Search results for "Good sources" ...

• Investigating Education: 3 F's Earn You an A

  Hall discusses how good education reporters utilize families, facts and fun to strengthen their reporting. He offers examples of each category and advice for incorporating it into daily beat reporting.

  Tags: elementary school; high school; sources; developing sources; PTO; PTA; school board; No Child Left Behind; school administrators; state government; Department of Education

  By Andy Hall

  2007

• Cultivating Sources

  Wilson offers advice about how to find and cultivate good sources for investigative stories. He discusses how to organize sources as well as how to maintain relationships with them. Wilson also give advice about how to do professional interviews in a way that gains the sources' trust.

  Tags: sources; backgrounding; story ideas

  By Duff Wilson

  2006

• New Data and New Uses for Data from the Census

  This tipsheet is a good resource for reporters feeling overwhelmed by Census data. The author discusses sources for the most recent Census information, as well as good uses for 2000 Census data. Finally, the tipsheet ends with lots of story ideas that can be done with this data.

  Tags: population; demographic; statistics; computer-assisted reporting; Census; data analysis; federal government; state government

  By Colleen O'Dea

  2006

• Some Thoughts About Making Stories Airtight From the Beginning

  This tipsheet is chock-full of good advice for editors working with investigative reporters. Some of the tips include having the reporters file a reporting plan at the beginning of the project, transcribing interviews and using chronologies. For each broad tip, Rochester offers several specific pieces of advice.

  Tags: editing; writing; interviews; sources; accuracy; fact-checking; newsroom

  By Mark J. Rochester

  2005

• Unsung Documents: New and Surprising Paper Trails

  This dynamic trio start off with a list of five basic rules for finding and using documents, and then go on with a long list of favorite documents and good sources.

  Tags: paper trail; document; FOIA

  By Mike McGraw

  2005

• Investigating Infrastructure: Sources for Data

  This tipsheet lists various sources of data that could lead to good investigative stories. Some examples include pothole complaints, broken fire hydrants, and snow removal maps. All together there are 17 suggestions, and each one includes a brief explanation.

  Tags: story ideas; data; databases; public records; open records

  By Adam Symson

  2005

• Investigative Reporting is Threatened as Never Before

  Baker discusses what important information was overlooked after CBS was called on the carpet for failing to adequately verify its sources in the investigation of President George W. Bush's National Guard service. He includes his article for The Nation describing why Bush left the Guard and why he was sent to Alabama.

  Tags: Good sources; verification; bad sources; watchdog; the press; news media controversy

  By Russ Baker

  2005

• Business Sources and Documents

  This tipsheet is a good guide to staring a business investigation. It includes advice on banks and banking, real estate, social networks and enforcement actions. It also includes information on money services business and campaign contributions.

  Tags: banking; financial institutions; U.S. Treasury; mortgage records; open records; FDIC

  By Wendell Cochran

  2005

• Investigating State and Local Government

  This tipsheet lists some general tips for covering state and local government. For example, one of the tips is: "The best stories seem to start with tips, not fishing expeditions." At the end of the tipsheet is a list of topics, such as budgets and elections laws, that generally lead to good investigations.

  Tags: state capital; ordinances; city council; records; sources

  By J. Andrew Curliss

  2005

• Los Angeles Times Editorial Library: Internet Tools for Research

  This tipsheet is basically the information guide that the LA Times gives to their reporters to help them with internet research. It is essentially a list of websites that are good resources for different beats. For instance, some of the categories listed are entertainment, health and medicine, and legal and court sources. The guide also includes information on phone directories and search engines.

  Tags: research; web; invisible web; resources; websites; reporting; beat reporting

  By Julia Franco

  2005