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June 02, 2004

If you build it, they will come

Does this sound like a busy journo's dream- a Web site that connects journos with experts who can help frame probing, penetrating questions in various fields, and then serve as sources? It's a reality for US journalists and it comes courtesy of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University (http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/). The site, Nieman Watchdog, is up and running with some tough questions that should be asked on the environment, the Abu Ghraib scandal, Iraq and the US economy. See for yourself at http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/.
Posted by belinda at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2004

Gumshoeing

Journalists often lament the fact that the line between news and entertainment is blurring, so what's the answer? According to Maureen Orth, longtime Vanity Fair writer and author of The Importance of Being Famous: Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex, doing proper journalism is the answer. According to Orth: “While you can lament the idea that we’re living in this era of celebrity and personality, it also behooves the journalists here to get beyond the superficial and the spin and do the legwork and the research and the hard, hard work that takes to get the real story.” A start might be if journalists made the effort "to critique celebrity foibles rather than just report them without question". She also said the media is "asleep at the wheel", and that opinion is increasingly “masquerading as news.” Fighting words. Orth made the comments to Berkeley graduate journalism students. The full report is at http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2004/05/05_orth.shtml. Orth is a Berkeley alumna herself.
Posted by belinda at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2004

Running one? Reporting on one?

If you want to start a not-for-profit organsation, or if you are a journo trying to figure one out, the Australian Nonprofit Management Resources Guide is a good place to start. It's free, and fairly comprehensive, covering issues from ethics and human resource development to legal matters, marketing, program management and governance. It's available at http://www.governance.com.au/ResourceGuide/ResourcesGuideHome.htm and is a publication of the Nonprofit Governance & Management Centre (http://www.governance.com.au/).
Posted by belinda at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2003

Timelines

Whether you call them chronologies or timelines, lists or tables of what happened when are handy for journalists. One of the biggest is Timelines of History (http://timelines.ws/), which has this day in history information as well as a whole raft of odd bits of historical, country and other information. Also worth a look is CNN (http://cnn.com/). It doesn't link to timelines per se but you can generally get a timeline if you combine that term with your normal search. For example, the search "Bosnia timeline" brought up four entries, two of which were gold - Timeline: The Milosevic years and Timeline: Interventions in the Balkans. Combine timeline with just about any other term and see what you get.
Posted by belinda at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2003

Press freedom report from RSF

Reporters sans Frontieres (Reporters without Borders) has just published an annual report, Freedom of the Press throughout the World, 2003. The opening title reads 'The "New World Order"... of repression". Access to the full text is by zone, e.g. Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Where is Australia, you might ask? Lobbed in with Asia, along with all the countries of the Pacific. That probably wouldn't go down well in Canberra ... See for yourself at http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=330.
Posted by belinda at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2003

Business lowdown

Global Edge is a good site for international business information. The site has sections for countries (browse down by region) and global resources, such as trade law, stock exchanges, company directories, statistical data sources, governments, organisations and more. See for yourself at http://globaledge.msu.edu/.
Posted by journoz at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2003

Arms trade lowdown

The Federation of American Scientists (http://www.fas.org/) has created the Arms Sales Monitoring Project to work for restraint in the global production and trade of weapons. Find out more at http://www.fas.org/asmp. The site includes an arms sales database, a newsletter, action alerts, information on arms sales and 'anti-terrorism' and more.
Posted by journoz at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

February 07, 2003

investigative journalism - RIP?

The Evatt Foundation is holding a public seminar on The Death of Investigative Journalism and Who Killed It? Speakers include Phillip Knightley and Four Corners reporter Chris Masters.
Venue: Seymour Centre, Sydney
When: Saturday 15 February, 6pm to 7.30pm

More info can be found at http://evatt.labor.net.au/events/10_20020309.html .
Posted by journoz at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2003

Investigative journalism

Journalism: Investigation and Research, edited by Stephen Tanner, aims to provide both a practical and theoretical framework for investigative journalism. Details of the book are at http://www.pearsoned.com.au/search/titleDetails.asp?isbn=073399931X.
Chapters are as follows:
Part 1: Development and current attitudes
1. Historical development Clem Lloyd
2. The death of investigative journalism? Nance Haxton
3. The Editor's position Jack Waterford
At the Coalface A conflict of interest - shares and Politics Chris Johnson
Part 2: Understanding the tools
4. The computer and the Web Belinda Weaver
5. Using computers to analyse data Kerry Green
At the Coalface Exposing the secret police Gerard Ryle and Gary Hughes
6. Understanding public records Margaret Simons
At the Coalface 'The NetBet Affair' Paul Whittaker
7. Historical documents Rod Kirkpatrick
8. Freedom of Information Matthew Ricketson and Rick Snell
At the Coalface FOI reveals hospital shortcomings Ross Coulthart
9. Ministers and minders Nick Richardson
At the Coalface Tasmania's 'challenging children' Allison Andrews
At the Coalface 'Biggles' & the Franklin River spy flight Philip Castle
10. Company reports and balance sheets Patrick Hoiberg
11. The stock market Nick Renton
12. Opinion polls Murray Goot
Part 3: Honing the skills and avoiding the traps
13. Interview techniques Steve McIlwaine and Leo Bowman
Commentary The peculiarities of television Nigel McCarthy
14. 'Parachute journalism' - the foreign correspondent Tom O'Byrne
At the Coalface Working in an international team Bill Birnbauer
15. The ethical dimensions Suellen Tapsall and Gail Phillips
At the Coalface Justice on the police beat Desley Bartlett
16. Legal issues to consider Mark Pearson
At the Coalface 'Unravelling Crown Casino' Sally Neighbour
17. Writing up and publishing your work David Conley
18. All the problems in one case Estelle Blackburn
Posted by belinda at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2002

Identity thieves

Identity theft is not just a Hollywood horror movie premise, but a genuine and growing threat. Read a paper on the topic by Professor Henry Pontell, University of California, Irvine who presented his views at a workshop for the Centre for Tax System Integrity, at the Australian National University. The document from the workshop is in Microsoft Word format and can be found at http://ctsi.anu.edu.au/workshop.pontell.doc. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Posted by journoz at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2002

Business scandal sheet

CSB MarketWatch in the US has a scandal sheet for the latest news on troubled companies, such as those actually charged with offences and those under investigation. Find the latest news and info at http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/features/scandal_sheet.asp?. Current companies on the page include Enron, WorldCom, ImClone and Arthur Andersen. The under investigation section includes Kmart and Martha Stewart Living.
Posted by journoz at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2002

Russians name gas in theatre siege

The gas used to end the theatre siege by Chechen rebels in Moscow was based on Fentanyl, a potent opium-based narcotic, according to a recent Reuters story. Read all about it at http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=worldnews&StoryID=1659016
Posted by journoz at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2002

Does CNN influence foreign policy in the US?

Good question. A new paper, The Global News Networks and US Policymaking in Defense and Foreign Affairs examines this issue at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/publications/GilboaE.pdf. The paper comes from the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, part of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Posted by journoz at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

Sleeping gas

Jane's has a story on the gas used on the Chechens who took over the Russian theatre at http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/nbcd/nbcd021028_1_n.shtml. Hospitals are apparently having problems treating victims because they can't identify the chemicals used.
Posted by journoz at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)