TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Useful resources worth bookmarking

By Sreenath Sreenivasan

FROM THE MAY/JUNE 2003 ISSUE

GOOGLE NEWS
http://news.google.com

As a news junkie, I used to spend my time scouring the various major news sites to find out what was going on. Now I simply bookmark Google News and revisit it throughout the day. Whether it’s the war in Iraq or other breaking news, this is the best place to get up-to-the-minute reports from 4,500 sites around the world. For example, the day after NBC’s David Bloom died in Iraq, the site had links to more than 760 stories — from Business Week to the London Guardian to HiPakistan.com. This global perspective highlights how narrow and predictable some of the U.S. sites are. I use the “sort by date” option to trace how a story evolved over the past thirty days.
Stories are generated using Google’s complex algorithms and, as the site says, “without human intervention.” Among the factors it considers: where and how often the stories appear elsewhere on the Web. This lack of editors means that, occasionally, some of the story placements are not quite right, but I find that it’s constantly improving. So when you are doing a Google search for a story, be sure to also visit the news section to get more timely results.

FROM THE MARCH/APRIL 2003 ISSUE

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY
http://homeland.cq.com

The new Homeland Security Department — along with the $100 billion industry it has spawned — is not just a Washington story, but also a local story across the country. And the best place for journalists to learn about it is Congressional Quarterly’s Homeland Security, the only daily publication covering the topic. This one-stop shop for news, analysis, contacts, and resources is run by a team of four reporters and three editors.
I don’t often recommend sites that charge, but this is a worthy exception for those with the right budget. After a free four-week trial, the site charges $1,250 a year for the daily mix of enterprise stories and alerts to homeland security developments. There is a $2,500 level that provides updated government and private sources, as well as audio, video, and transcripts of hearings. Some media outlets qualify for a discounted price (contact Sean Doyle at sdoyle@cq.com for more information).

FROM THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 ISSUE

TerrorismAnswers.com
http://www.terrorismanswers.com

Considering all the questions that the war on terrorism raises, a useful site for journalists is Terrorism Answers.com. It offers explanations and backgrounders about terrorism, terrorists, and troubled regions of the world. It’s produced by the Council on Foreign Relations, using funds from the technology-oriented Markle Foundation and tapping experts in various fields.
What makes it effective is its deceptively simple Q&A format. Sample questions: Why does bin Laden hate America? Is Hamas the same thing as the PLO? How did the IRA become an important force in Northern Ireland?
The site’s free “This Week in the War on Terrorism” e-mail is a good way to keep track of developments and worth subscribing to.

FROM THE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 ISSUE

SPJ Rainbow Sourcebook
http://spj.org/diversity_search.asp

Reporters should broaden their source lists beyond the white male ghetto, so that the same experts don’t turn up in story after story. But it’s not always easy to find qualified “other” voices on deadline, especially if you have never sought them out before. The Society of Professional Journalists has built a useful online sourcebook that lists experts in more than sixty specialties, including consumer issues, national politics, health/medicine, and finance. You pick the topic(s) you want and then narrow the search by state, languages spoken, and what the site calls “minority voice” — such things as race, gender, and sexual orientation. The site now has some 850 experts who have been vetted by project researchers. The sourcebook is updated annually, but a search that is too narrow may still yield few if any sources. But journalists willing to share their contacts can submit nominations. The site can also tell you if the source has broadcast experience.

 

FROM THE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2002 ISSUE

BETTER GOOGLING
http://www.google.com

When it comes to search engines, many journalists swear by Google.com and use it to start their Web hunts. But there’s more to Google than the simple search function. Here are some additional Googling tools (you can find links to all these from the front page of Google):
• Languages: Google can search pages written in dozens of languages. Also, it can translate text or Web pages from French, Spanish, German, Italian, or Portuguese to English. Very useful when looking at foreign news sources.
• toolbar: If you are using a Windows PC, you should download the free “Toolbar,” which installs a search box on your Web browser, speeding up the search process. No MacIntosh version yet.
• News: This feature allows you to search several constantly updated news Web sites at once. Saves you time when trying to track stories.
• Images: Use this feature — click “images” on the front page — to find photographs on the Web. Of course, just because you find a photo doesn’t mean you can reprint it.

 

FROM THE JULY/AUGUST 2002 ISSUE