Technology

A decade ago using technology during an investigate piece would have been ahead of the time. Now it is an absolute essential to be tech savvy.  Like most of my generation, we grew up with technology and as the years go by it becomes more advanced.  Investigative reporter Matt Doig of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune discussed some of the importance in using technology such as excel.

                Combing through public records can be time consuming. Doig provided a great tip-LEARN HOW TO USE EXCEL.  He went on to discuss that for the most part public records are all electronic. Being able to plug that data into a computer program and having it sort through the data makes everyone have less of a headache.  

                The biggest example Doig provided with this technique was a housing fraud scam in Florida. When his investigative team received the public records of all the housing sales in Florida there was over 19 million transactions. By using excel they were able to input the data and set parameters to narrow the search down to 55,000 transactions.  One of the parameters they used were, the same house being sold within 90 days of the original transaction. Without excel and other computer programs that sort data, combing through those files would have taken a lot longer than it did.

                I’ve heard that an argument has three sides yours, theirs and the truth. By using databases with public records all you have is the truth. Being a well rounded reporter means using all of the resources available. Being an investigative reporter it is essential to use databases because the person you are investigating will not want to talk to you. If they do want to tell their side of the story that’s all it will be—their side. Use your access to public records and hopefully you’ll never be wrong.