Journalism Archive

This week the Illinois Auditor General released a high profile audit examining the State’s response to the Legionnaire’s disease outbreaks at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.  There are many other audits released throughout the year and most can provide you with interesting information and stories that affect taxpayers across Illinois.  More  

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has given its Open Governments guides a going-over. As our Tip Of The Week… Here is the newest guide for Illinois.

Whether it is a U.S. Senator announcing a proposal to lower the cost of drugs or an advocacy group arguing for state regulations on prices, you will likely encounter this topic. It is one that will interest your viewers or listeners.    You will be doing them a service if you know what you are talking about.     More  

Harvard’s Journalist’s Resource site has a good tip sheet of a half dozen tips on covering teachers unions.   A link to the full article is at the bottom.   A couple of the suggestions caught my eye.

Get to know people in various levels of union leadership

Develop relationships with people in leadership positions within the local teachers union as well as the statewide teachers union (Illinois Education Association &  More  

Reporters always feel rushed.   Take the extra time with these simple steps to make sure your story is accurate.  It may sound basic, but it is important to be “Brilliant On The Basics”, as someone once said.

I first came across this list from Deborah Potter who ran Newslab in the early 2000’s.   More  

Good reporters are always trying to get better at their job.   Everyone wants great stories and wants to avoid mistakes.  Here is a series of online tutorials that can make you better at verification!

This training will help you avoid mistakes that could undermine the work you do.   More  

There is a big election coming up in Chicago.   Some of the issues are entirely parochial. Others have a wider impact. There is room for the Chicago mayoral election in newscasts across the state.  That coverage can be very selective and focused.    You need to tell your audience what’s important and even why they should care. 

Journalist’s Resource is out with a tip sheet on interviewing white-collar prisoners. They come from Eugene Soltes who shared what he learned while doing research for Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal. Here are the bullet points on that article and a link to the full discussion that adds good context to these suggestions.  More  

During the the final month of the year, we are going through the archives of Tip Of The Week.  Here is one to check every month.

In our Tip Of The Week this time, a way to keep tabs on potential layoffs in your area.       More