Collection of Miscellany

The Archive:
Journal of a Technologist.

A rigorous documentation of experiments in automated journalism, spatial data, and the intersection of code and narrative.

Teaching a one-hour throwaway news apps class

A step-by-step guide.
code
webdev
AI

A step by step guide to create a quick search of some data and publishing it on the internet for free.

Apr 30, 2026
Matt Waite

Parsing PDFs with Antigravity

In a word: Gobsmacked.
code
analysis
AI

The author highlights Google’s new Antigravity tool as a promising solution for automating tedious PDF parsing in data journalism.

Nov 24, 2025
Matt Waite

An R + LLM starter kit

code
analysis
AI

This blog post shares a starter kit of R libraries and external tools for integrating large language models into data journalism workflows.

Mar 7, 2025
Matt Waite

An academic integrity-friendly code pal for R Studio

How to plug in an LLM to help – but not too much – in a world that wants to cheat
AI
code
r
education

This post explains setting up a free local AI code assistant for R Studio to help journalism students learn coding without enabling cheating.

Nov 26, 2024
Matt Waite

Nebraska’s season long slide on offense

code
football
huskers

This blog analyzes Nebraska’s declining offensive performance using expected points added metrics to show their efficiency dropping as the season progresses.

Nov 8, 2024
Matt Waite

A simple example of AI agents(?) doing journalism(?) work

code
analysis
AI

The author shares a simple, working example of AI agents performing journalism tasks using R and Google Gemini.

Oct 23, 2024
Matt Waite

Another year, another attempt, another bracket disaster

code
analysis

The author details a failed machine learning attempt to predict the NCAA tournament after their algorithms missed every national title winner.

Mar 28, 2022
Matt Waite

Nebraska is not the best worst team in basketball again. They’re third best worst.

huskers
code
analysis

Nebraska has fallen from the best worst team to the third best worst in college basketball, behind West Virginia and NC State.

Mar 20, 2022
Matt Waite

Is Nebraska the best worst team in college basketball?

huskers
code
analysis

This analysis argues Nebraska is college basketball’s best worst team based on their strong Simple Rating System despite a poor record.

Mar 28, 2021
Matt Waite

How I (poorly) filled out my NCAA bracket with machine learning

code
analysis

The author uses machine learning to fill out a poorly informed NCAA bracket with disappointing results.

Mar 22, 2021
Matt Waite
 

Choosing a World Cup Team to root for in each match: An algorithmic approach.

The blog post humorously argues that personal experiences and quirks prevent an algorithmic approach to choosing a World Cup team.

Jun 12, 2018
 

I wrote a data journalism manual for my college in 1997. They never used it, but they kept it.

data journalism
retro

The author reflects on a 1997 data journalism manual he wrote for his college, which they kept despite never using it.

Mar 24, 2016
Matt Waite
 

Using Lego to teach data visualization

The author shares a lesson plan using Lego bricks to teach students about data visualization constraints without relying on software tools.

Jan 23, 2015
Matt Waite
 

Everything I Know About Data I Learned From 70s Album Rock…

data journalism
talks

This blog post describes a 2014 Ignite talk connecting data insights to 70s album rock radio.

Dec 9, 2014
Matt Waite
 

A classroom experiment in Twitter Bots and creativity

Students in a story bots class demonstrate their creativity by building diverse Twitter bots ranging from poetic mashups to automated news alerts.

Nov 20, 2014
Matt Waite
 

UNL CoJMC students: Two data/programming/future courses for the fall

Two fall courses for UNL CoJMC students cover data journalism and creating automated storybots.

Mar 31, 2014
Matt Waite
 

A 5-step NICAR recovery plan

This post outlines five steps to maintain NICAR conference momentum by turning new skills into immediate work projects.

Mar 2, 2014
Matt Waite
 

A small step toward solving the our curriculum is too full problem

The author argues that journalism schools should integrate data and math skills into reporting classes to address curriculum concerns without sacrificing fundamentals.

Feb 11, 2014
Matt Waite
 

Unconference panel pitch I will someday make

The author seeks a journalism problem to solve with a MakerBot for an upcoming unconference panel pitch.

Sep 12, 2013
Matt Waite
 

The Minimum Viable Participant

The blog proposes the Minimum Viable Participant as a flexible baseline of skills for student journalists to adapt to the digital future.

Sep 3, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Replacing Reporters With Robots I Might Be

The post discusses how robotics and bots will increasingly impact the future of reporters.

Jul 15, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Here Is John Keefe And I Talking About The Near

The post shares a video of John Keefe and the author discussing sensor journalism at a Tow Center workshop.

Jun 10, 2013
Matt Waite
 

A new way for data journalists to thwart newsroom IT: the Raspberry Pi

A data journalist describes using a cheap Raspberry Pi to bypass restrictive newsroom IT and automate data scraping tasks independently.

May 17, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Adventures in prototyping

The blog post describes using microwaved dirt and linear algebra to measure soil moisture in a journalism school.

May 1, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Writing stories with code, part 2: conditional leads from trends

This blog explains how to update a code script to write news leads that reflect crime trends over multiple consecutive years.

Jan 28, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Writing stories with code

The post argues that while bots can write simple data stories, true humanity makes compelling storytelling impossible for machines.

Jan 26, 2013
Matt Waite
 

Drones Soldering Irons Micro Controllers

The post advocates for experimenting with tools like drones and microcontrollers to transform journalism education.

