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Research, investigative journalism, research methods: news & resources

1. IFJ Releases Press Freedom Report for South Asia (April 30, 2010)
   The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in association with the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) will officially release the eighth annual report on press freedom in South Asia at a regional event on May 3.
2. Microsoft, piracy, and independent media in Kyrgyzstan (April 14, 2010)
   Selective enforcement of alleged software infringement is being used with some frequency in the former Soviet republics as cover to harass independent media. Local law enforcement officials have been given broad powers, in the name of fighting piracy, to raid premises and seize hardware. For the most part, Western companies and governments have encouraged this broadening of powers.
3. Journalists assaulted and censored (March 17, 2010)
   Palestinian journalists are under attack from Israeli forces and are also subjected to raids and arrests as a result of political rivalry between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Meanwhile, Israel continues to target and detain scores of Palestinians involved in protests against the separation barrier in the West Bank with freedom of movement and expression violations, reports Human Rights Watch.
4. U.S. Intelligence planned to destroy Wikileaks (March 15, 2010)
   This document is a classifed (SECRET/NOFORN) 32 page U.S. counterintelligence investigation into WikiLeaks. ``The possibility that current employees or moles within DoD or elsewhere in the U.S. government are providing sensitive or classified information to Wikileaks.org cannot be ruled out''. It concocts a plan to fatally marginalize the organization. Since WikiLeaks uses ``trust as a center of gravity by protecting the anonymity and identity of the insiders, leakers or whisteblowers'', the report recommends ``The identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistlblowers could potentially damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the Wikileaks.org Web site''.
5. Web 2.0 versus Control 2.0 (March 12, 2010)
   The fight for free access to information is being played out to an ever greater extent on the Internet. The emerging general trend is that a growing number of countries are attemptimg to tighten their control of the Net, but at the same time, increasingly inventive netizens demonstrate mutual solidarity by mobilizing when necessary.
6. Freedom of expression under attack in every region, say IFEX members on International Human Rights Day (December 17, 2009)
   To mark International Human Rights Day IFEX members paused to comment on violations of free expression as they commemorated the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
7. The dark side of the internet (November 26, 2009)
   Search engines access only a very small fraction of the deep web, which is estimated to be five hundred times as big as the surface web.
8. Free Speech Protection Act could slow 'libel tourism' (November 16, 2009)
   Free press advocates in Britain are looking to a bill stuck in the U.S. Congress for moral support in the fight to reform England’s draconian defamation laws. The U.S. bill, the Free Speech Protection Act 2009, is itself the product of those laws, which have made London the capital of “libel tourism.”
9. Berlin Twitter Wall website blocked just days after its launch (November 4, 2009)
   Reporters Without Borders deplores the fact that the Chinese authorities blocked the Berlin Twitter Wall website (www.berlintwitterwall.com) just days after its launch.
10. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Other Languages (October 30, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to other languages. Connexions (founded 1975) maintains an online library dealing with human rights, civil liberties, social, economic and environmental alternatives, and grassroots activism. Volunteer translators may be located anywhere, since documents can be sent by email; however, volunteers living in Toronto are welcome to work out of the Connexions office along with our other volunteers and interns.
    Volunteer translators are wanted for translation into various languages, including:
    Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Afrikaans, Albanian, Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Czech, Esperanto, Estonian, Persian, Georgian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Javanese, Latvian, Lithuania, Macdeonian, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Tagalog/Filipino, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese.
11. Sources Calendar (October 29, 2009)
    Listings of events of interest to journalists, editors, researchers, publishers and others working in the media and in publishing, covering Canadian and international events, press conferences, meetings, festivals and holidays, as well as award deadlines.
12. Sources News Releases (October 29, 2009)
    News releases from organizations and companies on a wide range of topics. Includes an extensive topic index, an archive of releases going back to the 1970s, and links to experts and organizations knowledgeable about the issues covered in the releases. Available via RSS feed as well as on the Sources.com website.
13. 23 IFEX members and other organisations raise concerns about proposed mechanisms to combat racial and religious intolerance (October 22, 2009)
    23 IFEX members and other organisations raise concerns about proposed mechanisms to combat racial and religious intolerance.
14. Windows and online banking - Just say no (October 14, 2009)
    There has been a rash of online heists that have stolen millions of dollars from businesses and non-profit organizations. While circumstances are different in each case, they all point to a single point of failure: Each theft relied on the successful compromise of a Windows-based system. It was this undeniable fact that led Brian Krebs - author of the Security Fix blog which over the past month has published a series of articles detailing high-stakes bank thefts - to recommend Windows machines no longer be used by those who choose to do their banking online.
15. Guardian gagged from reporting Parliament (October 13, 2009)
    
