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Chapter 9: Investigative Quiz
Test your knowledge of the investigative chapter material!
1 / 10
What does PACER stand for?
Answer can be found on page 99.
Correct! The PACER website, provided by the federal judiciary, costs money, but it’s an excellent resource for looking into federal court cases.
2 / 10
What would a journalist use the software QGIS for?
Answer can be found on page 101.
Correct!
3 / 10
Why is the Wayback Machine website useful?
Answer can be found on page 100.
Correct! This can be useful in seeing what information a company or entity used to have on its website – and possibly removed in hopes that nobody would find it.
4 / 10
True or false: You don’t have to specialize in investigative reporting to come across a great investigative story.
The great thing about investigative business reporting is that any reporter has the capacity to do it. Read more on page 94.
Correct! The great thing about investigative business reporting is that any reporter has the capacity to do it. Some of the best investigative journalism has been done by beat reporters, who in the course of their routine beat work ran across a document or a source that opened a door to an important story.
5 / 10
Which group regularly updates the “Investigative Reporter’s Handbook”?
Correct! This guide is a gold mine of tips and tricks of the trade. Find the latest edition on the IRE website.
6 / 10
Tableau Public is an example of ____________________.
Correct! Some commercial software companies provide robust free versions of programs, such as Tableau Public, a powerful and intuitive data visualization tool.
7 / 10
What might the “related-party transactions” section in SEC filings tell you?
Answer can found on page 95.
Correct! In this section, the company must report any outside business/financial dealings it has had with a company executive or director – i.e. transactions that could represent a conflict of interest.
8 / 10
Which of the following websites would be useful when looking for information that has been buried in SEC filings?
Correct! All of these websites are helpful resources for journalists, but Footnoted specifically tracks SEC filings and highlights buried nuggets of corporate news.
9 / 10
True or false: The EDGAR database of corporate filings kept by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can teach you more about private companies.
Only publicly traded companies file with the SEC. Read more on page 95.
Correct! Only publicly traded companies file with the SEC. If you are covering a business beat with publicly traded companies, the EDGAR database should be a regular stop for you.
10 / 10
Which of the following is a publicly traded company’s quarterly report?
Answer can be found on page 95.
Your score is
The average score is 75%
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