The newest project from Nebraska’s independent and nonprofit newsroom The Flatwater Free Press features stories that spotlight seven out-of-state buyers who have spent nearly $250 million on Nebraska farmland.
The journey began with a discussion in Matt Waite’s spring 2023 data journalism class. Waite, a professor of practice at Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, had his students answer the question of "Who's buying Nebraska?" He then brought in Flatwater Free Press Executive Director Matt Wynn and Editor Matthew Hansen to brainstorm ideas about the kinds of stories Flatwater could tell with the data his students collected.
For Hansen, the prospect of gathering this kind of data is daunting, especially across Nebraska’s 93 counties. In fact, before Waite and his course’s involvement, he didn’t know if it was possible to gather the specific range of data.
“This story wouldn’t have happened without Matt Waite and his class,” Hansen said. “It was his idea, his class’s idea and then he brought us in. It really was initiated by the data journalism class.”
Hansen was impressed with the fact that the class took the lead in the data collection and went so far to say it was the only reason this story happened. Once he and Wynn realized they had a big story, they brought in Flatwater Free Press reporter and seasoned data journalist Yanqi Xu to really comb through the data. Xu and Flatwater contributor Destiny Herbers spent a lot of time just cleaning the data.
“They found inaccuracies all over the place,” Hansen said. “There were a lot of data entry errors they had to double check with county assessors to make sure it was accurate. Clearly, the counties aren’t used to people really analyzing this data.”
Flatwater will soon feature more “Who’s Buying Nebraska?” stories on the amount of land The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church, is buying and how Facebook and Google are buying agricultural land to house data centers. They're also looking into what Bill Gates and Ted Turner are doing with their land.
Senior broadcasting major and Flatwater’s rural journalism fellow Evelyn Mejia was in Waite’s class this spring and she's also covering one of the stories for Flatwater.
“The college takes pride in fostering an environment where students not only learn but also lead, ultimately shaping the future of journalism,” Dean of Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communcations, Shari Veil said. “This partnership with The Flatwater Free Press is a testament to the boundless possibilities that arise when education meets real-world impact."
Hansen, a 2003 CoJMC grad, is glad the college offers a class that helps students realize how many avenues there are in journalism, including specialized areas like data journalism.
“As an alum—and as a long-time journalist at this point—who cares about journalism and the future of journalism, it’s really cool to see this kind of partnership,” Hansen said. “The class got something out of this and Flatwater really got something out of this. It was really this perfect symbiosis.”
Hansen also wants student journalists to know that their specialized skills are needed, especially in non-profit newsrooms.
“The pipeline is broken but we are building a different one,” Hansen said. “With all the dire news about journalism, especially in newspapers, I think it’s important for students to know that non-profit newsrooms are growing and they want to hire students with this skillset.”
