Gathering Information

Writing and Reporting the News: A Journalism Practicum

Digital Resources:

  • Online news libraries: nytimes.com, ucsdguardian.org
  • Search engines: www.google.com
  • New aggregators: news.yahoo.com
  • Commercial news databases: LexisNexis
  • Government databases: www.census.gov
  • Special Interest databases: online press releases (www.fda.gov/opacom/hpnews.html)

Traditional Resources:

  • City, state, and federal directories
  • US Census
  • Telephone books
  • Maps
  • Dictionary
  • Congressional Directory
  • Current Biography: profiles of prominent people
  • Facts on File: weekly compilation of news from metropolitan newspapers
  • Guinness Book of World Records
  • Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature: index of magazine articles
  • Statistical Abstracts of the United States: digest of data from federal agencies

Sources of story ideas:

  • Other people
  • Your own publication
  • Other publications
  • News releases
  • Government reports
  • Your own life
  • Researchers or field experts
  • Local, national and international leaders
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