Wikinews:Research Desk

Have a story? Stuck for ideas?
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Government statistics (selected countries)
Locations chosen by availability in English
 * Australia → abs.gov.au, media releases: link archives
 * Canada → statcan.gc.ca
 * India → censusindia.gov.in
 * Ireland → cso.ie
 * New Zealand → stats.govt.nz
 * South Africa → statssa.gov.za – has a reputation for being less-easy to extract from
 * UK → statistics.gov.uk
 * US → www.usa.gov/statistics


 * has general info on all countries → cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook

Global coverage

 * Al Jazeera, Qatari state-owned, provides an Arab perspective → aljazeera.com
 * AFP, France → afp.com
 * BBC, United Kingdom public broadcaster → bbc.com
 * , China, government-controlled → chinadaily.com.cn
 * → japantoday.com
 * , humanitarian news, formerly the UN project IRIN → thenewhumanitarian.org

Africa

 * African Union news, press releases, events → au.int
 * , South Africa (SA), a Johannesburg weekly → mg.co.za
 * , SA/a Johannesburg daily, hosted on the partially Chinese-owned → iol.co.za/the-star
 * , SA/Johannesburg, digital only → thetimes.co.za

Asia

 * ASEAN statements, speeches, events → asean.org
 * , Singapore → channelnewsasia.com
 * , India → deccanchronicle.com
 * , the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India → thehindu.com
 * , India → hindustantimes.com
 * , nonprofit based out of Columbia University, Central and West Asia → eurasianet.org

Ireland

 * → irishexaminer.com
 * → independent.ie
 * → irishtimes.com

Lithuania

 * , public broadcaster with English version → lrt.lt/en/

Middle East

 * BBC Middle East → bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east

Cyprus

 * , English daily owned by ex- guerilla and claims to be seen as conservative → cyprus-mail.com

Israel

 * , a widely-read left-wing English daily → haaretz.com
 * , daily not widely-read in Israel but influential in the United States; reputed as (neo)conservative → jpost.com
 * , a US nonprofit think tank perceived as pro-Israel → memri.org
 * → ynetnews.com

Palestine

 * , press releases on Palestine from the UN and other non-governmental organization sources aggregated by the UN → reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc104?OpenForm&rc=3&cc=pse
 * , provides regular English statements on "the crimes committed by Israeli Occupation Forces" → pchrgaza.org/en
 * , UN aid agency largely staffed by Palestinian refugees, provides news and statements → un.org/unrwa/english.html
 * , the Palestinian National Authority's news agency → english.wafa.ps

Saudi Arabia

 * , an English daily → arabnews.com

United Arab Emirates

 * , Dubai English daily → gulfnews.com

Canada

 * → Canada.com
 * , daily → theglobeandmail.com
 * , a widely read monthly → macleans.ca
 * , daily → nationalpost.com

Mexico

 * → elpais.com/mexico/ (general pan-Hispanosphere coverage as well)

United States

 * ABC News (United States) → abcnews.go.com
 * CBS News → cbsnews.com
 * CNN → cnn.com
 * NBC News → nbcnews.com
 * NPR, nonprofit, receives slight government funding → npr.org
 * , public broadcaster, pbs.org
 * , focuses on the US Congress → hillnews.com
 * , conservative daily → washingtontimes.com

Australia

 * , daily, Melbourne → theage.com.au
 * ABC News, government-funded broadcast media → abc.net.au/news/
 * The Australian, a national paper → theaustralian.com.au
 * , daily, business-focused → afr.com
 * , independent → crikey.com.au
 * , Nine Network's national news service → 9news.com.au
 * , government-funded, focuses on multiethnic communities → sbs.com.au/news
 * Sydney Morning Herald → smh.com.au

New Zealand

 * → nzherald.co.nz

South America

 * , Chile → santiagotimes.cl
 * , Brazil → riotimesonline.com

Internet

 * YouTube clips that are making news - has something shown up on YouTube recently people are talking about?
 * , online journalism news → journalism.co.uk
 * , a whistleblower site → wikileaks.org
 * , a news aggregator → drudgereport.com
 * , a news aggregator and blog → huffpost.com

India
Find any court case with CRN numbers on e-Court services.

An example: searching a case handled by the Meghalaya High Court's SR Sen.
 * 1) Go to their official website.
 * 2) Under Services, click "Judgements".
 * 3) Click on "Judge wise" under "Case Orders".
 * 4) Select the name of the judge from drop-down.

This may prove helpful to get the complete hearing of the case, unlike how the Indian MSM trims the case study. Add a link to the original hearing as external link, or use it as a source.

