Tag Archives: ebook

The 2nd edition of Scraping for Journalists is now live

When I began publishing Scraping for Journalists in 2012, one of the reasons for choosing to publish online was the ability to publish chapters as I wrote them, and update the book in response to readers’ feedback. The book was finally ‘finished’ in 2013 — but earlier this year I decided to go through it from cover to cover and update everything.

The result — a ‘second edition’ of Scraping for Journalists — is now live. Those who bought the first edition on Leanpub will already have access to this version.

The second edition includes new scrapers for different websites, and a new chapter on scraping APIs and handling JSON.

As always, I’ll be continuing to update the book, including any examples from readers (if you’ve used the techniques in the book for a story, I’d love to know about it).

Snapchat for Journalists now available in Spanish

Snapchat para periodistas: una guía pensada para la redacción

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spanish-screenshots-snapchat

¿Cómo producir contenido noticioso para Snapchat? ¿Es posible calcular estadísticas de audiencia? ¿Qué sentido tiene invertir recursos y tiempo en producir contenido que va a desaparecer en 24 horas? Estas y otras preguntas aparecen respondidas en “Snapchat para periodistas”, una guía que detalla cada uno de los recursos de esta red social y cómo aprovecharlos en estrategias de publicación.

El libro, escrito por el periodista y profesor británico Paul Bradshaw, incluye muchos ejemplos de las cuentas de Snapchat de medios de Estados Unidos y Reino Unido, como el Huffington Post, la BBC, The New Yorker, CBS, Fusion y Mashable, entre otros.

La traducción al español incluye algunas capturas de pantalla de canales de medios latinoamericanos, además de las del original. Aunque el uso de Snapchat no está tan extendido en redacciones de habla hispana, hay algunos medios que mantienen cuentas, como Perú 21 y Todo Noticias (Argentina).

Además de ilustrar buenas prácticas, los ejemplos también documentan una parte de la historia de los usos de la plataforma –que puede ser útil especialmente para quienes no lleven mucho tiempo usándola.

El texto cubre todas las opciones técnicas (grabación de video y sonido, edición de texto, uso de lápices y filtros, etc.); estrategias de producción y diseño narrativo; almacenamiento de estadísticas de audiencia; algunos consejos útiles para construir una red de amigos; y otras funcionalidades más sofisticadas para usuarios avanzados.

Paul Bradshaw es autor de varios libros sobre periodismo, incluyendo otros dos disponibles en español: “Excel para periodistas” y “Periodismo de datos: un golpe rápido”.

Snapchat para periodistas: una guía pensada para la redacción https://t.co/gPIDGO2eJz pic.twitter.com/8S56Rf7906

— Paul Bradshaw (@paulbradshaw) December 7, 2016

My latest data journalism ebook is now finished

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My third data journalism ebook, Finding Stories With Spreadsheets, is now finished. It’s a book which covers a wide range of spreadsheet techniques from basic calculations like proportions through to techniques for merging datasets, looking for errors and working with dates.

I’ve tried to cover all the functions used most commonly within data journalism, including some specific to Google Sheets, but if you know of any that aren’t mentioned, or have a problem which isn’t solved by the book, I’d love to know.

Likewise, many chapters have sample datasets to try the techniques out, but I’m always on the lookout for particularly illustrative datasets or examples.

I’ll continue to add to and update the book (one of the reasons I publish with Leanpub) as I come across new techniques and examples. Let me know if you want me to add anything.

Periodismo de datos: Un golpe rápido

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My ebook Data Journalism Heist is now available in a specially reduced Spanish translation.

Periodismo de datos: Un golpe rápido was translated by Cuban journalist Barbara Maseda, and is available in PDF, iPad and Kindle formats. The recommended price is $5.99 but a special minimum price of $1.19 is available for journalists working in countries where the full price would be too expensive.

The publication follows the release of the Spanish version of my book on Excel for journalists, Excel para periodistas, earlier this year.

Spanish version of data journalism book now live: “Excel para periodistas”

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Cover image by Matt Buck at Drawnalism.

A Spanish translation of my ebook ‘Finding Stories in Spreadsheets’ is now live. The book is available for an initial special discount price of $4.99 for ‘early adopters’.

Meanwhile, I’m continuing to add chapters to the English version, which you can download from here. The latest chapters deal with using query-based URLs in Google Sheets, and generating random numbers for mapping.

Spanish version of ‘Excel for Journalists’ on the way

Finding Stories in Spreadsheets – ebook now live!

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Finding stories in spreadsheets book cover

Cover design by Matt Buck/Drawnalism

My latest ebook – Finding Stories in Spreadsheets – is now live on Leanpub.

As with Scraping for Journalists, I’m publishing the book week-by-week so the book can be updated based on reader feedback, user suggestions and topical developments.

Each week you can download a new chapter covering a different technique for finding stories, from calculating proportions and changes, to combining data, cleaning it up, testing it, and extracting specific details.

There’s also a downloadable spreadsheet at the end of each chapter with a series of exercises to practise that chapter’s technique and find particular stories.

Along the way I tackle some other considerations in telling the story, such as context and background, and the importance of being specific in the language that you use.

If there’s anything you’d like covered in the book let me know. You can also buy the book in a ‘bundle’ with its sister title Data Journalism Heist, which covers quick-turnaround techniques for finding stories in spreadsheets using pivot tables and advanced filters.

My next ebook: Finding Stories in Spreadsheets

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In a few weeks I will begin publishing my new ebook: Finding Stories In Spreadsheets.

The book has been written in response to requests from journalists who need a book on Excel aimed at storytellers, not accountants.

Finding Stories In Spreadsheets will outline a range of techniques, including ways to find the ‘needle in the haystack’ in text data, number calculations to make stories clearer, and methods of cleaning and combining data to tell new stories, including getting data ready for maps and charts.

The book will be available for a discounted rate for the first couple of weeks. To be informed when it’s available, register your interest on the Leanpub page.