The last time I saw Kelly Guckian, we had taken her out for lunch on her last day at the San Antonio Express-News before she embarked on a new journey at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I snapped this picture of Kelly and our colleagues outside the Express-News building 17 months ago:
There she is in the middle with the slightly mischievous smile. See how everyone else is squinting in the bright Texas sun? Kelly’s the one flaunting sunglasses. Clearly the smartest one in the bunch.
A subset of journalists in the news business knows how to obtain government data, analyze it and tell readers something new about the world.
And within that niche, there are experts like Kelly. The ones who really know their stuff. Whenever a data problem stumped me, I’d turn around at my desk and ask, “Hey, Kelly, how do you …” And no matter what I asked, I’ll be damned if Kelly didn’t know the answer every time.
Years ago, after the death of former state Sen. Frank Madla and his family in a tragic house fire, Kelly, Karisa King and I analyzed fire-response time data we obtained from the San Antonio Fire Department. I remember this story very well because it’s a powerful example of how public data can empower journalists to tell readers what’s really going on in their community. Our story said:
City records show the Fire Department’s mission of protecting lives and property is clashing with San Antonio’s appetite for new land.
In the past six years, firefighters rushed to inner-city blazes far more quickly than to fires in popular outlying areas that attract thousands of new homeowners.
Delays on the city’s edges plague rich and poor alike, from the exclusive enclave of the Dominion to low-income neighborhoods like Sunrise, a struggling community on the far East Side.
San Antonio annexed many of these neighborhoods despite protests by residents, who complained the city would fail to provide swift fire protection.
The city’s own records reveal that most of the time, those fears came true.
You can’t write that kind of story without knowing how to analyze public data for yourself. Kelly got that.
Kelly started out in the news business as a photo archivist in 1994. But then she was drawn to the geeky goodness of computer-assisted reporting. This was her calling, and she excelled through intelligence, generosity and hard work. Kelly went to school in her spare time and rose through the ranks to become database editor at the Express-News.
But it was a hard climb. Like I said, computer-assisted reporting is a niche field. Not everyone understands the work that goes into it or sees a need for it. But many of Kelly’s colleagues saw how she was improving the newspaper. When the Express-News created a new “Unsung Hero” category for the Philip True awards in 2004, the newsroom staff overwhelmingly nominated her to be the first recipient.
Kelly loved to learn about this intriguing, challenging field of journalism. She would have kept on learning, and she would have been generous with her knowledge.
But five months ago, Kelly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a ferocious disease.
Yesterday, Kelly died.
I’ll miss Kelly’s cheerful spirit. Her amazing desire to learn. And her mischievous smile.
One time Kelly and I were looking over some data in an Excel file. While we were talking, and really without even thinking about it, she cleaned and re-formatted the file in seconds. It was like watching a Ninja.
Her passing is incredibly sad. I really liked Kelly.
Thanks, Patrick. She was amazing.
John – great post. It really captures what I remember and loved about Kelly. Love the picture.
Jen