palewire

Hey. My name is Ben Welsh. This is my website.

If we haven’t met already, it’s pretty quick. I’m a native Iowan living in Los Angeles. I like to use this space to post about whatever I’m off on at the moment. It’s supposed to be fun, but I’m not making any promises.

I work as a reporter, albeit a somewhat unconventional one. My job calls on me to specialize in what is often called computer-assisted reporting. Journalists in the past were often hack novelists. I'm a hack web developer. I use computers to collect, organize, analyze and present large amounts of information. Databases. Web apps. Maps. That stuff.

I work at The Los Angeles Times, a daily newspaper and 24-hour website based in Southern California. Nothing I write here should be read as the opinion of that organization.

Before working at the Times, I worked on investigative projects at The Center for Public Integrity, covered state politics and elections in Jefferson City, Missouri, helped produce long-form documentaries for cable channels like CNN and Discovery Times, and pitched in on some television and newspaper reporting in Chicago. I earned a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism — where I worked at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) — after receiving my undergraduate training at DePaul University.

Technical Skills

1. Programming with Python and Perl
2. Data-driven web development with Django
3. Database development with MySQL, PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server
4. Enterprise server administration of Apache and mod_python with RHEL
5. Online cartography with GeoDjango, PostGIS and OpenLayers
6. UI development with JavaScript, CSS and basic web standards
7. Getting it done on deadline

Selected News Apps

1. Mapping L.A.: Neighborhoods
2. Hollywood Star Walk
3. Mexico Under Siege
4. Chatsworth Metrolink Train Crash
5. California's War Dead
6. California Schools Guide
7. More...

Selected Bylines

1. LAPD's public database omits nearly 40% of this year's crimes
2. L.A.'s Westside: Where readers say it starts
3. Only 48% of California high schools meet federal standards, even with easier measure
4. Pakistan’s $4.2 Billion “Blank Check” for U.S. Military Aid
5. Federal loans go for risky business
6. Clear Channel gives Tate Talking Points Against XM-Sirius merger
7. More...

Documentary Production Credits

1. Nobody Told Me The Road Would Be Easy (WMAQ)
2. Keeping The Faith: Becoming a Priest in Today’s Catholic Church (Discovery/Times)
3. The Fight Over Faith (CNN Presents)

Awards

1. 2009 "14 under 40" list of alumni success stories, DePaul University Magazine
2. 2008 IRE Certificate, Winner, Local Circulation Weeklies
3. 2008 Scripps Howard Foundation, Winner, Web Reporting
4. 2008 SEJ Award, Winner, Outstanding Online Reporting
5. 2008 SPJ-Fort Worth First Amendment Award, Green News
6. 2007 SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Awards, Winner, Online Non-Deadline Reporting (Independent) and Online Investigative Reporting (Independent)
7. 2007 AHCJ Awards, Winner, Trade/Online Journals/Newsletters
8. 2007 IRE Certificate, Winner, Online

Social Media

1. Delicious
2. Digg
3. Facebook
4. Flickr
5. Flixster
6. Foursquare
7. Github
8. Kiva
9. Last.FM
10. LinkedIn
11. Readernaut
12. Twitter

Contact Me

1.  palewiredotcom
2.