COMN 105: Introduction to Journalism
Instructor: Ginni Jurkowski
Librarian: Kate Pitcher
Fall 2007
After class, students will be able to:
1. Determine the type of information source they need to use.
2. Find biographical, factual, historical, and critical sources to use when writing news stories.
3. Find and search electronic and internet resources for journalists.
4. Develop a "toolbox" of sources to use when developing news stories.
KEEP IN MIND
There is a wealth of information out there! As a journalist, you will need to sift through
many different information sources to find the correct quotation or statistic for your
news story. Starting with an understanding of what TYPE of source will be appropriate is key
to finding information easily and efficiently. This class and web page is designed to guide you
to a starting place for making decisions about what information source to use.
Biographical
- almanacs
- biographical dictionaries
- directories
- Who's Who...
- web
Critical
dictionaries
encyclopedias
handbooks
Cultural
almanacs
directories
encyclopedias
web
Factual
almanacs
dictionaries
encyclopedias
phone directories (reverse, Criss Cross, yellow pages, white pages)
web
Government
Federal
State
International
catalogs
-- use Monthly Catalog to search for government documents
congressional hearings
federal regulations
handbooks
reports
web
Historical
encyclopedias
bibliographies
-- gives you a list of books and articles on a particular topic or subject)
primary sources
-- use specialized indexes to find primary source material
web
Legal
bibliographies
court opinions
dictionaries
encyclopedias
handbooks
statutes & codes
Scientific
almanacs
atlases
dictionaries
encyclopedias
handbooks
maps
research studies
Statistical
almanacs
handbooks
tabular data
Style Guides
1. French, Christopher W., ed. The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (1987).
2. MacDonald, R.H. A Broadcast News Manual of Style (1987).
3. Martin, Paul R., ed. Guide to Business Style and Usage (2002).
4. Siegal, Alan and William G. Connolly, ed. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (1999).
Web Sources for Journalists
Investigative Reporters and Editors
http://www.reporter.org/
JournalismNet
http://journalismnet.com/
A Journalist's Guide to the Internet
http://reporter.umd.edu
The Journalist's Toolbox
http://www.journaliststoolbox.com/
National Press Club -- Library and Research: Reporter's Internet Resources
http://npc.press.org/library/reporter.shtml
Power Reporting
http://powerreporting.com/
Reference Sources & Tools for Journalists
http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/journalists.html
Reporter's Desktop
http://www.reporter.org/desktop/
Reference Sources for Journalists
Cates, Jo A. Journalism: a guide to the reference literature (1990).
Located at: ref Z 6940 C38 1990
The Center on Crime, Communities & Culture and the Columbia Journalism Review. Volumes I and II (1999, 2000).
Located at: ref HV 7240 C6 1999 & 2000
Robinson, Judith Schiek. Tapping the Government Grapevine: the user-friendly guide to U.S. government information sources (1998).
Located at: ref ZA 5055 U6 R63 1998
Ullmann, John and Steve Honeyman. The Reporter's Handbook: an investigator's guide to documents and techniques (1983).
Located at: ref PN 4781 U56 1983
Ward, Jean and Kathleen A. Hansen. Search Strategies in Mass Communication (1997).
Located at: P 91.3 W37 1997