TAYLOR JOHNSTON

Data + Graphics Reporter

I'm a journalist with the focus of telling impactful stories at the intersection of data and design.
Scroll down to see my selected work or click here

Hearst Connecticut Media Searchable interactive beeswarm chart showing Connecticut high school admissions rates for the 2023 fall semester to UConn.

Failing to Report Concussions

Investigation showing the gap in concussion data reporting among CT school districts.
Hearst Connecticut Media Tree map showing the top sports with the most reported concussions among CT school districts.

Concussion Data Breakdown

Data reporting component to the student concussion investigation, including more analysis and graphics.
Hearst Connecticut Media Map of CT median household income.

Changes in Household Incomes

Utilized the latest U.S. Census ACS to examine how household incomes have changed in Connecticut ZCTAs.
Hearst Connecticut Media Timeline map showing all all stops recorded by a CT State Police trooper.

State Police 'Ghost' Ticketing

Analyzed data and created timeline map showing locations of all stops recorded by a CT State Police trooper.
Hearst Connecticut Media Searchable interactive beeswarm chart showing Connecticut high school admissions rates for the 2023 fall semester to UConn.

UConn Admission Rates

Created a searchable beeswarm chart using D3.js + React to display high school admissions rates for UConn.
Hearst Connecticut Media Promo image for CT Insider's fall foliage tracker.

Fall Foliage Tracker

Teamed up with Hearst Newspaper reporters to develop a tracker for monitoring fall foliage across markets.
Hearst Connecticut Media Bar chart of health care data breaches by year in Connecticut.

Data Breaches in CT

Reporting and Datawrapper charts on which industries are hit hardest by data breaches.
Hearst Connecticut Media Infographic showing how many domestic violence survivors in Connecticut are unable to access housing on a typical day.

Domestic Violence Housing

Infographics using ai2html to explain domestic violence survivors face homelessness in CT.
The Data Visualization Society Abstract image of my SNL visualization

Data Viz Accessibility

Nightingale article about my experience with the DVS mentorship program and the passion project I created.

Hearst Connecticut Media Heatmap of population by age range.

Changing Population in CT

Used newly released Census population data to show how the state's population is changing by age group.
Hearst Connecticut Media Timeline showing different stations and the items found at them as you scroll down the page.

Metro North Lost & Found

Designed and illustrated a project about the most common and interesting items found along the New Haven Line.
Hearst Connecticut Media Bar chart showing the Connecticut of water with the most abandoned boats.

CT's Abandoned Boats

Reporting and Datawrapper charts showing what boats were registered as abandoned and where they were found.
Hearst Connecticut Media Photo illustrations of Connecticut vanity plates that were rejected.

Rejected by the CT DMV

Reporting and graphics for a story about the vanity plates that were rejected and approved in Connecticut.
Hearst Connecticut Media Scrolling packed dot chart showing domestic violence survivors who face domestic violence more than once in Connecticut.

Domestic Violence Violations

Scrolling ai2html graphic explaining survivors who face domestic violence more than once in Connecticut.
Hearst Connecticut Media Bar chart showing Connecticut's pension spending by year, going back to 2014.

State Employee Pensions

Reporting and Datawrapper graphics showing Connecticut's top pension earners.
Hearst Connecticut Media Packed circle chart showing how many Final Four appearances of Blue Blood programs.

Is UConn a Blue Blood?

Series of ai2html charts explaining how UConn could be considered a Blue Blood program.
Hearst Connecticut Media Heatmap calendar showing number of hours CT state police officers were paid for.

Police Hours Worked

Heatmap calendar showing number of hours Connecticut state police officers were paid for.
Hearst Connecticut Media U.S. map showing population claiming irish ancestry.

Irish Influence in CT

Datawrapper charts exploring irish ancestry in New England prior to St. Patrick's Day.
Hearst Connecticut Media Beeswarm plot showing how many CT residents lost their life to COVID-19.