International organizations data

 * United Nations Statistics Division - Economic statistics
 * World Trade Organization statistics and resources on international trade
 * World Bank Data and statistics
 * European Union's Eurostat
 * International Monetary Fund Country Statistics

Government business/economic resources

 * US Securities and Exchange Commission online company filings
 * US Executive Office of Management and Budget news releases
 * UK Financial Services Authority, governmental body regulates financial services
 * National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese government's English site
 * United States Patent and Trademark Office Press Releases

News media

 * Yahoo! Finance, a good resource for company press releases, stock quotes, and business news.
 * Economist Magazine has gotten much better about offering free content
 * Los Angeles Times Business Media Wire
 * Bloomberg News

Markets

 * Market news from NASDAQ
 * FTSE (London) news
 * New York Stock Exchange Daily Market Summary

Industries

 * Oil & Gas Journal, petroleum industry focus

Military, Defense and War

 * Army Times, U.S. Army's News Website
 * Jane's Defence Weekly, nothing short of the world's premiere defense news reporting and analysis
 * British Army News, pretty lo-fi site
 * United States Central Command Media Search, all public domain and free
 * NATO Press releases - they issue quite a few
 * Terrorism News from Yahoo!
 * Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Iraq war-related news and figures


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Music

 * Billboard Magazine Music News Wire
 * MTV News headlines
 * New Musical Express (UK) music industry news, particular emphasis on British artists

Art

 * Artnet news, including art market trends, upcoming events, international
 * The Art Newspaper includes the drama and intrigue of the art scene

Film

 * British Film Institute press and media office - press releases, and media for use in articles
 * Upcoming Movies from Rotten Tomatoes
 * Film Festivals.com a very comprehensive site of news, schedules, awards, on the international film festival circuit.
 * Variety Magazine, Oscar, film, television, entertainment news
 * Box Office Mojo for information on films, box office receipts and international gross.
 * Australian Film Commission news and events

Journalism and media

 * Worldwide Press Freedom Index (2006) put out by Reporters Without Borders. North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom.
 * Columbia Journalism Review's Who Owns What, a guide to what the major media companies own
 * Editor & Publisher Magazine, a publication written by the mainstream media that tracks the mainstream media.
 * Stay Free Magazine, explores the politics, mass media and American culture.
 * Gawker, the original lookey-loo reporting of the famous, but some interesting research and resources, and nowhere near as vile as TMZ
 * Media Matters, media watchdog organization.
 * Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, media watchdog group

Theatre

 * Broadway World, Broadway and theater news (NYC)
 * Broadway.com in London - theatre news from London's West End.
 * The Opera Critic - Opera News

Books

 * New York Times Best Sellers, book lists and reviews
 * Times (UK) Book best sellers and reviews

Fashion

 * British Vogue Daily News (women)
 * GQ mens fashion news and features
 * Style.com fashion show reviews. Conde Nast site.

Television

 * TV.com, which shows are renewed, which are canceled. Who has been asking for more money.
 * Television Ratings News

Major Global Cities: Press Releases

 * City of London; Mayor of London; London Assembly


 * New York State; New York City
 * Washington, D.C.
 * Sydney


 * Dublin
 * Los Angeles

Journals and Scholarship

 * Google Scholar, which indexes the full text of scholarly research journals
 * CiteSeer public search engine and digital library for scientific and academic papers.

Australia

 * Australia Institute of Health and Welfare, government site for health statistics and news releases

Canada

 * Health Canada, government site with advisories, warnings and recalls.

United Kingdom

 * Department of Health News Releases
 * NHS Choices - Behind the Headlines - "unbiased and evidence-based analysis of health stories that make the news"

United States

 * Food and Drug Administration Public Health Advisories
 * Centers for Disease Control News Releases (US)
 * National Center for Health Statistics

International

 * Latest Avian Flu News from the WHO
 * World Health Organization Country Statistics
 * Health Square.com information on Prescription Drug Indications, Dosage, Warnings and Possible Interactions; Color Pill Images; Patient Information Pamphlets, outlining what to expect when dealing with various conditions, required tests and treatments; and detailed information and color illustrations regarding the diagnosis, cause and treatment of most major health problems.

Obituaries

 * Recent Deaths Category at Wikipedia, for articles that contain the tag
 * IsStillAlive.com, website dedicated to finding the life status of someone.
 * New York Times (US)
 * Los Angeles Times (US)
 * Times (UK)
 * Irish Times

Environment, Science and technology

 * Science Daily's global warming news
 * Alternative Energy Wire Stories from Yahoo!
 * National Hurricane Center hurricane season in the US runs June 1 to November 30
 * CiteSeer public search engine and digital library for scientific and academic papers.
 * Thomson Scientific Science Citation Index - find journals, etc.

