Joe Murphy

Joe Murphy

@joemurph.com

Data editor @ NBC News, @NBCguild.bsky.social strong, Oregonian born & raised, lives in NYC (Gowanus, Brooklyn). Formerly: NY Daily News, Denver Post, Medill. Into dataviz, data pipelines, accessibility, a good story. joemurph.76 @ signal joemurph.com

5.1K followers 2K following770 posts

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Very proud of the bio I wrote for the #NICAR2025 / #NICAR session I'm part of, wherein I shoutout the best text editor on the planet (vim).

This dive into what the data on data center development shows about how Big Tech is focusing on rural America is one of the most in-depth reporting projects that I have edited — what started as a simple numbers story turned into something much more. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comHow Big Tech’s data center boom is fracturing rural AmericaWhat a data center boom looks like in the rural community that has already lived it.

We also came up with and put together this analysis that shows what percentage of each U.S. county lives various distances from the nearest data center #dataViz [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

For those on Instagram, some of our #dataViz and a bit of our reporting on the impact of rural data centers: www.instagram.com/p/DfATD5Mkdi4/

instagram.comInstagramCreate an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

Joe Murphy reposted

Lawrence Hurley

@lawrencehurley.bsky.social

Use this tool to find out where your nearest data center is! (short answer if you're in the DC area: northern Virginia) www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comMap: 55 million Americans live within 5 miles of a data center. Find out how close you are.173 million people in the U.S. live within 20 miles of an operative data center — a number that would increase to 196 million if all the data centers that are under construction and a portion of those...

This dive into what the data on data center development shows about how Big Tech is focusing on rural America is one of the most in-depth reporting projects that I have edited — what started as a simple numbers story turned into something much more. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comHow Big Tech’s data center boom is fracturing rural AmericaWhat a data center boom looks like in the rural community that has already lived it.

We also came up with and put together this analysis that shows what percentage of each U.S. county lives various distances from the nearest data center #dataViz [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

CORRECTION: The reporter on our data centers package, Joelle Gross, will be talking about the stories on NBC News Daily at 1:13 p.m. (not 1:15 p.m.) Eastern here [no paywall]: www.nbcnews.com/watch

nbcnews.comStream live news 24/7, including NBC News NOW, Sky News, Dateline, Noticias, TODAY All Day, and more. Choose your local market and stream for free today.Stream live news 24/7, including NBC News NOW, Sky News, Dateline, Noticias, TODAY All Day, and more. Choose your local market and stream for free today.

An important @tktk.bsky.social story with some terrific visuals from the @nbcnews.com Data / Graphics team, and a first-of-its-kind analysis into what students actually watch when they watch YouTube in school. #dataViz [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/specials/hoo...

Joe Murphy reposted

Los Angeles Review of Books

@lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

"People don’t want to face the fact that we can’t change our culture in a top-down way.” Holiday Dmitri interviews August Lamm about what it takes to build a social world beyond the screen: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/august-lamm-you-dont-need-smartphone-anti-tech

Joe Murphy reposted

@kevincollier.bsky.social

Kept hearing from Flock prostesters that they didn't understand how cameras went up with their tax dollars and without their knowledge. I read dozens of contracts and found 55 times the company testified their product is unique (despite the other ALPR cameras on the market) to avoid bidding process.

nbcnews.comHow Flock’s cameras spread through government deals that bypassed public scrutinyAn NBC News review found government contracts priced just below approval thresholds and dozens of deals awarded without competitive bids.

New analysis from @nbcnews.com shows a persistent paid time-off gap between women and men in the U.S.: Seven million fewer working women receive paid leave. This article breaks down why. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comSeven million more women than men work without paid leaveNew data reveals how far we haven’t come on an old problem.

From @nbcnews.com and @datelinenbc.bsky.social: NBC News examined the statutes of limitations on sexual assault across the country and found dramatic differences in how states handle the cases. #dataViz [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comWhere you live matters when it comes to prosecuting rape suspectsNBC News examined the statutes of limitations on sexual assault across the country and found dramatic differences in how states handle the cases.