Dec 5, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Numeracy

The author exposes how a tuition hike at the University of Nebraska cancels out the savings from reducing graduation credit hours.

Jun 9, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Help me plan a hacker space/drone lab

The author seeks suggestions for requirements to build a hacker space and drone lab at a journalism college.

May 16, 2012
Matt Waite
 

If you were teaching a course in data visualization…

The author seeks feedback on their draft syllabus for a new data visualization course covering theory, tools, and real-world projects.

May 10, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Toward a solution to the more tech in J-school problem

journalism
education
manifesto
rant

This post argues that journalism schools struggle to fit increasing tech requirements into a limited curriculum while maintaining core reporting skills.

Mar 14, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Using Python to access tweets from the command line

This blog post guides beginners through using Python on Ubuntu to access tweets via the Twitter API for a journalism class.

Feb 2, 2012
Matt Waite
 

A completely arbitrary list of takeaways from two unconferences

The author shares arbitrary thoughts on journalism school curricula and the shortage of student journalist-developers based on recent unconferences.

Jan 17, 2012
Matt Waite
 

A word of advice for Code Year participants

This blog advises Code Year participants to unplug from digital distractions to focus deeply and effectively learn programming.

Jan 9, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Data journalism class description: your thoughts?

The author seeks feedback on a data journalism class description that teaches reporters to analyze digital data for investigative stories.

Jan 4, 2012
Matt Waite
 

Thinking out loud: The management wisdom of Battlestar Galactica

The author proposes an Ignite talk on applying project management wisdom from Battlestar Galactica’s Admiral Adama to news product development.

Nov 15, 2011
Matt Waite
 

Help me refine an incomplete idea

The author seeks reader feedback to refine a proposal for a specialized reporting institute focused on data journalism and news apps.

Oct 17, 2011
Matt Waite
 

Journalism students vs. tech-focused students

A faculty member worries that journalism students’ self-selecting inability with coding threatens the future of an industry that needs technical skills.

Oct 14, 2011
Matt Waite
 

News nerd rage: the trouble with conferences

The author critiques journalism conferences for over-reliance on uninspiring panels and questions their overall value despite a decade of speaking experience.

Oct 3, 2011
Matt Waite
 

Me vs. 130 Journalism 101 students: The epic Q&A

journalism
future
manifesto
politifact

The author shares answers to Journalism 101 students’ texted questions about their blog and career advice.

Sep 27, 2011
Matt Waite
 

Some very smart posts about killing your CMS

journalism
data

This post highlights two insightful articles advocating for replacing legacy CMSes with modular web delivery platforms.

Jul 15, 2011
Matt Waite
 

Take A Few Minutes And Watch This And 1 Tell Me

research
journalism
future

The blog post praises a technology capable of covering natural disasters for impactful journalism, highlighting how futuristic these tools have become.

Jul 15, 2011
Matt Waite
 

What would you want out of a class taught by a journalist-programmer?

journalism
education

A journalist-programmer seeks ideas for a new 2010 class blending journalism, programming, and entrepreneurship.

Nov 23, 2009
Matt Waite
 

The key lesson I learned building PolitiFact: Demos, not memos

journalism
django
politifact
newsapps

The author shares the key lesson from building PolitiFact that using demos rather than memos makes ideas concrete and reduces unproductive meetings.

Apr 27, 2009
Matt Waite
 

Telling the Google Bot no

newsapps

This blog post explains how a Tampa Bay mug shots site stopped Google from indexing permanent criminal records by expiring photos after 60 days.

Apr 12, 2009
Matt Waite
 

Build something or STFU

journalism
newsapps

The author urges journalists to stop complaining and build something real instead of just writing about what they think should be done.

Mar 3, 2009
Matt Waite
 

Twitter, marketing and the devil

newsapps
twitter
marketing

The blog post argues against using automated tools for Twitter marketing, calling them soulless spam that fails to deliver results.

Jan 25, 2009
Matt Waite
 

Data = Content: Content = Data

journalism
data
content
platforms
newsapps

The post argues for treating content as data to innovate journalism at its core rather than focusing on external platforms.

Jan 20, 2009
Matt Waite
 

How not to be a Wordpress hero

journalism

The blog post advises journalists to avoid being Wordpress Heroes by using personal experience, conducting actual research, and maintaining humility in their writing.

Jul 18, 2008
Matt Waite
 

Thoughts on Everyblock and context

data
journalism
newsapps

The author argues that EveryBlock provides geographic context rather than being a data ghetto and should not be feared by newspapers.

Jan 28, 2008
Matt Waite
 

Molten content, data ghettos and why your CMS problems are an excuse, not a reason

journalism
data
newsapps

The author advocates for molten content to escape data ghettos by dynamically integrating information across platforms instead of siloing it.

Jan 12, 2008
Matt Waite
 

Data ghettos

data
journalism
newsapps
rant

The author criticizes newspaper data hubs for being uncreative ghettos that limit user exploration to simple search boxes instead of browsing.

Jan 4, 2008
Matt Waite
 

Why the journalist in programmer/journalist matters

journalism
newsapps

This blog shares lessons on building PolitiFact by keeping the initial team small to maintain decisiveness and vision.

Sep 11, 2007
Matt Waite
 

Announcing PolitiFact

politifact
journalism
data
newsapps

This blog post announces PolitiFact, a data-driven political fact-checking website inspired by traditional newspaper truth squads.

Aug 22, 2007
Matt Waite
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