CT Covid Deaths

Beeswarm plot showing how many CT residents lost their life to COVID-19.
Hearst Connecticut Media Packed circle chart showing how many people died and were exposed to gun violence at Sandy Hook on the day of the shooting.

Divide Caused by Highways

Made maps to show the divide highways create for Hartford residents.
Hearst Connecticut Media Diverging map showing where people came from before they moved to Connecticut.

Migration To and From CT

Used Census data and graphics to show who moved into and out of Connecticut.
Hearst Connecticut Media Beeswarm plot showing Connecticut state employee pay in 2022 by agency.

State Employee Pay

Used D3.js + React to create a beeswarm plot of Connecticut state employee pay in 2022. Reported on additional findings here.

Hearst Connecticut Media Packed circle chart showing how many people died and were exposed to gun violence at Sandy Hook on the day of the shooting.

Sandy Hook 10 Years Later

Teamed up with Hearst's DevHub to help design & create project/graphics about what has/hasn't changed since the shooting 10 years ago.
Hearst Connecticut Media Small multiple line charts showing flight cancellations and delays over time at select airports.

Air Travel Disruptions

Reported and created graphics for a story about flight disruptions at Connecticut-area airports.

CTSPJ 2022 Excellence in Journalism Award Winner

Hearst Connecticut Media Bar chart showing the before and after of phone calls being in free for CT incarcerated individuals.

Now Free, Phone Calls Soar

Reported and created graphics for a story about phone calls in CT prisons being free.
Hearst Connecticut Media Packed circle chart showing how many restraint incidents at New York school districts.

Students Restrained

Packed circle chart showing thousands of students restrained in New York school districts.
Hearst Connecticut Media Chart showing the median and longest duration students were in time out rooms in various New York school districts.

How Long in Time Out?

Clock illustrations to explain the median and longest duration NY students spent in time out rooms.
Hearst Connecticut Media Various maps showing NFL ticket sales across the state of Connecticut.

NFL Ticket Sales in CT

Worked with the Hearst DevHub to explore NFL team popularity with ticket sales across the state.
Hearst Connecticut Media Map showing the proposed Wegmans location in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Change in Rent

Interactive map and charts showing where rent prices changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hearst Connecticut Media Chart showing rolling average of Monkeypox cases in Connecticut.

Tracking Monkeypox

Scraped CT Dept. of Health data and used GitHub actions to auto update Datawrapper charts.
Hearst Connecticut Media Interactive map showing CT's state parks and their Google Maps ratings.

CT State Parks

MapLibre map with Google Maps ratings of state parks.
Hearst Connecticut Media Map showing the proposed Wegmans location in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Wegmans in Norwalk

Ai2html map embed of proposed Wegmans site.
Hearst Connecticut Media Small multiple line chart showing different CPI categories and how costs have rose.

Inflation Hits Northeast

Small multiples showing inflation using Consumer Price Index data.

The New York Times Line chart showing percent of employees who are in a union in the U.S.

Union Membership has Fallen

Reported and produced graphics for story about the current state of U.S. labor movement.
The New York Times Line chart of stop-and-frisks during Bloombergs term and how they decreased during de Blasio's.

de Blasio's Legacy on Inequality

Charts showing how de Blasio performed on key issues, from homelessness to police stops.
The New York Times Map of flood areas on the National Mall and what buildings are at the greatest flood risk.

Smithsonian Museums at Risk

Flood map created with QGIS and ai2html to show risk of flooding at Smithsonian buildings.
The New York Times Line chart showing the rise in violent crime versus homicide in 2020.

Inside America's Homicide Surge

Charts created to show how the national homicde rates surged in 2020 compared to previous years.
The New York Times Cartogram representing who is in control of redistricting in each state.

How Maps Reshape American Politics

Various cartograms, bar charts and maps made to explain how redistricting and gerrymandering works.
The New York Times Maps showing different legistlation restricting state or local authority over health and emergency decisions.