16. Trafigura gag attempt unites house in protest (October 13, 2009)
    Efforts by the law firm Carter-Ruck to stop reporting of a Commons question about Trafigura have outraged MPs on all sides.
17. Guardian gagged from reporting parliament (October 12, 2009)
    Today's published Commons order papers contain a question to be answered by a minister later this week. The Guardian is prevented from identifying the MP who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found. The Guardian is also forbidden from telling its readers why the paper is prevented – for the first time in memory – from reporting parliament. Legal obstacles, which cannot be identified, involve proceedings, which cannot be mentioned, on behalf of a client who must remain secret.
18. The Twitterest Pill (October 9, 2009)
    Who judges the legitimate and illegitimate uses of communications technology in social movements? Which networked alliances have State-sponsorship, and which ones face criminalization and State-crackdown? Social media are relying on open network access, but this openness too easily sugarcoats itself in democratic notions (participation, interactivity, freedom). At the same historic moment, we are also witnessing an expansion, integration, and refinement of sovereign police power. When the two converge we begin to see an increase in repressive intervention into, and pre-emption of, information use.
19. BBC High Court defence against Trafigura libel suit (September 11, 2009)
    This document was submitted to the UK's High Court by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in September 2009, as a Defence against a libel claim brought against them by the oil company Trafigura. A May 2009 BBC Newsnight feature suggested that 16 deaths and many other injuries were caused by the dumping in the Ivory Coast of a large quantity of toxic waste originating with Trafigura. A September 2009 UN report into the matter stated that 108,000 people were driven to seek medical attention. This Defence, which has never been previously published online, outlines in detail the evidence which the BBC believed justified its coverage. In December 2009 the BBC settled out of court amid reports that fighting the case could have cost as much as 3 million pounds. The BBC removed its original Newsnight footage and associated articles from its on-line archives. The detailed claims contained in this document were never aired publicly, and never had a chance to be tested in court.
20. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Arabic (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Arabic.
21. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Chinese (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Chinese, and from English to other languages.
22. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Danish (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Danish, and from English to other languages.
23. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Dutch (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Dutch, and from English to other languages.
24. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Farsi (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Farsi, and from English to other languages.
25. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Finnish (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Finnish, and from English to other languages.
26. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to French (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to French, and from English to other languages
27. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to German (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to German, and from English to other languages.
28. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Italian (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Italian, and from English to other languages.
29. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Japanese (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Japanese, and from English to other languages.
30. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Korean (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Korean, and from English to other languages.
31. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Norwegian (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Norwegian, and from English to other languages.
32. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Polish (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Polish, and from English to other languages.
33. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Portuguese (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Portuguese, and from English to other languages.
34. Volunteer Translators Wanted English to Spanish (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Spanish, and from English to other languages.
35. Volunteer Translators Wanted – English to Swedish (September 4, 2009)
    Connexions, an independent non-profit research organization and information clearinghouse based in Toronto, Canada, seeks volunteer translators to translate articles, and terms in our subject index, from English to Swedish, and from English to other languages.
36. Citizen media takes the stage as protests continue in Iran (June 23, 2009)
    Wth foreign media expelled from Iran, and local journalists being targeted, citizen journalists are becoming vital in covering the situation on the ground. MENASSAT interviewed Magda Abu-Fadil, Director of the Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut (AUB), to discuss what this means for the future of journalism
37. 12 States Sign World's First Treaty on Access to Information (June 19, 2009)
    12 European countries today became the first states to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents.
38. Sources Select Resources (June 15, 2009)
    Reviews and information about print and online resources for journalists and researchers.
39. Secret Documents (June 11, 2009)
    Recent stories about misplaced cabinet documents and secret memos reminded Cecil Rosner of a similar experience 25 years ago. It was one of those moments reporters seldom experience – and never forget.
40. Directory of Public Domain Clip Art (June 6, 2009)
    The Open Clip Art Library is a collection of clip art that’s been placed in the public domain and is free to use....
    
