In the beginning there was the typewriter. Old school hacks, it seems, did not even have to be able to write, merely they had to have a guy on the inside, drink whiskey and own a trilby with a ticket shoved in the rim.
These days, the fast-advancing world we live in — not to mention stiff competition from both bloggers and a news-apathetic public — means journalists have to be far more savvy. Having already learned the virtues of how to capture video, layout a page in Quark Xpress and not drinking midweek (thanks for that sage-like advice, Richard Tait), last week we were taught about computer-assisted reporting, or CAR — to use its pun-rich acronym.
Being able to schmooze your contacts and then weave words effectively to tell the stories are essential tools for any journalist, but CAR can put your career into a whole different gear. Is is, quite simply, the art of delving into facts and figure nonchalantly spewed out by government departments and other bodies, in order to scrutinize their probity.
Although the idea has been around for 20 years in the US, it is relatively new to the UK. The main tools needed are Excel and other statistical packages. I can’t wait to get involved with this exciting new technique!
