Marist Alum Anthony DeBarros on Data Journalism

Anthony DeBarros ‘86 has been on the cutting edge of data in journalism throughout his career. He got into the data surge very early on in its rise, which gives him some of the most experience in the field one can find. It was this experience that has gotten him to where he is today: a data editor for the Wall Street Journal. 

A Hudson Valley-native, DeBarros attended Dutchess Community College for five semesters before deciding to transfer to Marist College for his final four. While at Marist, DeBarros majored in English, with a concentration in writing. DeBarros wrote and edited for the Marist Circle during his time on campus. 

Originally, DeBarros wanted to be a novelist, but found a different passion in the late 1980s. 

DeBarros decided to buy a personal computer in order to write a novel but instead found himself falling in love with the computer itself. “I was just naturally drawn to the technology,” said DeBarros. He realized that this newfound technology would be a huge part of the future, and decided to pursue a Masters Degree in Information Systems from Marist. DeBarros took one night class per semester while working at The Poughkeepsie Journal in order to complete his Masters. 

DeBarros was hired by the Poughkeepsie Journal directly following his undergraduate tenure at Marist. He worked at the Journal for 11 years, from 1986-1997, where he worked his way up to eventually become the editor of the Life section of the newspaper. 

From there, he moved on to USA Today, where he worked for 15 years from 1997-2012. It was at this point he started to focus on linking the worlds of data analytics and journalism. At USA Today, he became a database editor and later became the senior database editor. 

In 2011, DeBarros started working on one of his lifelong goals: writing a book. “I knew that I’d always had a proclivity for teaching and training,” said DeBarros, who had taught as an adjunct professor at Marist during his time with the Poughkeepsie Journal. Before writing the book, he had a blog that he often used to explain certain technology programs such as Excel. The published guides received great feedback and more traction than many of his other posts. People found the way DeBarros explained difficult concepts very helpful. 

This lead DeBarros to write “Practical SQL: A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling with Data.” “SQL is a widely used language that has been used since the 70s and isn’t going away anytime soon,” he said. 

DeBarros’ many years working in data analytics have led to his expertise in SQL, so he decided to write a book as a “how-to” guide about the language. “I thought to myself, what’s something I know really well, and SQL stuck out to me,” he said. 

It took DeBarros a few years to write the first nine chapters of the book. At that point, life got in the way of his process and he ended up shelving the book for a year. When he shifted his focus back onto the book, DeBarros was able to interest the publisher No Starch Press in publishing his book. “That is when the work really tripled,” he said. DeBarros worked on his book during any available time. He woke up early before work to write, he would work on the book after his job, and on the weekends. “It consumed the next two and a half years of my life,” he said. 

DeBarros has had one of the longest careers in data journalism. He got in early, and it has paid off in his career development. DeBarros recalled going to a conference called the “Computer Assisted Reporting Conference” while at the Poughkeepsie Journal. “I used to go to that annual conference and there might be 200-300 people,” he said. “Today, if you go to that conference there's probably 1500 or more.”

Today, DeBarros is a data editor at the Wall Street Journal, where he works in the Washington D.C. office. His job consists of analyzing data for stories on topics that can vary from international trade,politics, jobs and the economy. Recently, DeBarros has worked on stories about the trade war with China. 

DeBarros has advice for current college students who will soon be entering the workforce. “My recommendation is to really think of your career as a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “If people approach their career as a process of building... then after 3-5 years, you will see an amazing progression and you will be in places you probably would not have envisioned right out of the gate.”