Ted Alcorn
@tedalcorn.bsky.social
Reporting on health + justice in NYTimes, NM in Depth, more • Teaching @ Columbia & NYU Wagner • Bi-Nuevo: New Mexican in NYC • tedalcorn.org
I was trying to figure out the safest driving route from my house to the grocery store and accidentally went down a rabbit hole and built a nationwide map of 843,530 fatal car crashes since 2001. It’s kind of cool? 🤷♂️ tedalcorn.github.io/the-deadlies...
It’s always striking how the decline in alcohol consumption is covered as a business problem instead of a win for public health.
Can the World Cup Help the U.S. Beer Industry Kick Its Slump?
nytimes.com
Journalism from @nytimes international articles since 2000 (n≈199,000) turned into a map. We see which topics were covered disproportionately. HT @tedalcorn
*stares at "home" state of Nebraska* That is accurate and depressing.
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoWith data from the @nytimes.com API, I analyzed all national+local coverage since 2000—224,000 articles— to see which topics in each state get covered out of proportion to the rest of the country. A portrait of how the paper of record sees America, one state per tweet, alphabetical. 👇
This is such fascinating analysis as says much about the NYT and how this plays into the perception of each state, as much as what it says of what goes on in each state.
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoWith data from the @nytimes.com API, I analyzed all national+local coverage since 2000—224,000 articles— to see which topics in each state get covered out of proportion to the rest of the country. A portrait of how the paper of record sees America, one state per tweet, alphabetical. 👇
I do think that even though other states are caricatured here, NJ as viewed from NY might be the most pigeonholed
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoNEW JERSEY — Covered as a commute. Tolls, casinos, property taxes, bridges and tunnels, the daily ride to somewhere else.
Such a great use of AI. Fantastic project
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoWith data from the @nytimes.com API, I analyzed all national+local coverage since 2000—224,000 articles— to see which topics in each state get covered out of proportion to the rest of the country. A portrait of how the paper of record sees America, one state per tweet, alphabetical. 👇
Yeah yeah I’m aware of what you all think of us
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoCOLORADO — Mountains, marijuana, and mass shootings.
Allow me, former pledge master of Penn’s 2008 Sigma Phi Epsilon pledge class and WHYY transportation reporter who now covers election administration, to take a bow.
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoPENNSYLVANIA — Higher education's underside, plus rail accidents and electoral fights.
With data from the @nytimes.com API, I analyzed all national+local coverage since 2000—224,000 articles— to see which topics in each state get covered out of proportion to the rest of the country. A portrait of how the paper of record sees America, one state per tweet, alphabetical. 👇
Earlier this month, I posted a dashboard for exploring 2.2 million New York Times articles going back to 2000. I’ve now added a way to explore all 29,000 obituaries the paper has published during that period, and it reveals a lot about who makes history.
26 years of New York Times articles in a single database with a beautiful interface. I will have to set time aside to explore this. 📊 By @tedalcorn.bsky.social
Below the Fold — A New York Times X-Ray Dashboard
tedalcorn.github.io
Wonderful to see a really artful/ useful application of AI tools to a news archive. (Also super cool that it started in @columbiajournalism.bsky.social Lede program …h/t @dangerscarf.bsky.social )
Ted Alcorn@tedalcorn.bsky.social · 4mo agoI built a dashboard to explore the last 25+ years of @nytimes.com coverage. 1.5B words, 2.2M articles, 26K reporters. It's fascinating to look at the world’s preeminent attention-gathering org not as daily stories but as patterns of attention, ebbing and flowing. tedalcorn.github.io/nyt/
I built a dashboard to explore the last 25+ years of @nytimes.com coverage. 1.5B words, 2.2M articles, 26K reporters. It's fascinating to look at the world’s preeminent attention-gathering org not as daily stories but as patterns of attention, ebbing and flowing. tedalcorn.github.io/nyt/
Below the Fold — A New York Times X-Ray Dashboard
tedalcorn.github.io
⏰ Applications are due MONDAY for the 2026 Public Health Reporting Fellowship! This opportunity will award up to $7,500 each to five mid-career journalists to support reporting projects on the intersection of public health policy & health care delivery.
