Databases

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Corbitt on February 15, 2008 at 11:26am

This may fall under the 'real estate transfer data' example, but I know of one paper that published a simple list of home vaulations that was highly trafficked. Building a database of home evaluations by town and over time could be interesting.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Ritchie on March 5, 2008 at 9:02pm

We are working toward building a number of databases, which sister papers in other markets say are big traffic drivers:

- building permits
- real estate transactions
- arrest warrants
- Sports stats (local)
- Bridge inspection info
- state homicides
- foreclosures
- bankruptcies

These are just a few that we have seen out there.

check out the Naples News Press at news-press.com and the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Gazetteonline.com for some good database ideas.

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Permalink Reply by Fred Schecker on March 6, 2008 at 4:47am

Thanks Thomas. We have just begun experimenting with CASPIO. The newsroom is working on a crime database. I work on the local entertainment/community team. We are working on a local bands database.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Buttry on March 14, 2008 at 4:36am

Fred,

I'm writing a report for API about databases and how media organizations are using them and should be using them to provide community answers, build audience and generate revenue. I'll post a link to this site when we release the report. In the meantime, I recommend this N2 Blog post I wrote last fall with lots of links to good databases that newspaper sites have developed.

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