Joe Murphy reposted

Mike Hixenbaugh

@mikehixenbaugh.com

We’ve got the inside story of how Trump’s displeasure with seeing homeless people in D.C. became the first domino in a series of actions that culminated in the administration’s stunning decision to weaken the rights of millions of disabled Americans to live in their homes and communities.

nbcnews.comHow Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rightsAfter issuing a memo making it easier to institutionalize homeless people, the Justice Department began abandoning cases protecting disabled people’s right to live in the community.

More than one in three female undergraduate students at Cornell reported nonconsensual sexual contact in their time at the school — this story looks at that and what other universities report in similar surveys. Pitched and contributed to this story [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

nbcnews.comCornell survey showed increase in reports of nonconsensual sexual contact among female undergradsThe findings are receiving renewed attention after the local districts attorney said it was reopening a criminal investigation into an alleged 2024 gang rape at the university.

JOBS: CNBC is hiring: 1. A data viz journalist jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Versant3/744... 2. A senior editor for data viz jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Versant3/744...

Got to help Rob Wile on this charty piece (which is *not* behind the NBC News paywall) showing how key economic indicators have changed since the Iran war started [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

nbcnews.comThe U.S. economy before and after the Iran war, in five chartsNearly seven months in, the conflict now casts a cloud of uncertainty — with no end in sight.

"At least six babies in Pennsylvania have been born infected with measles, with two so sick they had to be admitted to intensive care... Congenital measles is a disease that’s rarely, if ever, seen in the U.S." [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

nbcnews.comAmerica had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth.Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected.

New: Why the CDC edited a key Covid metric, and what it says about the state of the virus [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comWhy the CDC edited a key Covid metric, and what it says about the state of the virusCovid infection counts are increasing in more than half the country.

Joe Murphy reposted

Linotype Pilgrim

@symbo1ics.bsky.social

If you've never seen the magic of cellular automata, follow @lorenschmidt.bsky.social

loren schmidt@lorenschmidt.bsky.social

there is some really organic material in here, but it's all enforced via 8 neighbor checks.

This headline! h/t @danielarkin.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

U.S. gas price averages, per AAA: Regular up 4 cents from yesterday (up $1.38 / 46% since the start of the war), at $4.36. Regular is up 30 cents from a month ago. Diesel up 5 cents from yesterday (up $2.56 / 68% since the start of the war), at $6.31. Diesel up 87 cents from a month ago.

I'm in a long-running fantasy football league, and two years ago I cooked up a metric, the ”Luck Rating,” measuring how lucky each team's outcome was based on their score. Last year I started charting this data in earnest, and here's (a small part of) the dashboard I built. #dataViz

Joe Murphy reposted

@sahilkapur.bsky.social

NEW: On Trump’s $5,000 checks promise —He’s made this vow before on DOGE and tariff dividends, which never materialized; not clear why this time will be different —No detailed White House policy plan on how it’d work or how they’d pay for it. —Mixed GOP reviews. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

nbcnews.comTrump’s $5,000 checks promise: Familiar, costly and impractical, experts sayLegal experts, economists and even Trump’s fellow Republicans say the plan faces a bevy of practical obstacles and long odds in Congress.

NBC News reached out to photographers and photo editors to reflect on 9/11-era images, what it took to capture them and the lasting impact. @chelseastahl.bsky.social for @nbcnews.com [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/s...

nbcnews.comPowerful 9/11 photographs, and what it took to capture themNBC News reached out to photographers and photo editors to reflect on 9/11-era images, what it took to capture them and the lasting impact.

Joe Murphy reposted

@davidingram.bsky.social

NEW: House Democrat asks regulators to investigate Tesla over sleeping drivers www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...

nbcnews.comHouse Democrat asks regulators to investigate Tesla over sleeping driversRep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said an NBC News investigation last month about napping drivers raised concerns about the safeguards meant to ensure they are paying attention.

