Institute for Analytic Journalism

National Public Radio (USA) had a good piece on the air this Sunday morning about Edward Tufte, the infographics guru. The radio piece, "Edward Tufte, Offering 'Beautiful Evidence" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5673332)
does a good job of explaining, for the ear, information graphics, and we applaude the folks there for taking on a topic that most radio producers/editors would avoid because "there ain't no sound." Well, yes, but....

Also, the NPR web site included a nice film clip of Tufte during a lecture. Be sure to check it out.

Edward Tufte makes a point during a seminar. Graphics Press

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Using GIS to increase tax revenues

by JTJ on Sun 20 Aug 2006 09:46 PM MDT

An interesting piece in the NYTimes on Sunday, "Finding Tax Revenue Through Aerial Imaging," highlights yet another industry and example of how public administrators are using GIS, in this case to increase the revenue stream. We think that if journalists are not hip to these tools, then they cannot ask the right questions of the public's administrators.

"...Until recently, assessors had to accept homeowners’ claims or visit the properties themselves. But in 2003, the city hired the Pictometry International Corporation, a company in Rochester, N.Y., to provide images of every building in the city.

Once a year, Pictometry flies a Cessna 172 over Philadelphia, taking thousands of black-and-white photographs. The low-altitude shots, unlike satellite images, show buildings at about a 40-degree angle. Pictometry’s computers organize the photos so they can be searched by address. Nearly 200 employees in Mr. Mescolotto’s office have the software on their computers.

Pictometry isn’t the only company offering aerial photos to assessors, but it has won adherents in more than 200 cities and counties, according to Dante Pennacchia, Pictometry’s chief marketing officer. Its competitors include an Israeli company, Ofek International, working with Aerial Cartographics of America, based in Orlando, Fla...."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/realestate/20nati.html

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