Why learn about databases?

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Why should you care about databases if you are a journalist? Think of it first as keeping track of bits of information. Well, heck — that’s essential for every journalist! How do you do it? With a messy stack of old reporter’s notebooks, perhaps. Uh-huh. How’s that working for you?

So . . .

Step 1: Get into Google Docs and start using some spreadsheets. Manage your beat, your sources, your stories. Need help? You’ll do just fine. Anyone can learn to use a spreadsheet, and doing so will make you feel comfortable with the same structure that a database requires.

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For one thing, databases feed dynamically generated sites and hard-coded sites are dead. Web is the new platform and it's built on a foundation of databases. It's in our best interest to have some understanding of how they work.