Stop Regurgitating Content! Finding the Story That Isn t Yet a Story BlogCon 2013 Mandy Nagy Investigative Writer & Researcher Breitbart News * Legal Insurrection
WHERE DO I LOOK? News Law Enforcement press releases Govt agency reports Court filings (PACER, etc.) Customized news feeds; local news reports Social media lists, video livestreams, email lists Labor Unions: LM-2 Reports Non-Profits: 990 filings Political Candidates: FEC filings Videos, Speeches, Quotes FOIA Requests
News Take a new angle on an existing news report Law Enforcement press releases & reports FBI & US Attorney offices Agency crime reports & statistics Govt agency reports Inspector General reports for each federal agency Agency press releases Court filings (PACER, state judiciary websites) Social media lists Customized news feeds; local news reports (see next slide)
News Customize your News page Also: Add local news to your feed Set up news alerts Select & add favorite sources to your news feed Search Google Blogs Use Advanced Search syntax
Social Media Lists Utilize private and public lists on Twitter to monitor info. Create private lists for easier following: Reporters and news outlets Experts in fields of interest Activists, protest groups Non-profit and other organizations Streaming video channels Other individuals and groups of special interest Peruse and subscribe to useful public lists.
Labor Unions, Non-Profits, Political Candidates Labor Unions SOURCES: DoL website, Center for Union Facts, OpenSecrets LM filings Deptof Labor website Financial reports, paid vendors, contributions Officer/employee reports Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), lobbying, salaries Non-Profits SOURCES: Guidestar, Foundation Center, IRS website 990 tax filings, incorporation filings, annual reports, press Political Candidates SOURCES: FEC website, Legistorm, OpenSecrets
Videos, Speeches & Quotes What someone says or does can become news. Search YouTube & news outlets for speeches, appearances Subscribe to channels to be alerted of new video uploads If media reports a speech, get a transcript there is often more in there than the news reports Call or email to ask for quotes, responses to items Protests often have streaming video, monitor for moments you might find newsworthy Peruse campaign and organizational videos
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Original stories can come from FOIA discoveries FOIA main website & released data http://www.foia.gov Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has good information on filing FOIAs and a FOIA letter generator http://www.rcfp.org/foia
Suggested Lists Recommendations of lists to follow or subscribe to, Not all inclusive, just a few ideas Subscribe to FBI Press Releases https://delivery.fbi.gov/subscribe Office of the Inspector General DOJ http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports OIG DHS http://www.oig.dhs.gov OIG DoD http://www.dodig.mil OIG -State Dept http://oig.state.gov/latest/index.htm OIG GAO http://www.gao.gov/browse/date/week OIG DOL http://www.oig.dol.gov/newsroomcurrent.htm OIG HHS http://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/index.asp For more comprehensive list of sources: Download Digging Up the Dirt http://libertychick2.files.wordpress.com/ 2010/12/blogcon2012_final.pdf Visit research resources page at http://libertychick.com/research/