Projects

Covid tracker
graphics

Public Media Covid-19 Tracker

Collaborated with fellow public media developers to build an auto-updating, county Covid-19 tracker. In addition to case and death data, the tracker pulls in data on at-risk populations to contextualize outbreak risk. This project is open source and available for anyone to replicate for their own state.

Housing security indices
writing data analysis graphics

2020 Housing Security Indices

Sourced and combined multiple datasets to produce city rankings on the health of local housing. The indices provided a starting point for articles analyzing the most and least housing-secure cities.

Traffic congestion
writing

2020 saw a historic decrease in traffic congestion, though not everywhere

Combined city-level data on traffic congestion patterns during Covid-19 with climate change mitigation reporting data to show that many cities with increased congestion during 2020 also do not publicly report mitigation goals.

Biden broadband
writing data analysis

Biden’s broadband plan comes at a pivotal moment for the digital divide

Used multiple internet speed and accessibility datasets to show that one of the US government’s primary sources for funding broadband expansion projects often understates broadband access, especially in large cities.

Ohio Watershed Safety Analysis
data analysis graphics writing audio

Ohio Watershed Safety Analysis

Analyzed FOIA and scraped data to reveal that while more hazardous materials are being shipped down the Ohio River, accidents due to high water are on the rise.

Mine Safety Debt Analysis
data analysis graphics

Mine Safety Debt Analysis

Analyzed and processed Mine Safety and Health Administration datasets to track millions of dollars worth of unpaid safety violations to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. Also performed extensive data analysis to look at characteristics surrounding the unpaid fines, like injury rates and production.

Coal Ash Pollution Analysis
data analysis graphics mapping

Coal Ash Pollution Analysis

Cleaned, processed and analyzed hundreds of pages of water testing data to understand how coal ash storage affects groundwater. Also created an interactive map for users to explore water contamination results at specific power plants.

Louisville Evictions Analysis
data analysis graphics mapping

Louisville Evictions Analysis

Analyzed Eviction Lab data on evictions overtime to find neighborhoods with persistently high eviction rates.

Trash and Poverty Analysis
data analysis graphics mapping

Trash and Poverty Analysis

Combined 311 data with trash can location data to find areas where there was both a deficit of public trash cans and a high number of 311 trash complaints.

Air Quality Interactive Map
data analysis graphics interactive mapping

Air Quality Interactive Map

Analyzed EPA Toxic Release Inventory data to reveal the biggest air polluters in Louisville disproportionately affect poor and black residents. Created an interactive map that would allow residents to input their address and receive a report of air pollutants near them.

Rape Case Outcome Explainer
graphics interactive

Rape Case Outcome Explainer

Used scrollama.js to create an engaging intro to the KyCIR investigation into Louisville's low prosecution rates of rape cases.

Transportation Variation Google Map Animation
graphics interactive mapping

Transportation Variation Google Map Animation

Created an interactive map using Google Maps API to illustrate the added time burden public transportation has on a person's life.

Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Text Analysis
data analysis graphics writing

Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Text Analysis

Analyzed audio from interviews with 2019 Kentucky Gubernatorial candidates to get a sense of what candidate emphasized most when talking about a variety of issues important to voters.

Superfund Flooding Analysis
data analysis graphics writing audio

Superfund Flooding Analysis

Used AP data to illustrate potential hazards to Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia residents living within one mile of superfund sites located in floodplains.

The Pope's Long Con Website
web development

The Pope's Long Con Website

Built the Django-backed site behind The Pope's Long Con, a Peabody Award winning investigation into the troubled life of Kentucky state representative Dan Johnson. The site incorporated a persistent audio player that allowed users to explore the site while listening to the podcast episodes uninterrupted.

Fatal Flaws Website and Interactive
graphics interactive web development

Fatal Flaws Website and Interactive

Built a Django-backed website to host the project Fatal Flaws. Also built a database of Kentucky worker fatalities.

Good River Website
web development

Good River Website

Co-built and designed (with Natasha Vicens) an NPR Interactives template website to feature stories and interactives created for the Good River collaborative.

About

Alexandra Kanik is a data reporter well-versed in submitting FOIA requests, scraping websites, writing code, analyzing data, creating visualizations and writing data-driven stories. She also occasionally voices audio stories.

Alexandra enjoys teaching data journalism and discussing how technology can improve news. She is a frequent facilitator at conferences like NICAR and SRCCON. She is also an active member and administrator of the Lonely Coder’s Club, an online group of tech journalists from around the world.

In addition to her editorial work, she also enjoys processing story and audience analytics and thinking about how we can better understand the impact news has on communities.

Employment

City Monitor
Data reporter
May 2020 - March 2021

Louisville Public Media
Data reporter
April 2016 - May 2020

MediaShift
Metrics Section Editor
December 2015 - June 2016

PublicSource
Interactives Developer / Web Developer / Designer
April 2011 - December 2015

Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Web Developer / Designer
April 2011 - December 2015

Technical Knowledge

Languages/Frameworks
Applications/Systems

Education

Maryland Institute College of Art
BFA in Graphic Design

Contact

alexandra@rationalact.com
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