MediaShift

MediaShift Innovation Spotlight

ProPublica Puts Spotlight on Tracking TARP Money

by Megan Taylor

ProPublica's Show Me the TARP Money is a simple map and chart reflecting the recipients of money provided through TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), a federal program that authorizes the U.S. government to buy assets from struggling financial institutions in an effort to remedy the subprime mortgage crisis. The site shows institutions that have been approved for assistance and keeps a running total of the number of institutions, the amount committed, and the amount invested so far. There is an RSS feed and a widget for the site as well.

• January 30, 2009
• No comments

MediaShift Innovation Spotlight

Innovation in Inauguration Coverage

by Megan Taylor

This week, instead of focusing on one innovative journalism project, I'd like to highlight some of the many projects that came up covering Barack Obama's inauguration. The first question I asked myself as I started collecting links was, "Well, this is a cool way to cover the event, but is it journalism? For example, I saw a lot of "official"...

• January 20, 2009
• 4 comments

MediaShift Innovation Spotlight

California Schools Guide: Database of Scores With News Hook

by Megan Taylor

California Schools Guide from the Los Angeles Times is a comprehensive data-based guide to private, public and charter schools in California. The guide includes test scores, enrollment, student-teacher ratios, demographics, teacher experience and reader comments. Schools can be searched by county, city or name, and ranked by each indicator.

• January 12, 2009
• 1 comment

MediaShift Innovation Spotlight

Big Pictures Help Tell Big Stories at Boston.com

by Megan Taylor

The Big Picture is a large-format photo-blog operated by the Boston Globe. Each entry focuses on one topic and presents around 30 images related to that topic: Recent posts have covered the 2008 Greek riots, the Hajj and Eid al-Adha, and scenes from Guantanamo Bay. The photos are collected from wire services and presented with captions at 990 pixels wide.

• December 19, 2008
• 5 comments

MediaShift Innovation Spotlight

Neighborhood Watch Puts Florida Home Sales on the Map

by Megan Taylor

St. Petersburg Times' Neighborhood Watch is a database application that tracks weekly house sales in Pinellas and Pasco counties, Florida. Readers can search for home sales by county, ZIP code or neighborhood. Median price and sale count trends are tracked and graphed at one year, six month, three month, and one month intervals. On a neighborhood level, the site plots geographical data on Google Maps and suggests listings to prospective buyers by ZIP code.

• December 3, 2008
• 1 comment