Where State Laws Limit Public Health Powers

A set of maps showing where legistlation restricts state health and emergency decisions.
The New York Times Mapped location of a D.C. bomb threat, including key buildings and evacuated blocks.

'Bomb Threat' Near Library of Congress

Locator map for breaking news coverage of D.C. bomb threat and nearby evacuated blocks.
The New York Times Infographic showing Eric Adams's inner and outer circle of allies.

Meet Eric Adams’s Inner Circle

An ai2html infographic showing the inner and outer circle of allies who could help shape Eric Adams's administration and his agenda.
The Center for Public Integrity Interactive map with toggle feature showing makeup of multigenerational households in each county

Multigenerational Households and COVID-19

Toggle between race/ethnicity to see makeup of multigenerational households in the U.S.
The Center for Public Integrity Interactive map showing percentages of long-term care workers who have been fully vaccinated

Long-Term Care Workers Refusing Shots

Interactive map showing where long-term-careworkers received shots.

Featured on NPR

The Center for Public Integrity Style guide for all data visualizations and graphics at The Center for Public Integrity

Data Visualization Style Guide

Style guide that adheres to accessibility standards and is complete with color palettes, font styles and examples for colleagues to utilize.
The Center for Public Integrity Bar chart showing number of COVID-19 deaths in Genesee County by race

Genesee County Deaths

Stacked bar chart showing COVID-19 deaths categorized by race in a Michigan county.

Featured on FlintBeat

The Center for Public Integrity Map tracking military and police involvement in Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol

Tracking Participation

Tracking law-enforcement/military participation in Jan. 6 Capitol attack with an interactive map
The Center for Public Integrity Choropleth map COVID-19 cases in South Dakota nursing homes

South Dakota Nursing Homes

Interactive maps showing impact of COVID-19 in SD nursing homes

Featured on HuffPost

The Center for Public Integrity Choropleth map of food production with spikes indicating COVID-19 cases

Immigrant Foodworkers

Interactive map of where immigrants produce food while facing COVID-19

SABEW & Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award Winner

The Center for Public Integrity Choropleth map of concentrated animal feeding operations in the U.S.

Big Farms

Map showing locations of concentrated animal feeding operations in the U.S.

Featured on Mother Jones

Ohio Today Timeline of events leading to Ohio University's closing in 1970

Countdown to the 1970 Closing

Timeline of student activism at Ohio University which led to a history-making end to the school year
The Post Choropleth map of Ohio coronavirus cases, focusing on Athens County

Covering COVID-19

Landing page/map to inform OU and Athens about coronavirus updates

College Coronavirus Coverage Award Winner

Soul of Athens Capstone project for Soul of Athens

A Long Road

Senior capstone covering the struggles of health care among medical providers and patients in Southeast Ohio
The Post Map of police reports at Ohio University Greek Life houses

SUSPENDED

Landing page/map created when hazing allegations flooded OU

Computation + Journalism Conference 2020 Award Winner

The Post Searchable database of all Ohio University employee salaries for 2019-2020

The Salary Guide

Searchable database comparing all of the salaries of Ohio University employees from 2019-2020
The Post All reported crimes on campus and in the city of Athens

The Crime Map

Interactive map showing the details of crimes reported by APD and OUPD, updated throughout the semester
The Dallas Morning News Interactive map of Dallas' public pools and the demographics of the areas they are located in

Dallas' Public Pools

Project on inequality in Dallas' public pools using data analysis and interactive map
The Dallas Morning News Timeline showing all events in the Chemirmir case

Billy Chemirmir Timeline

Interactive timeline map showing alleged victims and how law enforcement pieced together the case
The Dallas Morning News Searchable database of all Texas schools and the grades they received

How Texas Schools Graded

Landing page that allows users to search Texas school districts and see the scores each school received