Blog: Data Journalism – Embedding Tables

One of the best parts about The Wall is watching the way our data gurus crunch information. Their ability to filter large datasets into meaningful topics has tickled an itch I’ve long had about how data can be used to write and extend stories. I’m going to explore this area by blogging every few weeks about different tools journalists and non-programmers can use to embed data into their online stories. It’s a big topic, so I’ll begin with tools that help embed tables into stories. The first tools I’ll look at are tablesort.me, Google Docs and Zoho Sheet. Please, email me with any thoughts or suggestions.

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Defence losing out in asylum camp fight

By Bianca Hall and Edmund Tadros

Senior Defence brass opposed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s bid to use the remote Scherger RAAF base as a detention centre, documents released under freedom of information show.

Defence refused to release more than half the pages in the heavily redacted package of documents.

But the documents it did release about the arrangements between it and the Immigration Department show preparations to convert the base into a detention centre were being made on an ad hoc basis.

Read more about how Defence resisted its base being used for immigration detention at The Canberra Times.

National stories

Defence losing out in asylum camp fight

By Bianca Hall and Edmund Tadros

Senior Defence brass opposed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s bid to use the remote Scherger RAAF base as a detention centre, documents released under freedom of information show.

19 Sep, 2011: ADF refugee role attacked

By Bianca Hall and Edmund Tadros

The Federal Government is improperly using the Defence Department to support its refugee policies, the Australian Defence Association says.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has entered into contracts worth at least $176million since 2010 – including $35million with Defence - to prepare and operate the Curtin and Scherger remote RAAF bases as detention centres

12 Sep, 2011: Border security’s real cost

By Edmund Tadros and Bianca Hall

Detention centre operators, an international training company, a NSW Government department and a multinational IT firm are the big winners from the Federal Government’s immigration policies.

An analysis of tender data by The Canberra Times has identified, for the first time, the companies that have won the most lucrative contracts from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship since 2008.

ADF refugee role attacked

By Bianca Hall and Edmund Tadros

The Federal Government is improperly using the Defence Department to support its refugee policies, the Australian Defence Association says.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has entered into contracts worth at least $176million since 2010 – including $35million with Defence - to prepare and operate the Curtin and Scherger remote RAAF bases as detention centres.

Read more about the ADF’s refugee role at The Canberra Times.

Border security’s real cost

By Edmund Tadros and Bianca Hall

Detention centre operators, an international training company, a NSW Government department and a multinational IT firm are the big winners from the Federal Government’s immigration policies.

An analysis of tender data by The Canberra Times has identified, for the first time, the companies that have won the most lucrative contracts from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship since 2008.

Combined with information from DIAC, a fuller picture has emerged of the true cost of the Federal Government’s asylum-seeker policy, with a refugee advocate saying the money could be better deployed in cheaper community-based alternatives.

Read more about the cost of Australia’s immigration policies at The Canberra Times.