Here's @amowreader.com for @nbcnews.com with a thorough piece on international student enrollment in the U.S., and why U.S. higher education expects a significant drop in the number of international students: [paywall]

Joe Murphy reposted

Mike Hixenbaugh

@mikehixenbaugh.com

After Nebraska adopted an algorithm to assess the needs of people with developmental disabilities, more than 900 had their home care slashed—leaving families terrified their loved ones could be forced into institutions. A preview of what could soon be coming nationally after Trump’s Medicaid cuts.

nbcnews.comA secretive computer algorithm is taking caregiving money away from disabled peopleAfter Nebraska used a new interRAI tool to slash Medicaid funding for nearly 900 people, NBC News uncovered the hidden logic behind some of the cuts.

Canada added tariffs to several hundred U.S. imports, those tariffs went into effect today. These are three of the Canadian imports the U.S. imposed tariffs on last month, part of this @amowreader.com report on the raging trade war. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

"It is now the least rewarding time to be a worker in the U.S. economy since the government started keeping track... In other words, even as the economy continues to grow, worker pay comprises an ever smaller slice of the pie." [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

nbcnews.comAmerican workers are getting the smallest slice of the pie on recordSince 2000, the value of the S&P 500 stock index has gained about 600%. Over the same period, inflation-adjusted worker earnings have climbed just 12.5%.

A woodcut from the first Labor Day parade (Sept. 5, 1882), in NYC, as it passed the reviewing stands at Union Square Park. Holiday history: www.dol.gov/general/labo... About that particular parade: science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...

This is the first time in NBC News Decision Desk polling that the percentage of Republicans who say they "strongly" approve of Trump’s job performance has dipped below 50%. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

Big shoutout to @amowreader.com, who just finished her internship on the Data / Graphics team here at NBC News. She'll be on the job market come January and if you're looking for a data journalist who can report, interview, write, visualize, analyze and pitch like a pro, give Ashley a holler.

NBC News’ politics team is hiring journalists to be presidential candidate campaign embeds in the upcoming 2028 election cycle. Maybe you know someone, maybe you are that someone. Pay is $80,000-$95,000/year for this contract position. Deadline is Sept. 25. jobs.smartrecruiters.com/NBCUniversal...

jobs.smartrecruiters.comPolitical Campaign EmbedCompany Description: NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and stre...

Exclusive numbers on August ICE arrests from @nbcnews.com: "ICE is in the midst of a nationwide arrest surge that is not as visible as aggressive enforcement efforts from earlier in 2026..." [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

nbcnews.comICE arrests 50 thousand people in August, continuing record paceICE is in the midst of a nationwide arrest surge that is not as visible as aggressive enforcement efforts from earlier in 2026.

I don't usually (don't ever?) post individual songs here but there is a groove in the heart of this Grant Green track and the places where that lil' groove pokes its lil' head out and dances around are just delightful. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLBT...

youtube.comGrant Green - Ain't It Funky NowYouTube video by nedryarson

We took a deep dive into what is (and isn't) happening with Social Security's retirement benefits, why we are in the place we're in (demographics, mostly) and how it all could play out. Reporting, visuals and words by @amowreader.com for @nbcnews.com [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comSocial Security insolvency: What it means, when it’s coming and why it’s a problemBut depending on how Congress acts, future payouts of Social Security benefits may be smaller.

New from @amowreader.com: New data from LinkedIn shows women made up only one-quarter of new hires in AI roles in 2025 while making up half of new hires in non-AI jobs. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comThe AI boom is leaving women behindData shows women are less likely to hold AI jobs and more likely to be in AI-vulnerable jobs.

"The cost of living in America has surged in recent years. So has the cost of dying." @spettypi.bsky.social for @nbcnews.com [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/business/per...

nbcnews.comEven death is unaffordable in America nowFuneral credit cards, rented caskets, Amazon urns: Here’s how Americans are coping with the rising cost of dying.

