It’s out there somewhere

1. It’s out there somewhere Finding factsand avoiding fictionon the Internet

2. Directory assistance • randyjessee@earthlink.net • jjessee@timesdispatch.com • 804-649-6118 office • 804-363-2784 cell • www.rjessee.com/out_there.ppt • (there’s an underscore between “out” and “there”)

3. The Internet is: • Full of accurate, useful information • An easy way to avoid mistakes • Full of lies, slander and misinformation • An easy way to embarrass yourself and your publication and get sued. • All of the above

4. Nuestra Senorade Buena EsperanzaA cautionary taleof research gone awry

5. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University needed a story about Filipino-American History Month. The assignment was given to a freshman journalism student writing her very first story.

6. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza The reporter wrote: “The first Filipinos landed on the shores of Morro Bay, California, on a Spanish galleon called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza.”

7. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza The reporter’s editor said: “Not bad, but don’t you think you ought to translate the name of the ship?” So the reporter went to Google…

8. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza “The first Filipinos landed on the shores of Morro Bay, California, on a Spanish galleon called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza,which translates to ‘The Big Ass Spanish Boat.’”

9. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza =Our Lady of Good Hope The reporter’s online source was www.Pinoylife.com, a humor site.

10. Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza Pinoylife.com wrote: “You know, some people really need to learn that just because something is on the Internet doesn’t mean that it is true.”

11. Do you Fnu Lnu?

12. Search enginesare not the problem • Software cannot differentiate fact from fiction • If it’s on the Internet, a search engine eventually will find it and report it • It can be the cyber equivalent of gossip, where the original statement and the eventual statement are miles apart

13. Sarah Palin • www.digitaljournal.com/article/259257

14. CONSIDERthe source • Official sources are always the safest • College and university sources are next • Lexis-Nexis is next – but expensive • Publications’ own sites are on-par with Lexis-Nexis but only for their own material • Wide-open search engines…caution…

15. Official sources:Usually right on target • http://www.courts.state.va.us/caseinfo/home.html • http://www.crimcheck.com/freerecords.htm • http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/ • http://www.co.henrico.va.us/ • http://www.chesterfield.gov/ • http://www.co.hanover.va.us/

16. Collegesand universities • http://www.ibiblio.org/ -- a really cool place to find out about lots of different things • http://www.library.vcu.edu/ • http://www.virginia.edu/lib.html • http://www.lib.vt.edu/ • http://www.wm.edu/libraries/index.php • http://www.editteach.org

17. Lexis-NexisCostly but comprehensive • http://www.nexis.com/research -- You’ll need your own account or use it in your library • http://www.lexis.com/research -- Ditto • Lexis and Nexis are just as accurate as their original sources • Corrections posted prominently and regularly • Sources are paid for their material

18. Publicationsites • www.timesdispatch.com – You can search the last six months for free; after that, you have to pay for archive access. • www.nytimes.com – You can search the current week’s data for free. If you subscribe to Times Select ($7.95 a month), you can retrieve up to 100 archived files per month. • www.washingtonpost.com – You can search the last 60 days for free; after that, you have to pay for archive access.

19. Publicationsites • www.nytimes.com/navigator -- Absolutely free, updated regularly by a member of The New York Times news staff. This site is the home page of all members of The New York Times news department. • http://www.reporter.org/desktop/ -- Another great compilation of research tools.

20. Search enginesUse them carefully • Narrow your search as much as possible • Use the advanced techniques in Google or Yahoo • Ignore blogs or use them to point you to a reputable source • NEVER use a wiki as a source • Think: What’s the source and how is it referenced? • www.google.com

21. Maps and pictures and maps with pictures and… • www.mapquest.com • www.mapblast.com • www.nationalgeographic.com • http://www.virginia.gov

22. Miscellaneous cool stuff • http://www.landings.com/_landings/pages/search.html -- Find out who owns an airplane or what airplanes an agency or company owns • http://www.flightaware.com – Track commercial and private flights

23. Miscellaneous cool stuff • http://www.skeetobiteweather.com/ -- Makes it fun to track a hurricane • http://www.weatherunderground.com/ -- A different way of looking at the weather • www.nhc.noaa.com – National Hurricane Center • http://www.superpages.com/ -- Finding phone number, people and addresses

24. Miscellaneous cool stuff • www.newseum.org – Daily posting of front pages from around the world • www.poynter.org – The ultimate source on journalism ethics, trends and – yes – GOSSIP! • www.snd.org – The designers’ view of the world • www.newsdesigner.com – Ditto