words...

15. It’s about journalism

16. Opinionated Data
Interactives should:
•Steeped in context, analysis
•Invite exploration and discovery
•Provide a venue for sharing
•Be portable! APIs everywhere
•Data should be useful, not ubiquitous

17. Opinionated Data
Examples
•Ron Paul and Clinton vs Obama?
•Buy or rent?
•Faces of the dead
•Election results and election results

18. Opinionated Data
Payoff:
•Hundreds of emails...
•Bloggers stopped bashing us (for a day)
•Super Tuesday: 72M page views in 48 hours
•Biggest story of Super Tuesday? A map

19. Opinionated Failure

20. Fine for The Times, but....
• Doesn’t take huge, Times-like staff
• Data is everywhere
• Expertise is all over the newsroom, website
• Just need to utilize it

21. Aron Pilhofer,
The New York Times
aron@nytimes.com
(212) 556-5849
AIM: pilhofer