The deadline for applications for the Philip Meyer Award is approaching. Established in 2005, the award was created to honor Philip Meyer’s pioneering efforts to utilize social science research methods to foster better journalism.  The postmark deadline for entries is October 31, 2009.

The Philip Meyer Award is sponsored by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism; the Knight Chair in Journalism at Arizona State University; and IRE.




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Beth Kopine

Resource Center Director & Contest Coordinator

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc.

141 Neff Annex

Missouri School of Journalism

Columbia, MO 65211

Phone: 573-882-6668

Fax: 573-882-5431

Email: beth@ire.org

From the Nieman Foundation “Storyboard“:

Could World of Warcraft be the new War and Peace?

Whether Pacman or Halo first introduced you to video games, calling them “high art” might stretch the sensibilities.  But boardwalk nickelodeons led to movies like The Godfather—could a similarly radical transformation be underway with games?

Narrative journalism draws many of its core principles from novels, films, and short stories. Elements like character development, scene-setting, and a narrative arc work whether the tale is true or made up.

Games, however, are different.

“There are characters and stories in games, just like there are characters and stories in linear media, so it feels like you’re dealing with something that’s in the same ballpark,” says Chris Swain, associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Games Institute. “But I actually believe that they’re very different.”

Here at the IAJ, we have long been a fan — and user — of Prof. Robert Sahr's “Inflation Conversion Factors” web site and tools.  We were snoozing at the switch a bit and didn't notice that Sahr updated the site in early June 2009.  Check it out: it's filled with both PDF and Excel data/tools to calculate the comparative costs of most anything from 1774 to 2019.  The site also includes some fun data:

The charts on the following topics are available either by scrolling down or by selecting the appropriate link:

          Price levels and the US economy

          Millionaires Then and Now

          Pay of Presidents and Members of Congress

     Selected Government-related Items (number of government employees, Social Security and AFDC/TANF; stamp prices, minimum wage, mean and median family income)

          Presidential Election Costs 1860 to 2000

     National Government Budget:  Outlays (Spending), Revenue, Deficits or Surpluses, and National Debt

          Selected Commodity Prices (gasoline and gold) [gasoline revised June 2009, using June 2009 price data and estimated 2009 dollar conversion factors]

          Movies

          Budget Details