The genesis of a meth head
Meth is everywhere these days. Beyond the bus stops crowded with strung out users and the labs that churn out their poison (note: I by no means condemn drug use, but the damage they cause at this stage of the game is inarguable) meth has appeared with increasing frequency on newspaper front pages. This is in part because of the growing prevalence of the aforementioned groups but also because of the work Steve Suo and the Oregonian have done in exposing and explaining their prevalence. Suo spoke today to the journalism class for which this blog exists about his landmark investigative report "Unnecessary Epidemic." The project started as a lark, when Suo was combing through Census data, on which his work at the paper had focused since the 2000 numbers were released--he's a bit of a math and computer whiz over at the paper, a skill he developed while earning a masters in public policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard. The numbers revealed a high incidence of foster care in Oregon. When Suo began to look into the facts, he kept hearing that drugs, particularly meth, tended to be involved.
As Suo began to look into meth further, he found Oregon "far and above first" when it came to meth treatment, a commonly used indicator of drug usage. When Suo asked around, he was told this was the result of Oregon's implementation of the Oregon Health Plan in 1996, which meant more people had access to treatment. Like any good journalist, Suo questioned the official answer. "Be skeptical of everything you see," he told the class.
Officials cited a rise in meth treatment from 1994 to 1997 as proof of the Health Plan's effects on treatment. But Suo found treatment had already been on the rise and actually dipped in 1996. This dip, and another two years later, became the focus of Suo's reporting. He began to aggregate various databases from Western states--the breeding ground for the spread of an addiction that now claims every state west of the Mississippi, "and the Eastern states are getting darker," Suo added. These databases showed a number of indicators, from purity to property crime, that followed the same pattern as his treatment numbers. (The collection and analysis of this data was the focus of Suo's presentation to the class of journalists aspiring to his job.)
I realize I've droned on far too long about the minutiae of Suo's work--this was an unreported side, I figured, but who really cares besides me?--and get to the power of his presentation. (Also, the bars are calling. If you want more background, just read the stories above.) The underlying theme behind Suo's work, and no doubt that of all invesigative and computer-driven reporting is persistence and intelligence. Suo was presented with myriad explanations from "experts," but he always double-checked them against his data, which often proved them wrong. This led to new data which led to more questions which led to new data which led to, well, you get the idea.
I've always felt the journalism classroom (except for Scott's, and I'm not just saying this for Brownie points) to be a little trying and overly pedantic. Journalism, like writing, is a skill and only so much can be taught. Hearing first hand accounts from practicing journalists tends to reveal more than text books, at least for me. What bore out from Steve's presentation was less how to do this kind of number crunching than how to approach it, interrogate it and report in general. Play the cankered dog: grab on and don't let go.
As Suo began to look into meth further, he found Oregon "far and above first" when it came to meth treatment, a commonly used indicator of drug usage. When Suo asked around, he was told this was the result of Oregon's implementation of the Oregon Health Plan in 1996, which meant more people had access to treatment. Like any good journalist, Suo questioned the official answer. "Be skeptical of everything you see," he told the class.
Officials cited a rise in meth treatment from 1994 to 1997 as proof of the Health Plan's effects on treatment. But Suo found treatment had already been on the rise and actually dipped in 1996. This dip, and another two years later, became the focus of Suo's reporting. He began to aggregate various databases from Western states--the breeding ground for the spread of an addiction that now claims every state west of the Mississippi, "and the Eastern states are getting darker," Suo added. These databases showed a number of indicators, from purity to property crime, that followed the same pattern as his treatment numbers. (The collection and analysis of this data was the focus of Suo's presentation to the class of journalists aspiring to his job.)
I realize I've droned on far too long about the minutiae of Suo's work--this was an unreported side, I figured, but who really cares besides me?--and get to the power of his presentation. (Also, the bars are calling. If you want more background, just read the stories above.) The underlying theme behind Suo's work, and no doubt that of all invesigative and computer-driven reporting is persistence and intelligence. Suo was presented with myriad explanations from "experts," but he always double-checked them against his data, which often proved them wrong. This led to new data which led to more questions which led to new data which led to, well, you get the idea.
I've always felt the journalism classroom (except for Scott's, and I'm not just saying this for Brownie points) to be a little trying and overly pedantic. Journalism, like writing, is a skill and only so much can be taught. Hearing first hand accounts from practicing journalists tends to reveal more than text books, at least for me. What bore out from Steve's presentation was less how to do this kind of number crunching than how to approach it, interrogate it and report in general. Play the cankered dog: grab on and don't let go.
posted by Matt C. at 19:50
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home