Analytical Journalism

GIS can help reporters and editors

• Focus resources on the right area for a story.
• Predict where a story might happen next.
• Offer readers answers about why something happened.

GIS has been used for decades to help local and federal governments collect and analyze information to make better decisions. Most of the resultant data is freely available in the public domain. You can mix public data with your own to show new patterns and reveal hidden relationships about an event and place.

When a story moves from the paper to the Web, GIS does as well. Software such as ESRI's ArcGIS Server allows you to create dynamic maps that allow your audience to learn more. For example, The Philadelphia Inquirer used dynamic maps to show the relationship between liquor licenses and drunk driving arrests. They found a strong correlation between to the two and profiled the street with the most arrests.

In newsrooms, GIS is commonly used in three areas, election mapping, crime analysis, and environmental issues. Visit the links below for additional information.

• GIS for Elections
• MAPS—Crime Mapping Research Center at the National Institute of Justice
• GIS for Environmental Management
• National Institute of Computer-Aided Reporting (NICAR)—Supports journalists' use of technology, including GIS, in their reporting