Journalists Resource

“Resource curse,” poverty and Appalachia; lessons in research, data and politics

2013 study from Ohio State University on the effects of coal mining and poverty in the Appalachia region.

Harvard’s Tom Patterson on knowledge-based journalism: Video research chat

Recent interviews with Journalist’s Resource research director Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center. Patterson is author of the forthcoming book Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-based Journalism.

Interviewing a source: Rules of the road; talking with officials and experts

Article covering the basics of preparing, conducting, and editing an interview; with special emphasis on public officials and expert sources.

How to write an op-ed or column

Tip sheet on formulating, researching, writing and editing news opinion articles.

Clues for young journalists: Looking back into your future

2012 overview of book and research project exploring career paths of journalists.

Science reporting: Covering the environment, technology and medicine

Semester-long course on science reporting, including the environment, technology and medicine

Political reporting: Covering elections, governance and the democratic process

Semester-long course on political reporting, including governance, the democratic process, and how to cover elections,

Access to government records and FOIA tips: Guide for citizens and journalists

Guide from the Citizen Media Law Project providing an overview of FOIA and other techniques for finding documents at different levels of government.

Recording phone calls and conversations: Legal guide from the Citizen Media Law Project

Legal tip sheet from the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard’s Berkman Center.

Introduction to academic research and studies: How they work and why journalists should care

Overview article that provides an introduction to the academic research world and explains how it can be leveraged by journalists.

Health reporting: Semester-long course on covering the science, policy and business of health care

Semester-long course on covering the science, policy and business of health care in the United States.

Research chat: Clay Shirky on press freedom in a global era

2011 lecture by Clay Shirky at the Shorenstein Center on freedom of the press in a global age.

Business reporting: Semester-long course on how to develop compelling business-related stories

Semester-long course on how to understand what’s going on at companies and to report and write compelling business stories.

Legal reporting: Covering the judicial system and understanding its importance

Semester-long course on the structure of the judicial system and its terminology, function, and importance in public understanding of how the government operates.

Feature writing: Crafting research-based stories with characters, development and a structural arc

Semester-long syllabus that teaches students how to write stories with characters, show development and follow a structural arc.

Basic newswriting: Learn how to originate, research and write breaking-news stories

Syllabus for semester-long course on the fundamentals of covering and writing the news.