Basics

Spycraft: Or how to keep your sources safe online

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 12, 2010 in Basics, IRE CAR 2010, IRE CAR 2010 Blog, Investigation, Tools, TrendingTopic

The opening of the NICAR 2010 (Computer Assisted Reporting Conference ) ‘Spycraft’ session was a little like a standup routine.
As the crowd settled in to listen to ASU professor Steve Doig and Rich Roberston, an investigator with R3 Investigations, talk about ways to keep your information, cell communication, e-mails private, Doig started the introduction:
Doig: [...]

Social network analysis can help connect the dots

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 12, 2010 in Basics, IRE CAR 2010, IRE CAR 2010 Blog, Investigation, Tools, TrendingTopic

Day 2: IRE’s CAR 2010. I’m in a session called ‘What it means to connect the dots: Social network analysis as a reporting tool.’
You hear social networking, you think Facebook and Twitter. But NO. This session is more about spheres of influence. “Think more Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” said David [...]

Random quotes from NICAR2010

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 11, 2010 in Basics, IRE CAR 2010, IRE CAR 2010 Blog, Investigation, Non-profits, TrendingTopic

These quotes were randomly selected during NICAR 2010 (Computer Assisted Reporting Conference) which is being held in Phoenix this weekend.
“One of the biggest reasons for fraud is because of financial stressors. Companies today need to be careful and lock down. They don’t know what’s going on at home. Companies need to be aware of that.”
Joe [...]

2010 CAR conference shows off best of the year

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 11, 2010 in Basics, IRE CAR 2010, IRE CAR 2010 Blog, TrendingTopic

Doug Haddix and Mark Horvit kicked off an early morning session with a slideshow of best practices that reminded me of some of the best journalism awards shows I’ve been to.
While the ‘Mining the Web for data and stories’ session next door was stuff with journalistic brainiacs looking for tips, I fell into a [...]

AP writes about impact of credit scores for job applicants

By Rosland Gammon on Mar 11, 2010 in Basics, Best Practices, Featured, Jobs

Kathleen Miller of the Associated Press writes about legislative pushes to eliminate credit checks of job applicants. The story notes that the recession has hurt many people’s credit scores.
“Employers say such checks give them valuable information about an applicant’s honesty and sense of responsibility. But lawmakers in at least 16 states from South Carolina to [...]

CNNMoney.com uses Pa. housing agency to update $1.5B program story

By Rosland Gammon on Mar 10, 2010 in Basics, Best Practices, Economy

Tami Luhby of CNNMoney.com profiled a role model for President Obama’s plan to save homeowners facing foreclosure.
Luhby writes:
“The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency offers the jobless and those suffering financial hardship loans of up to $60,000 for as long as three years to cover their monthly payments or take care of their arrears. Created in 1983, [...]

A month away, BusinessWeek relaunch is creating some buzz

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 09, 2010 in Basics, Story ideas

The Bloomberg BusinessWeek relaunch is still six weeks away, but it is starting to gain a lot of attention.
MediaWeek talked with ad buyers who have seen a mockup of the new designs:
Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Bullish
In what’s being called a “bloggification” of the business magazine, BusinessWeek plans to publish more articles, but shorter ones. [...]

Two key beats have opened up at The Arizona Republic

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 09, 2010 in Basics, Beats, Economy, Job listings, Networking

Kathy Tulumello, business center director at the Arizona Republic, announced this week that she will be looking for two business journalists to fill the shoes of “two talented reporters” who are heading to new jobs, both in New York City.
Andrew Johnson has accepted a position as a technology reporter at American Banker in New [...]

Morning Call uses EPA data to find contaminated underground tanks

By Rosland Gammon on Mar 09, 2010 in Basics, Best Practices, Featured

Christopher Baxter and Tim Darragh of the Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., write about underground storage tanks contaminating neighborhoods and water supplies in Pennsylvania. Their story says:
“But perhaps more fearsome is what is not known: the condition of abandoned or forgotten tanks decaying underground near streams and homes. The U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2005 [...]