COMN 105 Introduction to Journalism

COMN 105 Introduction to Journalism
Instructor: Ginni Jurkowski
Librarian: Kate Pitcher
FALL 2006

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

The URL for the COMN 105 class web page is
http://www.geneseo.edu/~pitcher/comn105jurkowski.htm

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.

DETERMINE THE TYPE OF INFORMATION YOU NEED

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

Reference Toolkit

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).

WRITING GUIDES

1. Block, Mervin. Writing broadcast news-- shorter, sharper, stronger : a professional handbook (1987).

2. Bremner, John. Words on words : a dictionary for writers and others who care about words (1980).

2. Kent, Ruth Kimball. The language of journalism; a glossary of print-communications terms (1971).

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).
ref Z 6940 C38 1990

The Center on Crime, Communities & Culture and the Columbia Journalism Review.
Covering Criminal Justice: volumes I and II (1999, 2000).
ref HV 7240 C6 1999 & 2000

Robinson, Judith Schiek.
Tapping the Government Grapevine: the user-friendly guide to U.S. government information sources (1998).
ref ZA 5055 U6 R63 1998

Ullmann, John and Steve Honeyman.
The Reporter's Handbook: an investigator's guide to documents and techniques (1983).
ref PN 4781 U56 1983

Ward, Jean and Kathleen A. Hansen. Search Strategies in Mass Communication (1997).
P 91.3 W37 1997

Kate Pitcher
Reference/InstructionLibrarian
Room 201, Milne Library
SUNY Geneseo
(585) 245-5064
pitcher@geneseo.edu
http://www.geneseo.edu/~pitcher
AOL IM username: beebugkate