Two measles deaths reported in Pennsylvania, in a county that has one of the lowest rates of childhood MMR vaccinations in the state, declining from 95.5% in 2017 to 88.5% in 2024 and 87.6% in 2025 [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

nbcnews.comTwo unvaccinated people die of measles in Pennsylvania outbreak, health officials sayThe deaths are the first measles-related fatalities in the U.S. this year.

Measles case counts are surging in Pennsylvania, the CDC has confirmed more than 200 new cases in the state since July 23.[no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

nbcnews.comMap: Track the spread of measles in the U.S.Measles case counts, which reached a 34-year high in 2025, have soared even higher in 2026.

Joe Murphy reposted

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)

@hansilowang.bsky.social

SCOOP: A Trump-aligned think tank, America First Policy Institute, has ties to a highly unusual Census Bureau report that the president is using to renew false claims of widespread voting by non-U.S. citizens in 2020, @npr.org has learned www.npr.org/2026/08/19/n...

npr.orgExperts raise alarms over Census Bureau report Trump is touting on noncitizen votingA Trump-aligned think tank has ties to a highly unusual Census Bureau report that the president is using to renew false claims of widespread voting by non-U.S. citizens in 2020, NPR has learned.

There are 72 million children in the U.S. (per 2025 Census Bureau population estimates), more than (roughly) 10 million of those children are in families that get food stamps. Now, at least 1 million of those kids are going without SNAP (food stamp) benefits [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

nbcnews.com‘Mom, are we OK?’ Children worry their families can’t afford food after Trump’s SNAP cutsThe Trump administration’s “big, beautiful bill” slashed spending on food stamps. Now, more than 1 million fewer children receive benefits.

Useful: @muckrock.com released a big update to its monitor-a-web-page-for-changes tool Klaxon, which includes browser extensions ( chromewebstore.google.com/detail/klaxo... , addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo... ) and a new website ( www.klaxoncloud.org ).

klaxoncloud.orgKlaxon CloudKlaxon notifies you when the pages you care about change.

The Vaccine Divide project ( nbcnews.com/specials/vac... ), which the @nbcnews.com Data / Graphics team was an instrumental part of (along with many many many in the NBC News Med Unit and from Stanford University) just won a national award, an Edward R. Murrow, for “Excellence in Innovation.”

nbcnews.comThe Vaccine DivideDecades of immunization progress is backsliding, an NBC News data investigation reveals, threatening the safety of children in America, burdening schools and hindering public health.

Digital and broadcast outlets are eligible for the award, and you can see a full list of winners here: www.rtdna.org/2026-nationa...

Private equity's coming for the $30 trillion Americans have saved for retirement. "Trump said in an executive order last year that increasing access to alternative investments through retirement accounts would democratize finance," by @gmorgenson.bsky.social [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/business/per...

nbcnews.comAmericans have $30 trillion saved for retirement. Private equity wants a cutPresident Donald Trump says retirement savers should have access to private equity and hedge funds. How one investment lost 92% of its value.

New profile photo, work commissioned from my sister @manniemurphy.bsky.social / www.instagram.com/manniemurphy/ (thanks sis!)

I've been making summer playlists for 15 years, and my SUMMER 2026 playlist is one of my three most-favorites. Firm voice, wide range of artists (representing nearly 30 countries), available on six music streaming platforms. Ada and I made this art for it here. Listen: joemurph.com/playlists/de...

Portland Oregon's Lloyd Center mall closes to the public for good today. I worked my second job (Payless ShoeSource) and third (Copeland Sports, RIP) at that mall. Took these photos from a visit back there last June. Can't believe Hot Topic was still in operation, 30-plus years later.

Data from the Government Accountability Office puts the tally of DOGE's federal job cuts at close to 400,000, and @amowreader.com's analysis for @nbcnews.com shows that it wasn’t just D.C. that was affected. [paywall] www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...