Backgrounding: the next level

A 26-year-old man with a face full of tattoos was arrested on suspicion of four murders along with several family members. We documented the scope of the family's crime in Omaha, going back generations. Here's how you can do something similar.

Story: Nikko Jenkins' extended family has wreaked havoc on Omaha for generations »

Documents we used

  • Court cases: criminal, civil, juvenile, protection orders
  • Police department rap sheets
  • Police reports
  • Social media, especially Facebook
  • Birth and death certificates
  • World-Herald archives
  • Prison and jail records
  • Online obituaries
  • Property records
  • Putting together a family tree

    Historical archives

    Obituaries

    Court documents

    Building a database

    We mined rap sheets to build a database of all the crimes.

    Turning it into a story

    In addition to our main story, we also had a timeline and follow-ups about family members who've had success and a more current look at the effects of the family on the community.

    The family's reaction

    They did not love the story.

    Other cool ways people have used backgrounding tools:

  • Kansas City Star: The most dangerous zip code in the city
  • Oregonian: The war bride
  • Seattle Times: She stole another’s identity, and took her secret to the grave. Who was she?
  • Boston Globe: The Fall of the House of Tsarnaev
  • Tampa Bay Times: The girl in the window
  • Other story ideas:

  • Who owns downtown? or an up-and-coming area of the city?
  • Find a cold case — missing person, homicide, whatever — and ask, what happened to so and so?
  • Who is the worst landlord in the city?
  • Where is public money going for infrastructure improvements? Who stands to gain?
  • Questions? Comments?

    roseann.moring@owh.com