Nick McMillan Joins ProPublica as Computational Journalist
ProPublica has hired Nick McMillan as a computational journalist on its data and news apps team, where he will leverage technology and data to uncover stories that would otherwise be inaccessible. According to Ken Schwencke, senior editor for data and news applications, McMillan's impressive track record of using cutting-edge technology to unlock reporting paths makes him an ideal fit for the role.
McMillan comes to ProPublica from NPR, where he worked as a data journalist on the investigations team. During his tenure, he combined reporting with data analysis, developing tools that transformed raw records into evidence for investigations. One notable example of his work was creating a custom optical character recognition program to parse more than 7,000 government work task files. This effort helped reveal how a federal program was killing thousands of wild animals with little accountability.
In another instance, McMillan co-reported a story exposing how power lines operated by Southern California Edison sparked new fires as crews battled existing ones. To facilitate this investigation, he built a tool that processed and transcribed more than 2,000 hours of first responder radio into searchable, time-stamped audio files.
Schwencke praised McMillan's skills, saying, "I'm excited for him to use those skills to hold power to account at ProPublica." The hire reflects ProPublica's commitment to using technology and data to drive investigative journalism.
McMillan's background in combining reporting with data analysis is a valuable asset to the team. His experience demonstrates how computational journalists can make complex information accessible and actionable for readers.
ProPublica's focus on using data-driven storytelling has led to numerous high-profile investigations, including exposing police misconduct and revealing corporate tax avoidance schemes. With McMillan on board, the organization is poised to continue pushing the boundaries of investigative journalism.
As a leading non-profit newsroom, ProPublica remains at the forefront of using technology to uncover stories that might otherwise go unreported. The addition of McMillan to its team underscores this commitment and promises exciting developments in the world of computational journalism.
*Reporting by Propublica.*
