ABSTRACT
The world today is awash with so much information, that at times the amount is beyond what we can imagine. Some may be on paper, but most of what we call data can be found digitally. Investigative journalism is increasingly accessing this information. As important and as complicated as it can be to analyze data, journalists have emphasized that old-fashioned, shoe-leather reporting is just as important. The advent of personal computers and software programs, including Microsoft's Excel and Access, led more journalists to data-crunching and what soon was called computer-assisted reporting. The reporting was primarily based on government data that documented the lack of improvement. And then, using a Freedom of Information request, they scored an unexpected break. Gathering data has another advantage, especially when it is combined with the internet. There is nearly unlimited space on a news organization's website to post documents, data, pictures or other material.
