A digital representation of landscapes and topology captured by computers and stored with geographical reference to the Earth.
and how would you as a journalist explain the worthiness of taking on a GIS project for your news operation?
Only a few years in use, Keyhole Markup Language has become a popular addition to geo-visualization and notation.
KML is XML-based and describes geographic attributes for visualization on Web and Earth browsers. Because it is an XML-based language, KML is largely human readable and can actually be written quite simply by hand using a text editor, or can grow more complex in which case you will want to turn to additional utilities for help.
The structure of KML specifies points, lines and polygons, and geo-location, much as ESRI’s shapefile describes layers, but is not limited to only one type of vector. In addition, KML includes references for tilt, heading and altitude, as well as annotation for reference about the location, photography or links to outside information. The file is then rendered superimposed on a map (such as Google Maps) or an Earth browser (such as Google Earth).
You can easily view the schema by opening a .kml file with a text editor. What you see will look similar to this:
- Courtesy code.google.com
KML’s foundation in XML makes the format easily generated and distributable on the web. Custom styling for markers, icons and images can be inclusively written into the markup code, to be hosted centrally or distributed with the file. Such a distribution is usually zipped as a KMZ. As mentioned, KML can be written manually using a text editor, or drawn using utilities or a browser such as Google Earth. With a server setup, KML can be generated using scripting languages, such as PHP, allowing on the fly exports of updated information based on user interaction. ESRI’s ArcGIS is also capable of exporting shapefiles to KML.
The advantage for journalists is that KML provides a fairly easy and quick solution (and arguably universal on the web) for creating sophisticated and aesthetic maps, using freely-obtained tools. Google Earth allows the user to import spreadsheet data for display, and then export as KML for distribution or to embed on a website. (more on this). The limitation or disadvantage here is that KML is only a means for distribution and display, and not at all a RDMBS — the analysis must be done on the spreadsheet. While it is conceivable that KML could at some point be used to conduct spatial analysis like more sophisticated GIS options, none exist that I know of (correct me if I’m wrong).
LEARNING RESOURCES FOR KML
KML TOOLS
I’m always finding cool videos to watch and learn from. I Thought I would start sharing them with you once a week on Sundays. Sunday always seems like a great day to sit back and watch videos anyways. Beer anyone?
First up is a great introduction to GeoDjango. It’s a few years old, so understand some things may have changed..but lot’s to learn here if you’ve ever wondered what GeoDjango is. Watch for the shout-outs to some news sites using GeoDjango.
If you have seen something we should show…let us know.
Incorporating GIS into the journalism toolbox isn’t an easy decision for the resource-strapped newsroom. GIS requires software, equipment, training and IT support which are hurdles to adoption in newsrooms short of resources. However, there are options and workarounds for environments with varying abilities and resources.
ESRI ArcGIS: The leading software for GIS by the Environmental Systems Research Institute is the standard suite that journalists will run across when sharing data with most GIS professionals. ArcGIS Desktop is a suite capable of very sophisticated GIS, with extensible architecture to expand its capabilities. The software is available via a licensed and paid model, although the powerful spatial analyst extension is extra. Windows only.
Manifold GIS: Manifold bills itself as not only a modern GIS capable of building sophisticated map presentations, but a tool for visual computing. The software comes with an Internet map server and a programming development environment to build custom applications. The paid model runs less than the leading product, with extension upgrades. Windows only.
Free, open source software exists as well. With a little help from the IT department, newsrooms can incorporate desktop GIS into their toolbox. The open source environment being what it is, training and support will be largely for the self-starter in these instances.
GRASS GIS: Free. Originally developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, now maintained by open source community. Windows and OSX, but requires library dependencies and a UNIX shell to run. The novice GIS user or less-technically inclined may find adoption difficult. For them, there’s…
Quantum GIS: A free, open source GIS software by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation that can run as a standalone application (with dependency libraries ) or as the graphic interface atop GRASS. QGIS is cross platform in Windows, OSX, Linux and UNIX environments. Requires installation of additional open source frameworks, but a properly installed configuration can simplify the more complex GRASS. (See also “Using QGIS to open Census shapefiles”)
We must address the user with the admonishment that it is not enough to just learn software — GIS is a rich field of theory and technical expertise. Regardless of the software route a newsroom takes in adopting GIS to the journalist’s toolbox, training is imperative, and not just in how to use a particular desktop suite, but in GIS theory, methodology, and statistical analysis.
From wildland fire coverage to remote breaking news stories, USGS topographical maps have always provided useful details when reporting and visualizing a story.
The Libre Map Project provides a convenient location to find free digital versions of all the USGS 7.5 topo maps. These maps, called Digital Raster Graphics (DRG), are scanned, georeferenced versions of the paper map. As images, these maps can be brought into Illustrator or used in 3D terrain programs like Natural Scene Designer. As raster images, they aren’t very useful. This will change with the introduction of the new US Topo format.
Released in 2009 and currently covering 17 states, US Topo is the next generation of 7.5 topo maps. These maps will provide a technical advantage that will enable some basic, on-screen spatial analysis for users. The digital maps have some cool features that a journalist could exploit.
