Gary Sherman's Desktop GIS: Mapping the Planet with Open Source Tools

When journalists are looking for software, they usually greet the words "open source" in one of two ways: with confusion, because open source software is still a daunting mystery; or with delight, because the software is available for free.

Open source software is simply software that is available at no cost and has its source code available to the public. A network of users and developers constantly enhances and expands the program.

Elizabeth Lucas is a master’s student at the Missouri School of Journalism and a data analyst for the IRE and NICAR database library.

Des Moines Register reporters Chase Davis and Perry Beeman spent months compiling and making sense of data for a series on air pollution in Iowa. But, with more than 1,600 polluting facilities across the state, there simply wasn’t space in the stories to mention any but the most noteworthy.

That’s where data editor James Wilkerson and digital projects editor Michael Corey came in. They developed an interactive map that allowed users to see information about the facilities near them.

"It localized the story to basically every community in Iowa," Davis said of the map.

Chris Hamby is a master’s student at the Missouri School of Journalism and data analyst in the IRE and NICAR database library.

It’s almost a tradition in Washington. If you’ve got some bad news to release, put it out on a Friday and hope it gets no more than a for-the-record story that many will overlook.

That’s not to say the Federal Aviation Administration was hoping for an under-the-radar reception when it released its database of aircraft wildlife strikes on a Friday morning in April. Still, the difficulties of doing a substantial story on a Friday, when many in the government are getting ready to leave town, were there nonetheless.

Robert Benincasa is a producer for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., and a lecturer for Georgetown University’s Master of Professional Studies program in journalism.

Every day, cities buy land to make way for parks, streets, sewer lines and flood plains. It’s often more than they need.

Sometimes they buy full lots in fairness to property owners who may not have use for the leftovers and sometimes they buy excess to prepare for future growth.

In some cases, cities buy swaths of land for projects that may never happen.

All these transactions can add up to hundreds of millions dollars worth of unused land, including worthless patches along highways and large plots of “conservation” land that developers covet.

Brent D. Wistrom is city hall reporter for The Wichita Eagle, where he routinely works on investigations and special projects.

I drive by an elementary school on my way to work every day. More than once there’s been a police cruiser idling in the school’s parking lot with lights flashing and the officer standing nearby.

Although those incidents never involved a major crime, on several occasions this year the Tulsa World has chronicled arrests at schools.

Gavin Off is the data editor at the Tulsa World in Oklahoma and a former analyst for the IRE and NICAR Database Library.

The latest installment of The Associated Press’ PharmaWater investigation seemed unlikely at the initial story conference: no ready data and seemingly nothing to expose.

Our national investigative team had broken the story this past year that tens of millions of Americans drink from water supplies that test positive for trace pharmaceuticals. They cover the gamut from antibiotics to psychiatric drugs to sex hormones, mostly in the form of unmetabolized medicines excreted by people.

Jeff Donn is a Boston-based member of the Associated Press national investigative team.

When my editor suggested a look at fire company response times, I thought I'd be done in a few weeks.

Arrival time minus call time equals response time. Find some examples, interview the fire victims, talk to some chiefs and run the story.

Mike Chalmers is a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del.

When you have detailed information about small areas, an interactive, thematic Web map can make all the difference, such as this one showing presidential election results by precinct.

Tim Henderson is a data analyst with The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y.

In December 2008 a massive winter storm pounded the Pacific Northwest with torrential rainfall and hurricane-force winds. Lewis County — about 90 miles south of Seattle — was the hardest hit with some areas recording up to 20 inches of rain in 48 hours. The flooding buried some towns under 10 feet of water and caused tens of millions of dollars in property damage.

Justin Mayo is a staff reporter for The Seattle Times. Seattle Times staff reporter Hal Bernton contributed to this article.