The Craft of Research

This is the expanded, FUNNY way of asking Are you sure? and Says who?

This should go without saying, but I’ll be kind and give you a heads-up anyway.  You should be providing sources for your answers on the CD beat memo.  In particular, I don’t want to see any statistics without you telling me where they came from.  (Remember one of our key questions to be addressed?  Says who?)  Where applicable, a link to the source is sufficient.

Points of emphasis for critical thinking:

• Experts should be one of your first thoughts as a source of information on any subject.  They can lend authority, accuracy, balance and credibility to your stories.  They may also refer you to other sources.
• One good way to find experts is to do a Nexis or Factiva search on your story subject and see who has spoken on the topic in the past.
• Another way is to seek out local or national organizations related to the topic.  One of my favorite tools is the Encyclopedia of Associations, an “old-fashioned” print resource available in our Research Center.  Online, you can use the school’s Associations Unlimited account or the universally accessible Gateway to Associations.
• Government experts can also be useful.  Any New York City reporter should have the latest copy of the Green Book (print only; no online version) and bookmark the Public Advocate’s Government Guide.
• Many colleges and universities provide access to faculty and staff experts via their web sites, including CUNY and other local schools.   There are also web sites specifically devoted to connecting journalists with experts, such as ProfNet and the Directory of Experts.
• Sources need not always be subject experts.  Acquaintances of people or witnesses to events would be prime examples.  ReferenceUSA is a great tool to find such sources.

One of my colleagues here at school has won a prestigious award.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have Anne as your research instructor in Craft II.
But for now, you’re stuck with me. 

We have our first class byline of the semester, a Queens Courier story about the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts’ new home.  Congratulations…Canada breaks the ice!

More burning questions from recent days…

• Do you agree that these are the Top 25 Digital Influencers in News & Politics?
• Is this Newsweek writer correct when he opines that newspapers deserve to die?
• Will the focus “On Language” live on without William Safire? (R.I.P.)

Is Twitter really worth a billion bucks?

Is this what we should learn from the Mark Whicker debacle?

In light of the ACORN videos and their subsequent media coverage, does this Slate column make a good case for “activist” journalism?

On a related note, could Media Matters, despite some good points on fact-checking and the like, be more apoplectic about it? (And would they be if this weren’t “conservative” activism?)

Regarding the Google Book Search controversy, have you seen the New York Times topic page and the Open Book Alliance site?

Also on the topic of digital archives, will this joint effort take off?

Last but not least, did you know you’re already working for the Times? (See video below.)

Don’t forget the two questions that need to be addressed when using statistics in a story:

1. Are you sure?
2. Says who?

In other words, you need to check the accuracy of your numbers and must cite their source.

Today’s bonus: I’ve posted about Twitter here before, but these Washington Post videos are flat out hilarious.

Double bonus: Just how many nuts in ACORN?  Sheesh!  San Bernardino and San Diego too?  Update: In a story about James O’Keefe, NBC Nightly News just reported that there are more videos to come…

Tonight’s program also had an interesting spelling note…

Along with NYC.gov, the following resources may also help you compile information for your beat memo:

• American Community Survey (Census Bureau)
• Infoshare Online
• ReferenceUSA
• Board of Elections web sites for New York State and New York City

If you’re looking for more on the Google Book Search brouhaha I mentioned in my “summer reading” post, I discovered a pretty thorough bibliography on the subject, going back to late 2003.

Or if you’re keeping tabs on the upcoming New York City elections, check this out.  Races from the mayor on down.

Today’s bonus: I’m expecting big things from this New York Times series on Toxic Waters.  It’s a great example of what I mean by “research-inspired enterprise.”  The Times web site also had some fine bells and whistles last week on the one-year anniversary of the financial crisis.

Note to my Craft I students: The lesson handout below is intended for International Reporting students, although you’re welcome to take a look, of course.

Note to International Reporting students: The following handout is more robust than my typical handout, but it’s a big world and I’ve got only one crack at you this semester, so I threw in the kitchen sink.  We’ll have time to review a handful of the resources in class, but you should check out the others as well.

• Lesson handout