Susie Webb
A journalist telling data-driven stories
Data Design Writing About
R | Python | Lingusitic Data Analysis | RegEx |XML/JSON | C3/D3 | APIs | GitHub | GeoJSON/Shapefiles

Data

Hazardous infrastructure

R | APIs | Records Request | Mapping | Database | HTML/CSS/JavaScript

Hearst Television

I built a first-of-its kind database with a custom address lookup tool that shows the extent of failing, unsafe dams across the country. While a national database exists, 63% of its dams do not have a condition rating, so we requested the latest inspection records from each state. I compiled those unique records from each state's dam department and found that of the 40,000 dams that do have a condition rating, 25% are in poor or unsatisfactory condition.

School-adjacent shootings

Web Scraping | R | Python | Large Datasets | Mapping | HTML/CSS/JavaScript

Hearst Television

I analyzed 300,000 rows of data on school-adjacent shootings to understand the extent to which America's youth are exposed to violence near their schools and custom-built a school lookup tool to allow audiences to localize the national dataset. In addition to the national story, I worked with individual stations to further localize the data, creating a data memo for reporters.

D.C. Traffic Fatalities

R | Python

The Washington Post

My data analysis for this story uncovered that the district’s claims that major injury crash numbers had dropped were incorrect due to a data definition change in 2021 that led to the false decline. I pitched, co-reported and co-wrote this accountability-driven story. I also created a map and a chart to visualize the death toll.

Near Misses Continue in U.S. Skies

R | Python

Hearst Television

Following the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., I pursued various data sources to determine how often near mid-air collisions occur. I was able to comb through self-reported pilot accounts of near misses in the months and year following the crash and found that the circumstances that led to 67 people losing their lives continue to occur at airports across the country.

Racial Disparities in Police Twitter Feeds

Web Scraping | API | Linguistic Data Analysis | RegEx | R

Thesis

I conducted research through an independent study that found NC law enforcement offices are posting disproportionally more images of Black people on their Twitter feeds than white. The research involved web scraping, R data analysis, image analysis coding and data visualization. I also hired and mentored a research assistant to assist in the image analysis coding in order to boost the reliability of the study. I then pursued a thesis on the subject and expanded the scope to research news media headlines as well.

Protest Language in the News

Web Scraping | R | RegEx | Linguistic Data Analysis

Data in Linguistics Course Project

I investigated the use of language associated with violence or non-violence when reporting on Black Lives Matter Protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. To do this, I used web scraping techniques and R to analyze headlines from The Oregonian and The Oklahoman.

Quantifying Bat Population Loss

Mapping | Illustrator | JavaScript | R | Tabula

The Texas Tribune

A crux of the story was that there wasn't a lot of historical data on bat population counts. So, I had to dig for that information in unexpected places, like finding a local bat refuge and looking into thier case log database.

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