41. Swine Flu Coverage Around the World (May 28, 2009)
    The swine flu story quickly topped the American media agenda when the story broke in late April. How did coverage in other countries compare with the U.S.? Was there any correlation between the number of confirmed cases and quantity or nature of coverage? How did Spanish-language media in the U.S. react? A new report examining press coverage of the outbreak in several countries offers answers. How did coverage in the U.S. compare to media in other countries, both in the level of coverage and the way it was framed? How did the number of cases reported or the geographic proximity to the epicenter of the outbreak impact coverage? And, did the Spanish-language press in the U.S. treat the outbreak differently than its English-language counterparts?
42. Investigating Wrongful Convictions (May 24, 2009)
    Canadian journalists have played an important role over the last half century in the investigation of high-profile wrongful convictions. But these kinds of stories take time and resources -- commodities in short supply today. Perhaps it's time to consider new models for launching these kinds of investigations.
43. Helping you reach the media (May 14, 2009)
    Media coverage is the most valuable kind of publicity there is because it is based on the news value or information value of what you do or say, and is therefore far more credible than paid publicity like advertising. SOURCES makes it possible for organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals to reach the media effectively, consistently, and inexpensively. SOURCES has been helping organizations, companies, institutions, and individuals get media attention for over 30 years.
44. Have new social media made ‘traditional’ media obsolete? (May 12, 2009)
    New media provide additional channels for getting messages out, but they don't make older media obsolete. The task is of public relations is to reach people through the media they use. In an increasingly diverse and fragmented world, that means using as many different channels of communication as possible.
45. Doing a Lot with a Little (May 11, 2009)
    As budgets and reporting teams shrink, lessons can be learned from what a team of University of King’s College students accomplished in an investigative workshop. Fred Vallance-Jones, the project instructor, shows how a six-week project beat the provincial media to an important story.
46. Keeping Books Safe (April 2, 2009)
    Imagine a dystopian horror tale in which virtually all books from the past were destroyed...Books that did not meet the ideologies of the publishers, the demands of the mass market, the trends of the day would be destroyed...That incredible scenario is actually playing out in terms of children's books under a law meant to protect toddlers from lead contaminant in toys. Called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the law was passed in August 2008 -- quickly, without scrutiny and nearly unanimously.
47. An investigation into the serious abuses of the 'War on Terror' is imperative (March 6, 2009)
    Reporters Without Borders asks that the new Obama administration lead an investigation into the destruction of interrogation videotapes at secret prisons.
48. The Struggle for Electronic Records (February 3, 2009)
    Journalists have been asking for electronic records from Canadian governments for at least 15 years. There have been a few encouraging developments, writes Fred Vallance-Jones, but a recent FOI audit showed we have a long way to go.
49. Connexions Library: Science Focus (2009)
    Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on science.
50. Detecting Bull (2009)
    This book helps teach students how to view the news and find trustworthy information. It takes the lessons learned from his years leading GradeTheNews.org, a website that rated the news in San Francisco.
    
51. Eyes on Congress (2009)
    Democratic majorities in both chambers have improved the outlook for long-awaited media initiatives. Kathleen Kirby discusses Freedom of Information Issues pending in the 111th Congress.
52. Sources Calendar Expired Entries (2009)
    An archive of past events listed in the Sources Calendar.
53. Sources News Release Archive 2009 (2009)
    News releases from 2009.
54. Sources Newsstand (2009)
    
55. Sources (Portal für Journalisten and Autoren) - Wikipedia Artikel (2009)
    Sources ist ein Informationsportal für Journalisten, Redakteure, Autoren und Forscher mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Personen als Quellen: Fachleute und Repräsentanten, die bereit sind Fragen von Reportern zu beantworten oder sich für Live-Interviews zur Verfügung stellen.
56. Sources Select Authors (2009)
    Authors available to take media calls about their area of expertise.
    
57. Sources Select Speakers (2009)
    Speakers available to take media calls about their area of expertise, and available for speaking engagements.
58. Sources Select Universities, Colleges, and Institutes (2009)
    Academic experts available to take media calls about their area of expertise.
59. Take a Number (2009)
    Informing journalists on how to research online, this report gives advice on understanding and properly using statistics.
60. Trafigura (2009)
    Trafigura is a Swiss-based multinational company founded in 1993 trading in base metals and energy, including oil, which has been named or involved in several scandals, especially in Africa.
61. Twitter (2009)
    Tips for using Twitter as a journalism and research tool.
62. Wikipedia's article about Sources - local version (2009)
    
63. Sources Archived News Releases 1977 - 2008 (December 31, 2008)
    News releases from 2008 and before.
64. Research and Reporting Features (May 25, 2008)
    Feature writers tend to spend much more time researching and reporting their story than writing it. That's because to write with authority, intelligence and a fresh perspective, you need a comprehensive picture of your story's topic. Here are a few excellent guides and resources that feature writers should check out.
65. U.S. Public Records Law (May 22, 2008)
    Documents and other data are often the building blocks of a great investigative report. So understanding and using laws that give you access to such information are necessary tools of the trade.
66. A pro-Israel group's plan to rewrite history on Wikipedia (April 21, 2008)
    Electronic Intifada exposes a secret scheme by a pro-Israel pressure group to infiltrate the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia to rewrite Palestinian history, pass off crude propaganda as fact, and take over Wikipedia administrative structures to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged.
    