1. Layers: Anytime you add the ability to turn on and off layers, your map will improve. With these maps you can control everything from the map collars to the hydrography. The maps now contain the Orthoimage that was used to create the topo contours. Some of the maps also contain the contours.
2. GeoPDF: Each US Topo is a GeoPDF and will work with TerraGo Technologies’ Adobe Acrobat toolbar (Windows only). Once you install the toolbar you will be able to some basic spatial analysis. You can:
3. Open in Illustrator: One of the great things about the PDF format is it often retains the vector parts of a document. I ALWAYS open map PDFs in Illustrator. If the creator of the PDF used a vector tool, sometimes you can access that information in Illustrator. I have often found it hard to get boundary polygons while digging through a PDF in Illustrator. The US Topo comes into Illustrator as layers. Sure, there are a ton of them, but it’s a great way to build a map from the topo.
WHAT NOW?
Here is a startup guide to the new format. In future posts, I will throw together some tutorials that will show you how to make some cool maps with this new format.
Download free digital maps at the USGS store.
Most USGS map series divide the United States into quadrangles bounded by two lines of latitude and two lines of longitude. For example, a 7.5-minute map shows an area that spans 7.5 minutes of latitude and 7.5 minutes of longitude, and it is usually named after the most prominent feature in the quadrangle. More about USGS maps.
ESRI is conducting free seminars for the GIS novice (read: journalists) in locations around the country. The one-day session promises an overview of new tools and improved workflows in ArcGIS 10, demonstrating practical application of spatial analysis tools, ways to ingrate Web GIS to work, and mobile GIS platforms.
For journalists, this is an opportunity to see the practical and useful applications of GIS analysis. Reference for additional training resources and recommendations will be made, including step-by-step handouts, online training seminars, instructor-led training.
Check the agenda here.
Register for the October 12 seminar in Phoenix, or the October 14 seminar in Tucson.
You can find the shapefile and Excel sheet for this video here: http://www.journalismGIS.com/data/tutorials/joins.zip
As was previously mentioned, the quickest way to understanding how GIS is to liken the method to the Venn Diagram.
Information input to the database has spatial reference as part of the data. Or, conversely, geographic references have data appended to them as attribute information. The spatial reference describes vectors as points, lines or polygons. A shapefile can be of only one type of vector.
To continue the analogy, the shapefile would describe a layer of a Venn Diagram. Layers could overlap, intersect, contain one another or not even touch at all. The value is in studying the relationship of the layers to one another.
The basic shapefile actually consists of three files:
There are many more files formats associated with the shapefile that deal with projection, indexing attributes, and spatial indexes, but the three aforementioned formats are required for display in GIS software.
Shapefiles also have scale. Greater scale means greater detail. Smaller scale means fewer details. For journalists, that simply means that the smoothness of polylines and polygons will decrease as one exceeds the detail at which points are collected, ie, zooming in too far to the polyline will result in jagged lines if not enough data has been collected.
When working with shapefiles, the user should ensure that all three files are present. Something for the GIS novice to consider when requesting or accepting shapefiles from sources is to ask for the files to be archived or zipped in compressed format before sending or transporting so as not to lose any part of the shapefile. It is also good practice to confirm with the sender the projection of the shapefile, as working with and mixing projected and unprojected shapefiles will result in error.
This goal of this site is to help journalists see the value of spatial information for storytelling. I would also hope we could help geographers to see the value in journalism.
If you want a very authentic look at some current trends in visual storytelling, check out this video project by Geoff McGhee.
Geoff spent a year studying data visualization as a John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford University. “Journalism in the Age of Data” is a comprehensive look at how data visualisation is dominating online and print news graphics. I recommend it for journalists and geographers.
An annotated version is available at: http://datajournalism.stanford.edu/
More about the author:
GEOFF McGHEE is an online journalist specializing in multimedia and information graphics. Over the past decade he has worked at The New York Times and ABCNews.com, and in France at Le Monde Interactif. In 2009-2010, he spent a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University studying data visualization. In July 2010, McGhee began a new job developing visualizations and interactive content for the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford.
Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, generally refers to a broad application of computer software and methodology in the study of spatially-referenced data.
In a GIS, data is tied to a geographic reference, that is, it has a location in conjunction to it’s basic data elements. In a GIS database, those geographic references are points, lines and polygons that are used to define and outline the analysis of the data elements against one another. What differentiates the GIS from the non-relational database is that the analysis results from the comparison (the intersection) of the spatial reference and the correlated data.
The easiest explanation of GIS is to make an analogy to the Venn Diagram, which depicts logical relationships through overlapping or intersecting polygons. The relationship between intersections is also the interpretation of the data.
GIS performs these intersections using layers, where layers are be made up of vectors — points, lines and polygons. A very common GIS computation is the intersection, where two or more layers are measured against one another, with the resulting output in a new layer consisting of areas where the original layers overlapped.
Sound easy enough?
The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting is one journalism organization that trains reporters on the use of GIS. The adoption of GIS in the news gathering profession is fairly and a tool of nascent emergence for the industry. While map graphics have long been used to convey stories in the news, investigating stories that were gleaned from map-based analysis is still quite infrequent. We will continue to highlight examples as we see it.