? Ask a Librarian Guides

News Writing & Reporting - Websites for Journalists & Reporters

... Big starting points

• PowerReporting
• Journalist's Toolbox
• Poynter - Everything you need to know to be a better journalist
• NY Times Navigator
• Gannett - Web Resources for Newsrooms
• Virtual Gumshoe

... General free stuff

• CIA World Factbook
• Library of Cognress Country Studies
• Internet Wayback Machine
• Associations on the Net
• Find Expert Sources
• WHOIS & Better WHOIS - Internet Domain Registry
• World Health Organization Statistics
• Snopes
• National Geographic MapMachine
• Population Reference Bureau

... Indiana free stuff

• STATS Indiana
• Indiana Code of Law
• Judicial Opinions Archive
  
  • Browse
  • Search
• Court Management and Statistics
• IN Clerk of Courts - Court Docket - Electronic Case Search
• IN K-12 School Data
• IN Teacher Inquiry
• Indiana Sex and Violent Offenders Registry
• IN Department of Corrections - Offender Search
• IN State Department of Health Statistics
• IN Campaign Finance Database

... U.S. free stuff

• Census Bureau
• American Factfinder
• FedStats
• GPO Access (Government Printing Office)
• United States Code
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
• FBI Freedom of Information Act Files
• FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Data and Statistics
• IRS Tax Statistics
• Childstats
• National Transportation Safety Board
• National Oceanic & Atmospheric Adminstration
• National Hurricane Center
• SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) Filings - EDGAR database
• Information on Public Schools and School Districts in the U.S.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• National Center for Health Statistics
• Project VoteSmart
• National Register of Historic Places
• Social Security Death Index
• Switchboard Reverse Phone Directory
• Follow the Money: Institute on Money in State Politics
• Political MoneyLine
• Open Secrets - campaign finance contributions
• Federal Election Commission
• Guidestar (get the dirt on non-profits; must register to use site)

... Jobs & Internships

• Journalism Jobs
• Media Bistro

... Not-free Stuff

• Private investigation software packages
  
  • NetDetective
  • Web Detective
  • Net-Vestigator
  • Suspicious comparison
• News Ahead - World News Forecast
• IN Bureau of Vehicles Search

... Freedom of Information Stuff

• Freedom of Information - from the Society of Professional Journalists
• Open Government Guide
• How to Use the Federal FOI Act
• The Freedom of Information Act: A User's Guide
• Aids for Drafting a FOIA Request
• Indiana's Public Access Laws Handbook
• State requests fill-in-the-blank letter generator
• Federal requests letter generator