Whatever you're trying to learn about the world--as a journalist or as an informed citizen-- public records often hold the key. But what records, where? And how to get them? It starts with understanding the Freedom of Information Act, but what you really need are strategies for dealing with the officials who stand between you and the information you seek. Gaining access to records is an art, one that requires an organized approach and a good understanding of human behavior. The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records 2nd Edition is a how-to guide for putting the law into action and using ingenuity to pry records loose. Building on their own experience and interviews with more than 100 practitioners, FOI experts and longtime journalists David Cuillier and Charles Davis help you rethink the information-gathering process and develop a document state of mind. With Cuillier and Davis's strategies, get ready to: overcome roadblocks and illegal denials; better understand government officials' perspectives so you can more successfully work with them; find more and better online resources and mine them effectively; and  write document-based stories that resonate with readers. A "Pro Tips" feature showcases advice from some of the best in the business, from media lawyers and prominent journalists to a private investigator and other access experts. At the end of each chapter, a Try It! section offers exercises and story ideas that will empower you to start finding and using documents right away. Appendices include a comprehensive list of online FOI resources as well as an annotated Record Album that guides you A-Z to records on everything from abandoned buildings and air quality to workplace safety and zoning.

The Data Journalism Handbook: Towards a Critical Data Practice provides a rich and panoramic introduction to data journalism, combining both critical reflection and practical insight. It offers a diverse collection of perspectives on how data journalism is done around the world and the broader consequences of datafication in the news, serving as both a textbook and a sourcebook for this emerging field. With more than 50 chapters from leading researchers and practitioners of data journalism, it explores the work needed to render technologies and data productive for journalistic purposes. It also gives a 'behind the scenes' look at the social lives of datasets, data infrastructures, and data stories in newsrooms, media organizations, startups, civil society organizations and beyond. The book includes sections on 'doing issues with data', 'assembling data', 'working with data', 'experiencing data', 'investigating data, platforms and algorithms', 'organizing data journalism', 'learning data journalism together' and 'situating data journalism'.

This second edition of The Handbook of Journalism Studies explores the current state of research in journalism studies and sets an agenda for future development of the field in an international context. The volume is structured around theoretical and empirical approaches to journalism research and covers scholarship on news production; news content; journalism and society; journalism and culture; and journalism studies in a global context. As journalism studies has become richer and more diverse as a field of study, the second edition reflects both the growing diversity of the field, and the ways in which journalism itself has undergone rapid change in recent years. Emphasizing comparative and global perspectives, this new edition explores: Key elements, thinkers, and texts Historical context Current state of the field Methodological issues Merits and advantages of the approach/area of study Limitations and critical issues of the approach/area of study Directions for future research Offering broad international coverage from world-leading contributors, this volume is a comprehensive resource for theory and scholarship in journalism studies. As such, it is a must-have resource for scholars and graduate students working in journalism, media studies, and communication around the globe.

Thoroughly revised and updated, this third edition integrates perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities, focusing on methodology as a strategic level of analysis that joins practical applications with theoretical issues. The Handbook comprises three main elements: historical accounts of the development of key concepts and research traditions; systematic reviews of media organizations, discourses, and users, as well as of the wider social and cultural contexts of communication; and practical guidelines with sample studies, taking readers through the different stages of a research process and reflecting on the social uses and consequences of research. Updates to this edition include: An overview of the interrelations between networked, mass, and interpersonal communication. A new chapter on digital methods. Three chapters illustrating different varieties of media and communication research, including industry-academic collaboration and participatory action research. Presentation and discussion of public issues such as surveillance and the reconfiguration of local and global media institutions. 　 This book is an invaluable reference work for students and researchers in the fields of media, communication, and cultural studies.

