Stephen Doig

Who is Stephen Doig?

Stephen K. Doig is an American journalist, professor of journalism at Arizona State University, and a consultant to print and broadcast news media with regard to data analysis investigative work. Doig moved to the university in 1996 after 23 years as a newspaper journalist, 19 of them with The Miami Herald. As of 2010, he taught classes in precision journalism, reporting public affairs, news writing, multimedia journalism, introduction to newsroom statistics, and media research methods.

Doig was a pioneer in the use of computer-assisted data analysis by reporters. For example, he was Miami Herald research editor when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992. Analysis of property damages and local government building records showed that newer structures were more likely to have been damaged by the storm, and the team argued that easing the zoning, inspection, and building codes had caused greater storm losses, largely in a 16-page article "What Went Wrong". The newspaper won next year's Pulitzer Prize for Public Service citing its coverage "that not only helped readers cope ... but also showed how lax zoning, inspection and building codes had contributed to the destruction."