Hands-on FOI, Indianapolis Star shows us the future
Thanks for this tip from former FOI committee chairwoman and president Kyle Niederpreum:
The Indianapolis Star has assembled some great resources at its online
Data Central site. What a great way to connect with readers by providing these important documents in a searchable format. The site also has excellent links about Indiana's FOI laws. This ought to be the future for news organizations to help the public both use public data and understand FOI laws.
Just to show how successful the site has been
Editor Dennis Ryerson reports that the state salary database has attracted more than 1 million page views.
The data associated with the Star's investigation of college sports funding has also had more than 400,000 page views as readers view the analysis of 164 NCAA Division 1 schools Ryerson writes:
"Among other things, the data, analyzed by Star
reporter Mark Alesia, revealed that students and the public at large subsidize
big-time college sports to the tune of $1 billion in direct university support
and student fees. Millions more are provided through such things as tax-exempt
loge payments and donations.
The database is being used by congressional committees and
the Congressional Budget Office to examine whether and how college sports serve
the tax-exempt purpose of education."
Among the offerings are:
-- Interactive homicides map
-- Indiana state employees salaries
-- School test results
-- NCAA schools funding data
-- Indiana protection litigation
-- Indiana Department of Education schools database
-- State employee contact information
-- Joel Campbell, FOI Committee Chairman