The COVID Tracking Project is (nearly) gone. Can we see clearly now?

One evening in early March of last year, Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, colleagues at The Atlantic, set out to answer a simple question: how many people had been tested for the coronavirus in the US so far? The answer, it turned out, was actually quite complicated: in the absence of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it was hard to tell whether low reported case rates to that point reflected low incidence or low testing. Madrigal and Meyer sent a form email to health officials in every state; they soon found out that the answer was the latter, and that the federal government did not have a handle on the numbers. As Emily Sohn reported for CJR, Jeff Hammerbacher—a data scientist who had been working to track the same information, and who knew Madrigal from college—saw their work and reached out. They teamed up, and soon, the COVID Tracking Project was born. It was meant, initially, as a short-term gap-filler. “Every day,” Erin Kissane, its managing editor, told Sohn in late March, “we hope the CDC will put us out of business.” But the days went by, and the CDC did not, leaving the Tracking Project’s collective of journalists and tech folk to serve, in their own words, as “a de facto source of pandemic data for the United States.” The Atlantic agreed to host the project; its team grew to include hundreds of volunteers, and the project’s founders solicited philanthropic donations to pay some of them. “It just got really complex,” Madrigal told... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-03-17 12:29:53 UTC ]

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Sam Thompson goes to Little Island for children's debut

Little Island Books will publish the debut children’s book of Booker-longlisted novelist Sam Thompson in 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-24 12:43:48 UTC ]
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LeBron Wrote a Children’s Book and It’s Selling Really Well

In “I Promise,” LeBron James and the illustrator Nina Mata give hope to kids when they need it most. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-20 09:00:01 UTC ]
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Bette Midler and Michiko Kakutani are teaming up for a children’s book about the hot duck.

Remember 2018, when things were definitely really bad but we could still touch people who didn’t live with us? It was a simpler (but—make no mistake—still terrible) time, when the House was flipped, everyone was in their feelings, and the city of New York was captivated by a very attractive... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-13 14:41:38 UTC ]
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Tribune closing 5 newsrooms including NY Daily News

Tribune Publishing Company says it's closing the newsrooms of five newspapers including The Daily News in Manhattan, the Orlando Sentinel and The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2020-08-12 23:24:40 UTC ]
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Kathleen Duey, a Mentoring Children’s Book Author, Dies at 69

A prolific writer, she published more than 75 books, including a Best Seller and a National Book Award finalist, all while encouraging aspiring authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-05 21:52:08 UTC ]
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YA superstar Jason Reynolds just sold his debut novel for adults.

Today, Simon and Schuster announced that their imprint Scribner will be publishing the debut novel for adults from #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book author Jason Reynolds, whose books include Look Both Ways and Ghost, both finalists for the National Book Award for Young People’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-22 16:30:17 UTC ]
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The BLM movement is inspiring a boom in diverse children’s literature.

When a friend of mine, a former teacher, told me the subject of a children’s book he wants to write—an allegory about how the criminal justice system tries to entrap people of color from a young age—my first thought was Dark, man. And then: I wish I’d had access to a book like that when I was a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-21 19:17:26 UTC ]
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Black journalists face challenges that stem from systemic racism

The fallout from recent protests over the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have reignited long-standing concerns on the part of many Black journalists about their roles in the newsrooms they work in, and the value they are given (or not given) by the media companies... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-07-09 11:50:34 UTC ]
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Crime-fighting pigeons take flight to Hollywood

James Corden to produce film and TV series based on Australia’s Real Pigeons children’s booksThe humble pigeon may be an unlikely breed of star but an author-illustrator duo from Melbourne have been turning the birds into a crime-fighting troupe of superheroes – and they’re about to take flight... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-07 21:55:36 UTC ]
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How 50 Years of Frog and Toad Shaped Countless Literary Friendships

Mo Willems, Kyo Maclear, and other children’s book authors on what Arnold Lobel’s series means to them. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2020-07-03 14:30:00 UTC ]
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Dean Baquet, Marty Baron, and protecting the institution

Last Tuesday, Wesley Lowery wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which he wrapped the urgent media-industry conversations about diversity and coverage of race around our flawed prevailing definition of “objectivity”—a concept shaped, in large part, by white editors and reporters with the eye... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-06-29 12:20:58 UTC ]
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"Let’s clarify what free speech is and is not": An open letter to the industry from Pride in Publishing

Being a book publisher comes with a set of tough moral responsibilities. You provide livelihoods for authors and booksellers, your hiring decisions can greatly influence how UK culture is shaped, and you’re also a company with a duty of care towards your staff. Sometimes these duties come into... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 03:23:48 UTC ]
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Bandcamp will make annual Juneteenth donations to the NAACP

Bandcamp has announced that this Friday, June 19, it will donate 100 percent of its share of sales to the NAACP legal defense fund -- and that it will do so annually. In its announcement, the music publishing platform cited the killings of George Flo... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-06-19 08:30:48 UTC ]
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Celebrated Children’s Book Illustrator Graces Two Magazines

Multi-award winning author and illustrator Kadir Nelson's art featured on The New Yorker and Rolling Stone Magazine. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-18 14:37:17 UTC ]
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The Moomins Meet a Real-Estate Developer, and Outrage Ensues

The children’s book characters have become embroiled in a dispute about the redevelopment of a beloved Finnish landmark. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-06-12 12:30:06 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Listening to the Middle-Grade Buzz

We talked with five middle grade editors about upcoming titles they are looking forward to introducing to the children’s book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Misty Copeland Shares One Art Through Another

Veteran dancer and author Copeland, who stresses the importance of friendship, creativity, and imagination, will present her latest book, Bunheads, at BookExpo Online's Children’s Book & Author Dinner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Marie Lu on Finding Hope in Dystopia

Lu will share a message about the value of dystopian tales and discuss her latest, Skyhunter, during challenging times at BookExpo Online's Children’s Book & Author Dinner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Natalie Portman Brings Girls to the Fable

At BookExpo Online's Children’s Book & Author Dinner, Portman looks to shift the perspective in children’s literature with a book of reimagined fables with female protagonists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Raj Haldar on 'The WORST Read-Aloud Book Ever'

Raj Haldar looks to delight "word nerds" as he presents No Reading Allowed as a panelist at the Children’s Book & Author Dinner at BookExpo Online. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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