https://bostonopioid.github.io/discarded-needle/index.html
I first explored Discarded Needles last year, and since then its impact has stayed with me and to an extent changed how I view the city of Boston. It combines its primary dataset with a series of gripping interviews and images that really enhance the entire narrative. All in all, I believe this is an excellent example of data storytelling.
The story aims to examine the rise of the opiate crisis in Boston using the dataset of citizen reports of needles on the ground. I imagine this data was taken from the local 311 office, and perhaps it could be taken through the Freedom of Information Act. The story opens with the total amount of needles reported in large bold letters, a staggering amount that draws in the reader.
From here, the writers weave together several interviews alongside heavier data analysis to weave their story.
This bar graph does alright at showing the magnitude of the problem over time, but I think even more revealing is when each data point is laid over the city of Boston based on time and geographic location.
Apart from the data, the background of the story is filled with pictures of needles found around Boston, decrepit areas, and other elements of the issue. The most pivotal piece of media in this story is the final picture, drawn by a first grader talking about the needles they find around their school.
I believe the goal of this story is to highlight the opioid epidemic in and around Boston, an issue that is obviously heavily affecting the whole nation but can be completely overlooked locally by Boston residents (as in my case). The writers do not assert a path forward or lay out clear next steps, instead they include many instances where the volunteers and people currently involved feel futile and ignored by the local government. In this way, I believe this piece is also designed to raise awareness of the government’s apathy toward this subject. I believe the audience for this piece is local Bostonians. Many of the locations, including “Methadone Mile,” “the Long Island Recovery Center,” and “the Orchard Garden School” are not explained in a way that would give context to those outside Boston. On top of this, the lack of a real call to action at the end of the story reveals that the authors intended for this story to make an impact on the local level rather than a national one.