It’s time for us to start making the news a little nerdier.
Nate Silver has brought together a wide range of talent at FiveThirtyEight to create a wide range of stories on politics, economics, science, life and sports, all with a relentless focus on data.
Our team also has a broad set of skills and experience in methods that fall under the rubric of data journalism. These include statistical analysis, but also data visualization, computer programming and data-literate reporting. So in addition to written stories, we’ll have interactive graphics and features. Within a couple of months we’ll launch a podcast, and we’ll be collaborating with ESPN Films and Grantland to produce original documentary films. You’ll find us on television and radio, and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We’ll share data and code on Github.
Which means, of course, that the Right will attempt to hammer it for having an unashamed Liberal bias on the issues. ^_^ Because Republicans attempt to unskew the data on
everything, and the MSM don't [sic] seem to know what
data are [sic], much less how to analyze them.
I'm not going to attempt any deep analysis today. This is a rich source of data and analysis on many subjects. I will be mining it regularly, and will have much more to say later on. The real problem I foresee is keeping it from turning into a time sink, because there might be too much of interest, and of better-than-usual quality there. I am disappointed that there is nothing on several important political topics like Obamacare signups or polling on Marriage Equality or the Jolly/Sink contest today, and nothing about when Silver will bring out this season's House and Senate electoral models based on the polling aggregates. But there is a story on polling vs. propaganda and intimidation in Crimea. We'll see how it all develops.
These are the site's initial top stories.
Manifesto
What the Fox Knows
By Nate Silver
Ukraine
Many Signs Pointed to Crimea Independence Vote — But Polls Didn’t
By Carl Bialik
Method to the Madness
Building a Bracket Is Hard This Year, But We’ll Help You Play the Odds
By Nate Silver
Shakespeare In Love
Parsing Is Such Sweet Sorrow
By Emma Pierson
and here is what's running in the datalab.
2:23 PM
You Just Had Sex, So How Many Calories Did You Burn?
1:20 PM
‘Data Is’ vs. ‘Data Are’
1:07 PM
Baseball’s Most Surprising Seasons, Good And Bad
12:02 PM
The Piles of Cash That Never Existed
11:25 AM
Wichita State’s Strength of Schedule Isn’t the Problem
11:01 AM
Toilet Seat Covers: To Use or Not to Use
10:35 AM
Why Gretzky Had It Easy
8:47 AM
The Quest to Count City-Dwelling Rats
Mar 14
The Quiet Dominance of Steve Smith
Mar 14
Billions to Treasury Could Dry Up
What do you think?