Wyofile
Project: Withheld
Deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl have led to an increase in nonfatal and fatal overdoses nationwide. In Wyoming alone, health officials reported 93 people dying from drug overdoses in 2022 — 48 involving fentanyl. Millions of dollars, meanwhile, are pouring into counties and towns to help confront the crisis, but access to vital information that could inform how to use those resources remains limited.
In its four-part series Withheld, WyoFile looked into what data the state collects and why it doesn’t always make it into the hands of local decision-makers and harm reduction groups.
Lander, Wyoming
https://wyofile.com/
Interview with Madelyn Beck, reporter, Wyofile
Time:
Six to seven months
Technology used:
Excel
Hired a data analyst who also produced visualizations
How it started:
A previous reporter had pitched the story but left the newsroom and another reporter, because of her background in covering the fentanyl crisis, picked it up.
Challenges:
The size of Wyoming - one of the least populated states in the nation - made obtaining data at the local level difficult as state officials were conservative about what they would release over privacy concerns and the long delays of vetting the information over months.
Further, finding the people most impacted by the story was an additional challenge.
Data/Documents:
EMS data
Data from a federal overdose map that’s updated in real time
Population data
Impact:
The project was republished and featured on news outlets across the state and nationally and the reporter was interviewed about the series.
From this project, Wyoming’s Campbell County Commissioners learned of the OD map and began working with someone locally to access that data.
And the state EMS agencies added two questions to their reporting system related to overdoses to better capture data, although Wyofile notes it’s unclear if this is a direct result of their reporting.
Advice:
Set aside time up front in the process to focus solely on the project and then set aside regular weekly times to work on the project - i.e. getting calls or emails out, filing records requests.
Have an editor/mentor/colleague you can regularly check in with throughout the process
Early on, find the people who are impacted by the issues - even if you don’t have the data yet.