Apply Now: 2026 Public Health Reporting Fellowship is open - Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute, in partnership with the Common Health Coalition, is excited to announce the 2026 Public Health Reporting Fellowship, a six-month, fully remote opportunity...
pressclubinstitute.org
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
Governor Wes Moore@govwesmoore.bsky.social · 6mo agoI stand with County Executive Calvin Ball as he signs emergency legislation today prohibiting privately owned buildings from being used as ICE detention centers. Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now: bit.ly/4a2VtHw
The world's food supply depends on agriculture science to protect crops & livestock from disease, of which the USA was a major supporter—until the dismantling of USAID last year. My story in @nytimes.com about how wavering US support could imperil what we eat. nytimes.com/2026/01/15/s...
For the World’s Food Supply, Federal Funding Cuts Have Long-Term Impacts
nytimes.com
The movie star I most want to hear speak at length. David Marchese and Kristen Stewart out on the wire. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/06/m...
Kristen Stewart Wants to Blow Up the Myth of the Brilliant Male Actor
nytimes.com
Strong contender for fav. headline of the year @emilyanthes.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/s...
Read @tedalcorn.bsky.social on how two big @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social ideas have gotten a test run in New Mexico, of all places — with lessons worth learning being surfaced along the way. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/dep...
Vital City | New Mexico: Surprising Proving Ground for Two Big Mamdani Ideas?
What the mayor-elect can learn from the Southwest state
vitalcitynyc.org
Albuquerque police make front-page news with successful hoof-chase. Full footage: www.facebook.com/reel/1590537...
GUN CITY: there’s been a nearly ten-fold uptick in New Yorkers seeking concealed carry permits since 2022, per a new analysis of NYPD data. I tracked down the city’s most prolific instructor to see what it's all about. Today in @thecity.nyc& @thetrace.org. www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/12/n...
New Yorkers Fill Gun Classes as Concealed Carry Applications Surge
Would-be gun owners seeking a concealed carry permit are required to take a safety training course, but with few rules on how they are taught, gun aficionados have stepped in to run them.
thecity.nyc
Smart take: Mamdani met voters where they were at, listened to them, centered them. To the extent he had social media “magic,” it was his “understanding that the masses are the message.”
Aleianjack@aleianjack.bsky.social · 9mo agoMamdani's Magic www.kenklippenstein.com/p/mamdanis-m...
I am looking forward to being done with an election and a lame duck disgraced mayor so that city government can get to fixing big problems out there, including this one exposed by my colleague @gregbsmithnyc.bsky.social.
NYCHA Boiler That Exploded Was One of Dozens With Expired Permits
Machinery at The Bronx’s Mitchel Houses did not get inspected for 17 years, despite a pact to get all public housing heating plants checked for environmental safety.
thecity.nyc
In New Mexico at an interim committee on Monday, lawmakers reviewed their three-year-push to raise alcohol taxes — good coverage by @sourcenm.com. sourcenm.com/2025/10/28/n... Just a few additional observations threaded below 👇
New Mexico legislators float alcohol tax reform proposals for 2026 session • Source New Mexico
As New Mexico maintains the highest rate of deaths from alcohol misuse, lawmakers are again considering changes to state liquor tax policy.
sourcenm.com
DOJ altered the Biden admin's signature gun violence prevention grant program for "Community Based" interventions to make it inaccessible to...communities. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
A gunmaker redesigning its products to address safety concerns does not happen even in a blue moon. The power of legal and commercial pressure: thereload.com/glock-to-red... @thereloadteam.bsky.social
Glock to Redesign Pistols as Lawsuits and Legislation Pile Up
One of the country’s most popular handgun makers will soon entirely overhaul its commercial lineup of iconic pistols.
thereload.com
