Online Newsgathering: Research and Reporting for Journalism

by Stephen Quinn, Stephen Lamble

Overview

Journalists used to rely on their notepad and pen. Today, professional journalists rely on the computer-and not just for the writing. Much, if not all, of a journalist's research happens on a computer.

If you are journalist of any kind, you need to know how to find the information you need online. This book will show you how to find declassified governmental files, statistics of all kinds, simple and complex search engines for small and large data gathering, and directories of subject experts. This book is for the many journalists around the world who didn't attend a formal journalism school before going to work, those journalists who were educated before online research became mainstream, and for any student studying journalism today. It will teach you how to use the Internet wisely, efficiently and comprehensively so that you will always have your facts straight and fast.

Online Newsgathering:
. reflects the most current thinking
. is pertinent to both industry and education
. focuses on what people need to know

Please visit the authors' companion website at http://computerassistedreporting.com for additional resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781136033056
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/26/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Stephen Quinn is an associate professor of journalism in the Faculty of Arts at Deakin University in Australia. He previously served as an associate professor of journalism at Ball State University and as both the director of the Center for Media Training and Research and an associate professor of journalism at Zayed University in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He has also taught journalism in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Between 1975 and 1990, Quinn worked full time as a reporter, writer, editor and columnist in Australia, Thailand, the UK and New Zealand. He started with regional newspapers in Australia (the Newcastle Herald) and has worked -- in chronological order -- for the Bangkok Post, the Press Association in London, BBC-TV, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Television New Zealand, Independent Television News in London, and The Guardian in London. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Newcastle in Australia, his master's degree from The City University in London and his Ph.D. from the University of Wollongong in Australia. Quinn is the author of Convergent Journalism and Conversations on Convergence (both New York: Peter Lang 2005) Knowledge Management in the Digital Newsroom (Oxford: Focal Press 2002), Digital Sub-Editing and Design (Oxford: Focal Press 2001), Newsgathering on the Net second edition (Melbourne: Macmillan 2001) and The Art of Learning (Sydney: UNSW Press 1999).
Stephen Lamble PhD is Associate Professor of Journalism and Head of the School of Communication at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Dr Lamble founded, and leads, the university's innovative journalism program in which students become multiskilled and learn to work across all media. A former senior journalist with News Limited's The Sunday Mail newspaper in Queensland, he was one of the first Australian journalist to adopt computer-assisted reporting methods. A specialist investigative reporter, he has been recognised in Australia's most prestigious journalism awards, the Walkley Awards, as the most outstanding journalist in any media in Queensland. He has been a newspaper editor, copy editor, photo-journalist and consultant editor. His PhD focussed on computer-assisted reporting and freedom of information. He is co-author of The Daily Miracle: An Introduction to Journalism, third edition, (Oxford University Press: South Melbourne 2006).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: How journalists use the Internet worldwide
The chapter describes journalists' use of the Internet around the world to provide an overview of just how accepted the Internet has become as a reporting tool. It uses, among other references, the annual Middleberg-Ross surveys of Internet use by journalists which have appeared since 1998.

Chapter 2: Generating story ideas
This chapter focuses on how to use different parts of the Internet-email, blogs, the UseNet, newsgroups, and the Web-to develop story ideas for all areas of the media. It includes a section on how to read URLs because this is needed as background for chapter 7, on assessing information quality and veracity.

Chapter 3: Email for newsgathering
Because email is the most commonly used part of the Internet, this chapter describes the many ways that journalists can use email to gather information for stories.

Chapter 4: Blogs, moblogs and journalism
This focuses on the development of blogs as reporting tools (places where journalists can find new and useful information). Will also look at the new phenomenon of moblogs (blogs that incorporate the cameras in mobile phones) and vlogs (video blogs) as new forms of blogging.

Chapter 5: Beyond Google: Finding information
This chapter will look at the host of new search tools available plus other information sources such as specialist blogs, RSS (really simple syndication), and intelligent bots (software that searches for designated search strings).

Chapter 6: Information gathering for a multi-media world
This chapter is based on the premise that the modern, converged journalist needs to gather information for more than one medium, and shows how to collect information for multi-platform and multi-media reportage.

Chapter 7: Evaluating information quality
Most journalists accept that the world is full of information. The key issue is the quality of the information. This chapter introduces processes and tools for assessing the quality and veracity of information.

Chapter 8: Developing a beat using the Internet
Ass the name suggests, this chapter offers a strategy for helping a new reporter use the Internet for developing an area of expertise. It includes how to find experts, how to research deep material, and how to explore key topics in detail. It also brings the whole issue of multi-media information gathering together in one process.

Chapter 9: The global journalist
This chapter focuses on the global nature of the Internet and shows journalists how to conduct international investigations using teams from partner nations. It is based on the Greenpeace slogan (appropriated from Mohandas K Ghandi) of thinking globally but acting locally.

Chapter 10: Sites for journalists by journalists
This chapter acknowledges the wide range of information that journalists currently make available for other journalists on web sites. It describes the best of them, and details the host of legitimate online resources available for journalists.

Glossary and index