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Hometown economic data
Dennis Cauchon
USA TODAY
[email protected]
00:00
Bureau of Economic Analysis :
A mystery, a romance, a love story
How this secret, accurate, precise, easy-to-use
data can make reporters seem smart, creative
and physically attractive…
Hometown economic data
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What the data is
Gross Domestic Product – an economic
measure of everything
 If it moves and has a price, it gets
counted.
 Income = GDP = expenditures
 National GDP/State GDP/County
GDP/Metro GDP
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Hometown economic data
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Where the data comes from
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Bureau of Economic Analysis
Part of Commerce Department
Synthesizes enormous range of data
Better name: Bureau of Economic
Accounting. It counts, doesn’t analyze.
Computes GDP/Personal Income/More
BEA: Friendly, smart, accessible
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What BEA tracks: the whole economy
If it moves and has a price, it gets counted.
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Income
Consumer spending
Wages and benefits
Taxes and government spending
State inflation rate
Industries
Location
Some data seasonally adjusted, annualized
Hometown economic data
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Benefits of BEA data
The data is easy to use
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Imports easily, accurately into Excel
Elegantly designed interface
Hundreds of synchronized data sets
Data converted to standard units of time,
place and measurement
Got a question? They answer the phone.
BEA cleans up the data – so you don’t have to.
Hometown economic data
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Benefits of BEA data
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Economic data well-suited for journalism
Terms closely match everyday language
“Best data available” standard
Harmonizes many sources: Census, BLS,
Treasury, Federal Reserve, private sources
Neutral, independent source
How’s business in your hometown?
Hometown economic data
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A gold mine
Categories:
 Consumer spending – 300 categories
 Income by industry – 100+ categories
 Government payments – 30 categories
 Commuter income – in/out each county
 Farm expenses – 10 categories
 Spending on taxis, lotteries, luggage,
musical instruments, paramedics, etc.
Hometown economic data
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BEA vs. Census
BEA: Thinks like an economist.
 Data is out fast.
 Best estimate – no margin of error
 No demographics
 Means
Census: Thinks like a sociologist.
 Data is slow-cooked to tender perfection
 Demographics matter
 Medians
Hometown economic data
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BEA vs. Census: Sample difference
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Census: Income = Money income.
Excluded: Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, Pell
grants, private medical and pension benefits
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BEA: “Personal income is the income that
is received by all persons from all
sources.” All above included.
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Demo of using BEA data
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How does a journalist use
this BEA data?
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How to get (mediocre) stories (fast)
Economic data for dummies
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(or reporters on deadline):
Google BEARFACTS or go to BEA’s regional page
BEA Regional Facts -- BEARFACTS
Click on map for your state or metro area
BEARFACTS provides summary of key data.
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How to get (great) stories (pretty fast)
Read the data, not the press release.
Click here:
 Bea.gov
 Regional
 Interactive tables
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Demo of BEA data
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State example
Click here:
 “State annual personal income and
employment, 1929-2010”
 “SA04-Income/employment summary”
 “United States”
 Click on any category to get all 50 states
for that category.
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Elegance!
Hometown economic data
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Local data release schedule
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2010
2011
2010
2010
2010
2011
state data, already out
state quarterly data, out June 22
metro income, in August
metro GDP, in September
county compensation, December
county personal income, early 2012
Data has same structure. Overlaps and
repeats. Each release more granular.
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County example
Click here:
 County interactive table for “Personal
Income and Earnings by Industry” (CA05)
 Select Ohio and Licking County
“CA35-Personal current transfers”
 Pick your state, county or metro area
 See history of all social programs
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DEMO OF
COUNTY BEA DATA
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How to make a great story
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Your ingenuity is the key
Use data to find BIG trends
Choose data that matter to readers
Use only percentage change and ranks
Think like your readers, not your sources
Talk like your readers
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What readers need
A phrase that says why the story matters.
Clearly declare:
“the most since…19XX”
 “ranked first (or last) in the state in…”
 “has fallen to its lowest share since…”
 “the fastest growing since…”
 “the biggest drop in XX decades.”
 “an historic collapse” or “historic growth”
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Listen to the barking dogs.
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