Mobile apps for investigative journalists

Journalists can now carry many of the essential reporting tools -- camera, voice recorder, notepad, phone, police scanner -- with them in one hand-held device. But that same device can carry a police scanner, a document scanner, a photo editor, a video camera and a flight tracker. You can record audio and take time-stamped notes. You can do calculations and legal research on the fly with easy searches. If stuck in the field, you can type a story on your phone that automatically syncs to a folder on a newsroom computer.

There are countless mobile apps that can help the work of an investigative reporter, for use both in the field and in the office. But which are the best? It was a question asked on the NICAR Listserv a while back that generated a lot of discussion. IRE member Will Koper began putting together a spreadsheet of the best apps, and IRE student employee Samantha Sunne continued that work, finishing the spreadsheet.

Take a look to see the bets apps for journalists. If you have a suggestion for the list, send it to web@ire.org.