This week the news apps team launched a fun little user-generated content project: a map with reader reviews of the best, worst, most kid-friendly state parks, and the best places to camp. We put out a reader callout using a Google form to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Washington state parks and received more than Read More
I’ve learned a lot since I started as the news applications editor in November. And I’m still learning every day. But I know that it’s hard, and that people at places smaller than The Seattle Times have to fight even harder cultural battles. So over at 10,000 Words, I’ve written about the 15 things I’ve Read More
Rewind to my middle school and high school years. We had Xanga and Myspace and LiveJournal and Photobucket and DeviantArt. Most sites didn’t take privacy seriously yet, and options for making a page private were sparse. Digital cameras were just starting to become affordable. The adults weren’t on social media yet — hell, even most Read More
I know the idea of doing “Top 10″ posts feels a little cliche and cheap, with front pages of Cosmo magazine first coming to mind. But let’s face it — people read lists. It gives them something easy to consume at a glance. It gives them a point of reference for navigating a story: I Read More
I’m happy to announce the launch of the latest project from the Seattle Times news applications team: a guide to all Washington state lawmakers, including sponsored bill information, campaign contributions, bios, contact information and committees. The guide is an evolution of our first-ever news app, The Seattle Times election guide that we launched in August. Read More
Washington state lawmakers have a big problem: The next two-year state budget faces a shortfall of up to $1.3 billion. And on top of that, the state Supreme Court has said Washington isn’t meeting its obligation to fully fund basic education. Meeting that mandate could cost an additional $500 million to $1.7 billion over the Read More
I’m honored and thrilled to announce that today is my first day in a new role at The Seattle Times: the company’s first news applications editor! It’s no secret that this is the direction I was headed. Though I’ve been working for about a year and a half at The Times as a homepage producer, Read More
Newspapers have one brand that really matters: The centuries’-old name at the top of the masthead. Anything that falls beneath that logo is held to a high standard of credibility. Secondarily, the byline attached to each published piece can hold its own allegiances — and those bylines are also important. But I’d love to see a Read More
How can we empower our readers to easily navigate through elections coverage and make informed decisions? It’s a question we ask every year around this time as we sift through our months of articles around people and issues leading up to November. We publish a wealth of journalism, but have no easy way of tying Read More
My latest infographic for the Center for Investigative Reporting / California Watch helps visualize how California’s prison realignment program has fared so far. The 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act redirects low-level offenders from state lockups to county jails, while providing local governments with millions of dollars and broad discretion over how to spend the money Read More
The latest project from our tools and apps news apps team is a local Olympian database that lets you track local athletes in London. The glorified table lets you see at a glance: Day and time athletes compete (both local and London time) Channel where you can watch the competition Bio information about each athlete Read More