Schedule
Please consult Smith’s academic calendar.
Part I: What Is Data Journalism?
1. Tue, Jan 27
- Complete Pre-course questionnaire
- What is Data Journalism?
- In-class exercise:
- Choose one: What’s Going On in this Graph?
- Discuss the prompts
- Write a 6–12 word headline
- Draft a paragraph
- What data would you need to draw this graphic?
NoteHomework
- Finish Pre-course questionnaire
- Read Steier, J. (2025). The playbook used to “prove” vaccines cause autism. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/19/opinion/vaccines-autism-evidence.html
- Read Gabbert, E. (2022). A poem (and a painting) about the suffering that hides in plain sight. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/06/books/auden-musee-des-beaux-arts.html
2. Thu, Jan 29
NoteHomework
- Start Major Assignment 1
3. Tue, Feb 3
- Intro to Github
- Collaborating/Branches/Github
NoteHomework
- Read Schick, T., & Samayoa, M. (2025). How the pacific northwest’s dream of green energy fell apart. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/12/oregon-washington-green-energy-bonneville/
- Read Schick, T., & Samayoa, M. (2026). Our reporting showed washington ranks last in green energy growth. Now the state is working to speed it up. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-renewable-energy-projects-grid-upgrades
- Read Dailey, K., Prakash, A., Norman, Z., Nguyen, J., Luo, Z. S., & Cenziper, D. (2026). “A godsend”: ProPublica’s rx inspector tool is helping people find critical safety information on generic drugs. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-reshaping-decisions-generic-drugs
- Read Roberts, B. (2026). ProPublica publishes unreleased data on the origins of generic prescription drugs. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-generic-drugs-data
4. Thu, Feb 5
- Journalistic Style
- Discussion of ProPublica articles
NoteHomework
- Read Joel K. Bourne, Jr. (2010). Is another deepwater disaster inevitable? National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/gulf-oil-spill0
- Complete Deepwater Horizon assignment
- Post idea for Major assignment 1 to Slack
5. Tue, Feb 10
- Pull requests
- Writing with Numbers
6. Thu, Feb 12
- Major Assignment 2 - Investigative piece
- Nu-Way Homes
- Idea list from last time
- Data Sources
NoteHomework
- Major assignment 1 draft due Sunday at midnight
- Read Christensen, D., & Jochem, G. (2026). Hampden DA wiretaps suspects far more than other prosecutors, records show. The Shoestring. https://theshoestring.org/2026/02/01/hampden-da-wiretaps-suspects-far-more-than-other-prosecutors-records-show/
- Read Christensen, D. (2024). Corporate cash still flows to McGovern. The Shoestring. https://theshoestring.org/2024/09/13/corporate-cash-still-flows-to-mcgovern/
Part II: Investigative Journalism
7. Tue, Feb 17
- Introduction to The Shoestring (with Dusty Christensen)
8. Thu, Feb 19
- Peer workshop
- FOIAs and investigation
NoteHomework
- Major assignment 1 final draft due Sunday at midnight
- Post 1-2 ideas for your investigative piece on Slack
9. Tue, Feb 24
- Class discussion on ideas
10. Thu, Feb 26
- RALLY DAY – NO CLASS
11. Tue, Mar 3
- Sourcing & Interviewing 1:
- Interviewing tactics and ethics
- multimedia collection
- Teams assigned
12. Thu, Mar 5
- Sourcing & Interviewing 2:
- Journalistic attribution
- fact checking
- data validation
- Team Charters teamwork
13. Tue, Mar 10
- Present ideas for data management
- Data Wrangling Workshop 1
14. Thu, Mar 12
- Visit from Carmen Drahl
- Data Wrangling Workshop 2
NoteHomework
- Team Charter due Friday by 5 pm
Spring Break
15. Tue, Mar 17
- SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
16. Thu, Mar 19
- SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
Part III: Data Journalism
17. Tue, Mar 24
18. Thu, Mar 26
NoteHomework
- Data Visualization due Sunday at midnight
19. Tue, Mar 31
20. Thu, Apr 2
21. Tue, Apr 7
22. Thu, Apr 9
NoteHomework
- Major Assignment 2 - Long article draft due Sunday at midnight
23. Tue, Apr 14
24. Thu, Apr 16
NoteHomework
- Major Assignment 2 - Long article draft due Sunday at midnight
25. Tue, Apr 21
26. Thu, Apr 23
NoteHomework
- Major Assignment 2 -
closereaddue Sunday at midnight
27. Tue, Apr 28
28. Thu, Apr 30
References
Dailey, K., Prakash, A., Norman, Z., Nguyen, J., Luo, Z. S., & Cenziper, D. (2026). “A godsend”: ProPublica’s rx inspector tool is helping people find critical safety information on generic drugs. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-reshaping-decisions-generic-drugs
Roberts, B. (2026). ProPublica publishes unreleased data on the origins of generic prescription drugs. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-generic-drugs-data
Schick, T., & Samayoa, M. (2026). Our reporting showed washington ranks last in green energy growth. Now the state is working to speed it up. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-renewable-energy-projects-grid-upgrades
Christensen, D., & Jochem, G. (2026). Hampden DA wiretaps suspects far more than other prosecutors, records show. The Shoestring. https://theshoestring.org/2026/02/01/hampden-da-wiretaps-suspects-far-more-than-other-prosecutors-records-show/
Schick, T., & Samayoa, M. (2025). How the pacific northwest’s dream of green energy fell apart. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/12/oregon-washington-green-energy-bonneville/
Steier, J. (2025). The playbook used to “prove” vaccines cause autism. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/19/opinion/vaccines-autism-evidence.html
Christensen, D. (2024). Corporate cash still flows to McGovern. The Shoestring. https://theshoestring.org/2024/09/13/corporate-cash-still-flows-to-mcgovern/
Gabbert, E. (2022). A poem (and a painting) about the suffering that hides in plain sight. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/06/books/auden-musee-des-beaux-arts.html
Joel K. Bourne, Jr. (2010). Is another deepwater disaster inevitable? National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/gulf-oil-spill0