67. Improving Accuracy (March 10, 2008)
    Eduardo Lorea describes how eight newspapers in southern Brazil are working to identify and avoid their most common errors, using a common process and database application.
68. Getting More out of Google (2008)
    How often do you start a search by looking on Google? Yeah, I do that more often than I’d like to admit, too. But even if you think of yourself as a Google sophisticate, chances are there are a lot of advanced and specialized search techniques you aren’t taking advantage of – in part because Google is always developing new and useful ways to search.
69. Sources News Release Archive 2008 (2008)
    News releases from 2008.
70. Sources News Release Archive early 2008 (2008)
    
71. Women and the News (2008)
    The proceedings and talks given at a conference discussing women in the news, the need to address how women are less likely to be informed of political issues and a discussion of gender biases in the news.
72. Sources Archived News Releases 2007 (December 31, 2007)
    
73. Who owns knowledge? (September 21, 2007)
    The resurgence of a Romantic view of culture poses a real menace to the free flow of knowledge and threatens to corral it into intellectual Bantustans. The ideas of free speech and open debate become meaningless if we fail to defend a universalist concept of knowledge or if we accept the notion of science as but a local view whose factual claims must defer to cultural and political needs. If scientific debate is constrained to express only sentiments with which people feel comfortable, culturally and politically, then science dies as the line between knowledge and myth becomes eroded.
    
74. Crimes of War (2007)
    An A-Z guide to the laws governing armed conflict and their application in practice. The chapters include discussions of the crimes prohibited by international humanitarian law, key terms relating to modern warfare, analysis of legal categories, and case studies showing the place of war crimes in recent conflicts. The text of the Arabic edition of Crimes of War is also available online. For anyone interested in using Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know in high school or college education, Human Rights Education Associates have produced a study guide to accompany the book.The book is now available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Serbo-Croat and Spanish.
75. Mundo Digital de Dean 59 (2007)
    
76. Sources Archived News Releases 2006 (December 31, 2006)
    
77. Dean's Digital World Articles (2006)
    List of Dean's Digital World articles.
78. A Reporter's Field Guide (2006)
    What is the extent of the right to gather news? The question arises on a daily basis for journalists around the country: reporters and photographers are told by police that they cannot enter a crime scene, are threatened with arrest for not moving where police order them to move, or are ordered out of a building or an area where a newsworthy event is taking place.
79. Southern African Media Directory 2006-2007 (2006)
    
80. Sources Archived News Releases 2005 (December 31, 2005)
    
81. Sources Archived News Releases 2004 (December 31, 2004)
    
82. Journalist's Guide to Covering Bioterrorism (April 1, 2004)
    The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation has published "A Journalist's Guide to Covering Bioterrorism" to help reporters and producers tackle these stories. Among this guide's features:
    - Specific information on biological weapons, including when they've been used in the past, how an attack might unfold and what countries have them
    - Details about possible bioweapons, including information about infection, prevalence and treatment
    - A list of national and local contacts
    - A glossary of terms
83. Sources Archived News Releases 2003 (December 31, 2003)
    
84. Access to Electronic Records (2003)
    Reporters have a tool that allows them to report on entire populations and do original analysis on a subject for their stories, rather than relying solely on anecdotes. Computer-assisted reporting helps journalists do important stories that otherwise would not be covered.
85. Sources Archived News Releases 1979 - 2002 (December 31, 2002)
    
86. Researching People on the Internet (July 24, 2002)
    Public records databases are increasingly being put on the Internet by government agencies but finding them quickly is another matter. This article describes how to do so.
87. Investigative Files: Benny Hinn: Healer or Hypnotist? (2002)
    
88. Secret Justice (2002)
    The American judicial system has, historically, been open to the public, and the U.S. Supreme Court has continually affirmed the presumption of openness. However, as technology expands and as the perceived threat of violence grows, individual courts attempt to keep control over proceedings by limiting the flow of information. Courts are reluctant to allow media access to certain cases or to certain proceedings, like jury selection. Courts routinely impose gag orders to limit public discussion about pending cases, presuming that there is no better way to ensure a fair trial. Many judges fear that having cameras in courtrooms will somehow interfere with the decorum and solemnity of judicial proceedings.
89. Massive Uncritical Publicity for Supposed "Independent UFO Investigation" (1998)
    
90. Canadian Library Association Award for the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada Winners (1988)
    Winners from 1988 on.
91. Sources Archived News Releases - Pre 1979 (December 31, 1979)