Editor at Los Angeles Times Data Desk
Ben Welsh is the editor of the Los Angeles Times Data Desk, a team of reporters and computer programmers in the newsroom that works to collect, organize, analyze and present large amounts of information. He is also a cofounder of the California Civic Data Coalition, an open-source network of developers working to open up public data, and the creator of PastPages, an archive dedicated to the preservation of online news. Ben has worked at the Los Angeles Times since 2007. Before working at The Times, Ben conducted data analysis for investigative projects at The Center for Public Integrity in Washington DC. Projects he has contributed to have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Library of Congress’ Innovation Award and numerous other prizes for investigative reporting, digital design and online journalism. Ben graduated from DePaul University in 2004. During his time there, he worked with Carol Marin and Don Moseley at the DePaul Documentary Project. He later earned a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism — where he served as a graduate assistant at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. He is originally from Swisher, Iowa.