Here at the IAJ we believe one of the reasons people come to newspapers or broadcast stations is to get the data which, upon analysis, they can turn into information that helps them make decisions.  Ergo, the more meaningful data a journalistic institution can provide, the greater value that institution has for a community.

A good example arrived today thanks to Tara Calishain, creator of ResearchBuzz.  She writes:
** Getcher Cheap Gas Prices on Google Maps
<http://www.researchbuzz.org/getcher_cheap_gas_prices_on_google_maps.shtml>

"Remember when I was saying that I would love a Gasbuddy / Google Maps mashups that showed cheap gas prices along a trip route?   Turns out somebody has already done it --  well, sorta. You can specify a state, city  (only selected cities are available) and  whether you're looking for regular or diesel  fuel. Check it out at  http://www.ahding.com/cheapgas/ "

The data driving the map is ginned up by GasBuddy.com  It's not clear how or why GasBuddy gets its data, but it offers some story potential for journalists and data for news researchers.  It has an interesting link to dynamic graphs of gas prices over time.

Surely the promotion department of some news organization could grab onto this tool, tweak it a bit,  promote the hell out of it, and drive some traffic to and build loyalty for the organization's web site. 

That's the obvious angle, but what if some enterprising journo started to ask some questions of the data underlying the map?  What's the range in gas prices in our town/state?  (In Albuquerque today, the range was from $2.04 to $2.28.)  Are there any demographic or traffic flow match-ups to that price range?  How 'bout the variance by brand? 

Would readers appreciate this sort of data?  We think so, especially if there was an online sign-up and the news provider would deliver the changing price info via e-mail or IM much like Travelocity tells us when airline ticket prices change by TK dollars.