Protests and media releases

 * Eworldwire, a site that presents and disseminates news and video the article subject's want you to know, from their perspective but uses due diligence and other verification methods.
 * Protest.net, a global site listing information about protest events and locations.
 * PR Newswire, a site that presents news the article subject's want you to know, from their perspective

Advocacy groups and activists

 * People for the American Way Press Releases (liberal)
 * Brookings Institute press release (moderate)
 * Manhattan Institute conservative think tank articles
 * American Center for Law and Justice the 'conservative ACLU'
 * American Civil Liberties Union liberal human rights legal group
 * Americans for Tax Reform, press releases (conservative)

Wikimedia Research and Tools

 * Arbitration Committee Open tasks
 * Wikimedia Commons media search, because you want to always illustrate your story; be creative
 * Planet Wikimedia
 * Wikipedia Review, disaffected former editors of Wikipedia bias, but plays decent watchdog role
 * Wikipedia Signpost
 * Wikipedia Page Traffic Counter
 * Wikipedia Scanner, to find out who edits what pages.

United States

 * Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute - Links to US federal and state statutes, cases, etc.
 * The Public Library of Law - The largest free law library on the Internet
 * The National Archives Congressional records

European Union

 * , a repository of Union law → eur-lex.europa.eu
 * , the official journal of the EU → eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html

Professionalism

 * www.iapcworld.org International Association of Press Clubs - join your local. They are often not expensive, and can assist with knowledge and helping you gain access to police press passes, events, et. al.  It is also another credential.
 * Reporters Without Borders - Online press freedom organization; has an interesting Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents.
 * Freedom House Global Press Freedom 2007: Threats to Media Independence

Australia

 * State of Free Speech in Australia, complaints by Australian media giants about restrictions on reporters.
 * Why Australians Don't Respect the Media interesting article and survey on Australian attitudes.

New Zealand

 * Unlawful Photography in Public Places: the New Zealand Position, (2006), suggests the courts have ruled that journalists are exempt from public photography laws.

United Kingdom

 * UK Photographers Rights A short guide to photographers rights in the UK.

United States

 * USA TODAY article that is an excellent overview of what you can photograph and what you can publish (US law)
 * The Photographer’s Right, A Downloadable Flyer Explaining Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography
 * The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
 * Freedom of Information Act news and information about when you want to know something from the government

Writing help

 * Thesaurus.com
 * Columbia Journalism Review Language Resource Guide "Making the world a better-written place."

Language Translation Services
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 * Babelfish at Altavista
 * Dictionary.com
 * Google Translation
 * }
 *  After You Research Your Article: Images 

You need images for your articles
Images, such as the one in the opening paragraph courtesy of the French Wikinews, or the current English Wikinews Picture of the Year, are as important as the text. When an image is present in a story, no matter how good the prose the image can make or break a reader's impression. A good Wikinews reporter will contemplate aspects of their story, and find free media (or fair use) to illustrate their story. For instance, on Wikipedia there is an article about Mark Barnes, a notable attorney some readers might find uninteresting. But on that page you can see how media can be used to make a subject dynamic; for instance, a letter written by the subject's students and a portrait of his ancestor, Daniel Boone, are incorporated. Look for the interesting, relevant angle when you choose media.

Where to find images
Your first stop for stock photos. The easiest way of finding freely licensed images is to search the Wikimedia Commons project. All images on Commons are freely licensed and can be used in articles as if they are hosted locally. Another option is to look at any relevant Wikipedia articles and see if any appropriate images are available there but note that not all images on Wikipedia are freely licensed and if that is the case then their use here must also comply with fair use. In theory Wikipedia editors have come to consensus as to the best photos to illustrate a topic, although the surest judgment is to search the Commons. Still, Wikipedia, or another Wikimedia Foundation project, may be organized in a manner that makes it easy to find a good stock photo for a news article you can freely use.
 * Wikimedia Commons
 * Wikipedia as a photo Sherpa

If a freely licensed image still cannot be located then it may be possible to find one on an external website which you can upload to Commons. It is important that it is explicitly stated that the image is released under a compatible licence, see Commons:Licensing for information.

There are likely to be exceptions but the websites listed below are known to host some freely licensed image files. If after searching a freely licensed image cannot be located then consider asking a photographer to release an image under a compatible licence, see Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission for advice on doing this.
 * If all else fails, try theses sites for free media:
 * Flickr, note that only the Attribution (CC-BY) and the Attribution ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA) licences are permitted
 * National Archives, it may take some hunting, but it's all free
 * NASA Images all free, space, sun, moons, stars
 * US Government archive of free photos; seems like a lot on offer of random things few people need. But worth a look.
 * Library of Congress Memory project. Very historical.  Unless Alexander Graham Bell fits in your story, may have trouble with modern topics.
 * yotophoto like google images, but for free photos (be warned their definition of free sometimes differs from wikimedia's)
 * }

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