Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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"Archiving Machines advances our understanding of memory, information, and data by charting the struggle between the computing technologies that archive data and the cultures of information that have led to platforms that assert control over its use. Amelia Acker examines the origins of data archives and the computing processes of storage, exchange, and transmission. Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty we experience today: from magnetic tape and timesharing computer models from the 1950s, to the establishment of data banks and the rise of database processing and managed data silos in the 1970s, to file structures and virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 years."
"This report is the result of a year-long project to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the 13 principal federal statistical agencies and the chief statistician’s office. Most importantly, we assessed their capacity to serve the nation in the years ahead in response to the movement for evidence-building; the changes in our population, economy, and society; and the increased demand for more frequent, timely, and granular information."
Details former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden's, abrupt firing from her position in 2025. She also speaks about the role of librairies, "growing from a common ground where people learned how to access information to a place people can navigate its abundance...'[a public library is]a trusted source in a world of misinformation and manufactured information.'"
"The increasingly hostile attitude of the new U.S. government towards science and academia leaves many of us deeply concerned— if not outright alarmed. In an effort to better understand the unfolding situation and navigate its potential impacts, we provide an overview of five types of threats, each supported by links to documented sources. We also propose a simple resilience framework and use it to interpret the multitude of actions of many different stakeholders that help to counter the threats and attacks. Finally, we explore the particular case of open science: does its openness make it more susceptible to these threats, or could it, in fact, be a source of greater resilience?"
Open letter to Congress explaining the potential impacts of insufficient funding and enforcement provisions on the 2030 US Census.
Calls for transparency on changes made to federal data collections and methodologies, plus halts to other changes that violate the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018.
"The nonprofit Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE) is publishing this report... to provide an in-depth analysis of the current disruptions to federal data and propose a draft Roadmap for Action. The report presents strategies for preserving critical data collections, finding new, additional data sources, and improving our national data infrastructure over time."
"This paper builds on the Roundtable and other research by CODE to describe the state of U.S. data related to public health, identify challenges, and present opportunities. It provides an overview of recent federal decisions that have impacted the government data and research landscape; implications of these actions for future research, data collection, and public health; and current opportunities for action."
"This report provides background on the statutory authorities that underpin the FSS (federal statistical system) and OMB (Office of Management and Budget)'s role in overseeing the system. This includes background on the OMB-issued Statistical Policy Directives (SPDs) as well as the components of the FSS. In a final section, the report discusses issues relating to oversight, OMB's role, and survey implementation that may be of interest to Congress."
"Despite providing objective, benchmark statistics on the condition and progress of U.S. education since 1867, the National Center for Education Statistics has been the center of scrutiny over the last dozen years for its lack of resources and agility as well as for its diminished stature and autonomy. Motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic exposure of NCES’ bureaucratic hurdles, Congress’ interest in reauthorizing the agency and its umbrella organization, and the 2022 National Academies’ report, A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics, we explore legislative changes and attendant administrative actions that would contribute to building the trust of respondents who provide data to NCES and users who depend on the agency’s products; our article offers recommendations to that end."
Documents cuts and alterations to federal data surrounding crime and the legal system, inlcuding: polce misconduct, LGBT+ inmates and victims of violent crimes, racial and ethnic dispartities, and terrorism and mass violece.
Describes historical and potential consequences of inaccurate economic data.
"The D.C. controversy reveals that while technology can provide the tools for transparency, it cannot, on its own, promise trust. An open data portal that recognizes this will not only report the numbers, but the context behind them, as well as openly address disputes or problems with the data's integrity, ensuring that residents trust the full story behind the numbers they're viewing."
"As data management becomes an increasingly important priority for state governments and the people they serve, experts examine what authority the federal government has to access private state information."
"[The US's] success dates back to World War II, when the foundation of the present-day research and innovation system was laid, brick by brick. The compact between research universities and the federal government — that the government provides funding for basic scientific research, and universities execute it — has led to biomedical and technological breakthroughs, prosperity, and national security. But as the United States approaches its 250th birthday, the country’s research edifice is in danger of collapse, battered by a wrecking ball known as the Trump administration."
"The European Commission’s new data-simplification plan is being met with optimism among research leaders, who see a valuable opportunity to advance open science and expand access to high-quality datasets. At the same time, they emphasise that these benefits will depend on the final legislation preserving clear and robust safeguards."
Argues for the utility of federal data collection, even if it is flawed. "We need multiple sources to triangulate toward Truth. If we cancel one because it's imperfect, it's like pulling the side mirror off of a car–we lose a key perspective that helps us understand what’s going on around us."
"This dashboard displays a range of data not collected or disseminated by FSAs to shed some light on the economy during the pause in government data collection during the shutdown and—even more importantly—to provide an accountability check against efforts to manipulate FSA data in the future."
