Author Archives: Barbara Fought

Nov 10

How to search beyond Google and Yahoo!

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Barbara Fought

Have a name of someone but can’t find much about him or her online? Search engines only go so far.  You will likely find more at PIPL.com  which searches the deep web.  That means it searches into databases and public … Read More →

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Nov 03

Find out the buzz online

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Barbara Fought

If you’re new to a topic or even trolling online for story ideas, why not spend a few minutes seeing what people are blogging about. It’s my new mantra — spend seven minutes on something to see what I can … Read More →

Posted in Backgrounding for News Stories, Finding Stories, Searching | Leave a comment
Oct 28

Let the news come to you!

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Barbara Fought

I like the way Professor Jeff South of Virginia Commonwealth University put it at the Journalism Interactive Conference today:  “sign up for news to come to you.”  I’ve long suggested professionals and students should subscribe to e-releases from government agencies … Read More →

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Oct 20

Tips for finding experts for news stories

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Barbara Fought

I  always thought  TV reporters were disadvantaged in getting good spokespersons from out of town because they had to have pictures.  It was easier for the newspaper and radio journalists who didn’t have to have a face!  But now with … Read More →

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Oct 17

How to find someone’s name on twitter

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Barbara Fought

One way to build followers on twitter is to list their twitter names in your tweets. But what if  you don’t know their names on twitter? To find out someone’s twitter name, use this formula in a search engine:  name name … Read More →

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Oct 12

Tips to find international phone numbers

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Barbara Fought

Those of you working in border states may need a phone number in Canada or Mexico. Others of you might need to call internationally. These telephone books from Infobel or Numberway  might help. Infobel is a Belgian company.  Numberway is run … Read More →

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Oct 11

Sites offer background for journalists on Mormonism

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Barbara Fought

With the recent news about presidential candidate Mitt Romney and whether Mormonism is really Christianity, some reporters may not want to wade into theology in a story. But don’t be shy. Two websites that give quality information about religion are … Read More →

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Oct 10

Use CIA World Factbook for backgrounding news

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Barbara Fought

When you need to know basics about a country for breaking news or interviewing a refugee check the CIA World Fact Book. Yes, it really is done by the CIA!  It includes an overview of history, the government, geography and economy … Read More →

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Oct 05

Try an Internet directory for news background

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Barbara Fought

Need to background an unfamiliar topic? Use a directory of quality links, rather than a search engine. A good one is  Internet Public Library2 Someone once explained that a Search Engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo!) is good for finding the needle … Read More →

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Sep 30

More news story leads from ReligionLink

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Barbara Fought

Looking for more story leads? I always was! Check out ReligionLink,  @ReligionReport, with timely ideas and background for and from journalists. ReligionLink is associated with the Religion Newswriters Association [on facebook, ReligionNewswriters]. The writers of this tip sheet all have many years of experience … Read More →

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