Will the use of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, and smart machines be the end of journalism as we know it--or its savior? In Newsmakers, Francesco Marconi, who has led the development of the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal's use of AI in journalism, offers a new perspective on the potential of these technologies. He explains how reporters, editors, and newsrooms of all sizes can take advantage of the possibilities they provide to develop new ways of telling stories and connecting with readers. Marconi analyzes the challenges and opportunities of AI through case studies ranging from financial publications using algorithms to write earnings reports to investigative reporters analyzing large data sets to outlets determining the distribution of news on social media. Newsmakers contends that AI can augment--not automate--the industry, allowing journalists to break more news more quickly while simultaneously freeing up their time for deeper analysis. Marshaling insights drawn from firsthand experience, Marconi maps a media landscape transformed by artificial intelligence for the better. In addition to considering the benefits of these new technologies, Marconi stresses the continuing need for editorial and institutional oversight. Newsmakers outlines the important questions that journalists and media organizations should consider when integrating AI and algorithms into their workflow. For journalism students as well as seasoned media professionals, Marconi's insights provide much-needed clarity and a practical roadmap for how AI can best serve journalism.

Beginning with America's first newspaper, investigative reporting has provided journalism with its most significant achievements and challenging controversies. Yet it was an ill-defined practice until the 1960s when it emerged as a potent voice in newspapers and on television news programs. In The Evolution of American Investigative Journalism, James L. Aucoin provides readers with the first comprehensive history of investigative journalism, including a thorough account of the founding and achievements of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). Aucoin begins by discussing in detail the tradition of investigative journalism from the colonial era through the golden age of muckraking in the 1900s, and into the 1960s. Subsequent chapters examine the genre's critical period from 1960 to 1975 and the founding of IRE by a group of journalists in the 1970s to promote investigative journalism and training methods. Through the organization's efforts, investigative journalism has evolved into a distinct practice, with defined standards and values. Aucoin applies the social-moral development theory of Alasdair MacIntyre--who has explored the function, development, and value of social practices--to explain how IRE contributed to the evolution of American investigative journalism. Also included is a thorough account of IRE's role in the controversial Arizona Project. After Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles (a founding member of IRE) was murdered while investigating land fraud, scores of reporters from around the country descended on the area to continue his work. The Arizona Project brought national attention and stature to the fledgling IRE and was integral to its continuing survival. Emerging investigative reporters and editors, as well as students and scholars of journalism history, will benefit from the detailed presentation and insightful discussion provided in this book.

News coverage is often described as the "first draft of history." From the publication in 1690 of the first American newspaper, Publick Occurrences, to the latest tweet, news has been disseminated to inform its audience about what is going on in the world. But the preservation of news content has had its technological, legal, and organizational challenges. Over the centuries, as new means of finding, producing, and distributing news were developed, the methods used to ensure future generations' access changed, and new challenges for news content preservation arose. This book covers the history of news preservation (or lack thereof), the decisions that helped ensure (or doom) its preservation, and the unique preservation issues that each new form of media brought. All but one copy of Publick Occurrences were destroyed by decree. The wood-pulp based newsprint used for later newspapers crumbled to dust. Early microfilm disintegrates to acid and decades of microfilmed newspapers have already dissolved in their storage drawers. Early radio and television newscasts were rarely captured and when they were, the technological formats for accessing the tapes are long superseded. Sounds and images stored on audio and videotapes fade and become unreadable. The early years of web publication by news organizations were lost by changes in publishing platforms and a false security that everything on the Internet lives forever. In 50 or 100 years, what will we be able to retrieve from today's news output? How will we tell the story of this time and place? Will we have better access to news produced in 1816 than news produced in 2016? These are some of the questions Future-Proofing the News aims to answer.

Learn how to use fundamental news reporting and writing skills, from gathering sources and tracking information, to interviewing and pursuing investigative stories on a variety of beats with the Investigative Reporter's Handbook.

In this current period of uncertainty and introspection in the media, New Journalisms not only focuses on new challenges facing journalism, but also seeks to capture a wide range of new practices that are being employed across a diversity of media. This edited collection explores how these new practices can lead to a reimagining of journalism in terms of practice, theory, and pedagogy, bringing together high-profile academics, emerging researchers, and well-known journalism practitioners. The book's opening chapters assess the challenges of loss of trust and connectivity, shifting professional identity, and the demise of local journalism. A section on new practices evaluates algorithms, online participatory news websites, and verification. Finally, the collection explores whether new pedagogies offer potential routes to new journalisms. Representing a timely intervention in the debate and providing sustainable impact through its forward-looking focus, New Journalisms is essential reading for students of journalism and media studies.