Sports Analytics Group — The Campfire

Data journalism editor turned advisor: helping writers turn models into stories worth reading, after publishing a few of my own.

I joined the Sports Analytics Group as a data journalist, writing data-driven articles for the organization’s site, including a study of ideal playstyles by tennis surface and an analysis of what March Madness Cinderellas have in common (both live at the observatory). Then I became data journalism editor, overseeing a cohort of writers, and now advise them.

Editing data journalism is a double review: the analysis has to be sound and the story has to be worth a stranger’s time. I give feedback on everything from scraping and modeling to visualization and prose. A correct model buried in an unreadable article convinces nobody, and a great story built on a shaky model shouldn’t convince anyone.

Along the way I also coordinated the College Sports Analytics Conference, organizing external partnerships and student programming, the logistics side of getting people excited about this field.