Data mining story examples
Here is a list of data mining story examples cited during presentations in 2015-16. Some are quick hits; some are the result of long-term projects.
Money matters
- Minimum wage job now falls far short of paying for college in Ohio. And here's an earlier version of the analysis from 2011<>/li>
- We set out to attempt to answer that question for a series of Midwest and Eastern states. We looked at all the major taxes from the local level up through the state and added up the bills. Example: Compare Greater Cleveland taxes to those in the Detroit area (calculator)
- Ohio's governor proposed a changes in the sales and income taxes. The rates would go down for both, but what the sales tax is applied to would be greatly expanded. We found one way to explore the impact on different income and family situations for the sales tax.
College sports money
- Uncovering the cost of college sports at Ohio's public universities; athletic spending up more than tuition — Award-winning 2011 package on money in college sports
- Cost of college sports, 2015 update
- Cost of college sports, 2016 update
In-house databases and that produce stories
- Find Cleveland weather details for any date since 1871
- Home sales
- Ohio food safety and restaurant inspection violations
Politics
- Gerrymandering has tilted political control in Ohio; Supreme Court ruling opens door for change
- Gerrymandering 2010 version
- Ohio lags U.S. jobs growth, as it has under a half-century of governors from John Kasich to Michael DiSalle
- Jobs numbers stronger under Democratic presidents historically; but details offer arguments for Republicans as well
- Blue states, red states; rich states, poor states; politics and household income
- How race explained the results of a high-profile prosecutor's election
- Trump and Clinton's collision course in eastern/southern Ohio
- Precincts without any Republicans in Cleveland
Elections
- Does off-year gubernatorial election cycle make Ohio appear more Republican than it is?
- Lake, Ottawa, Stark are the swing counties in swing presidential state of Ohio 5 things to watch in Ohio's presidential race
- Election 2008: Ohio Primary results
- Ed FitzGerald lost his own precinct and city in governor's race against John Kasich
- Looking for trends in elections based on majority black precincts vs. others: Cuyahoga County prosecutor's race 2016
- Analyzing elections based on mapping precincts: Trump vs. Kasich 2016
Sports
- Uncovering the cost of college sports at Ohio's public universities; athletic spending up more than tuition
- A 2016 update on the cost of college sports
- In NBA Finals, home crowds in Golden State and Cleveland could impact officials, not free-throw shooters, history says
- Which states produce the most NFL players? Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Ohio
- Which colleges and conferences have the most NFL players? LSU, Ohio State and SEC, Big Ten rank high
- How Cleveland Indians relievers did in holding leads in 2014
Taxes and government budgets
- Gov. John Kasich's vetoes cut $33 million from Cuyahoga County school districts; find details for each Ohio district (database)
- Many small businesses face one-year tax increase under Ohio budget bill
- Would you save taxes under Ohio Gov. John Kasich's tax overhaul plan?
- How much would an Ohio sales tax increase cost you?
- Gov. John Kasich's proposed personal exemption tax change could save families $2 to $3 a week (calculator)
- Property tax rates for 2015 up for most in Greater Cleveland/Akron (database)
- How much Cleveland will pay to reform its police department under consent decree
Census
- Millennials outnumber baby boomers; most young children now minorities; new U.S. census estimates
- Ohio income up, but state ranking drops; 2014 state, local census estimates for income, poverty
- Cuyahoga County 2nd nationally for population loss; region a net gainer for international migration
- Columbus is triple the size of Cleveland in area; answers to that and other census questions
Weather (Examples of quick-hits produced from in-house database)
- Cleveland sets record with 10th below-zero day
- Cleveland nears June record for rain in what has been a rainy month across Ohio
- Fall arrives on the heels of an already cool 2015 in Cleveland
Real estate (Examples of quick-hits produced from in-house database)
- Home prices up for most of Cuyahoga County in 2014; city-by-city details (database)
- Home prices up across most of Cleveland, strongest in Edgewater, Tremont, University
Earlier examples
Here are stories and graphics highlighted during presentations about the use of data to develop news stories.
Examples of Census stories
- Ohio's congressional apportionment since 1910
- Census 2010: Cleveland drops to 369,815
- Census 2010: Cleveland neighborhoods empty
- Census 2010: Results show new black migration pattern
- Census 2010: Results show growing Asian population
- Census 2010: 40 largest urban areas
- Census 2010: Why Census estimates were so far off for Cleveland and other big cities
- Census 2010 estimates: America's poorest cities
- Census 2008-10 estimates: Ohio's top cities for ethnic diversity
- Census estimates: School districts where the most children attend private schools
- A profile of waiters and waitresses
Examples of stories based on good data mining
- College money
- Taxes and property records
- Other records
- Payroll shows many made more than their bosses
- Federal campus crime data allows comparisons on reports
- Ohio's four casinos will bring $141.3 million to local governments, schools by late 2013
- Tax stats from the IRS
- Uncovering moving trends with IRS migration data
- Average pay in Cleveland area slips vs. U.S. over time
- Unemployment claims by ZIP code show unemployment hits nearly every area of Ohio
- Electons and campaign money
- Analysis of voting patterns and where budget cuts are planned shows governor's supporters to take biggest hits
- Analysis of demographics and voting patterns for proposed county council districts
- Digging into Ohio fund-raising in the 2008 presidential primary
- Ohio presidential election results by county, 1960-2004
- Presidential voting trends in Ohio
- Analysis of voting registration records shows big gains in certain Democratic areas
- Clinton doesn't win a single black Cuyahoga County precinct vs. Obama in 2008
- Weather