Samantha Sunne

We found more than a dozen places in Louisiana where the mayor sat on the bench of a court that pulled in a sizable share of the town’s revenue. The state says this arrangement could be unfair to defendants.

This book offers insights into data journalism from a global perspective, including datasets and interviews with data journalists from countries around the world. Written by two experienced journalists and data journalism teachers, Data + Journalism is essential reading for students, instructors and early career professionals seeking a comprehensive introduction to data journalism skills.

Fenton, population 226, brings in over $1 million per year through its mayor’s court, an unusual justice system in which the mayor can serve as judge even though he’s responsible for town finances.

This document provides a hands-on introduction to practical applications of schemas for online news. Produced in partnership by the Credibility Coalition and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

As much as $100 million a year is distributed through 22 private, nonprofit Student Scholarship Organizations, or SSOs. Many, if not most, of these schools are religious, and some teach curriculums that would not be allowed in public schools.

An investigation by The Current suggests that over the last five years the law has fallen short on a key promise: serving the state’s economically disadvantaged children. It also shows that state agencies failed to verify annual reports from the scholarship funds or provide oversight.

Excel, or spreadsheets in general, offers an easy and popular platform for data analysis. Number crunchers use this program to find answers, tease out trends and keep track of ever-sprawling amounts of data.

This tutorial will show you the basics of SQL, a tool used by programmers, scientists and others around the world.

In public, officials from the library system have said only that the library, which has been in its current location since 2016, was shuttered due to a "facilities issue." But internal emails show staffers and managers complaining of disturbing problems, including mold, mildew, dampness, odors and solid waste, after the reopening.

When it announced the Digital Transformation Center in 2017, DXC said it was attracted to Louisiana for its talented and diverse workforce. But over the next two years, they filed more than 150 documents asking for federal approval to hire workers from overseas.

Of the roughly 65 journalists who lost their jobs, 19 will remain as journalists in New Orleans, with 10 of them moving to The Advocate, our research found. Fourteen are leaving to practice journalism elsewhere.

If you get a speeding ticket in Avoyelles Parish, there’s probably a 30 percent chance it won’t show up on your driving record.

“Once locked in jail,” the lawyers wrote, “each person was told that they had no court date set and that they would not be released until they paid the entirety of their debts or posted a preset $20,000 secured money bond.”

The phrase “time is money” is more brutally true for freelancers than almost anyone else. After a few years of trying to map investigative stories against a freelance reality, I came up with a framework I refer to as “tiers.”

As an investigative reporter with way too many stories I want to do, these are the tools I use to keep up with sources, stories and leads at a rapid rate.