Covering WashingtonMaintained by the National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Fellowship for regional reporters. The fellowship is recommended for regionals who are new to town. Bills, votes, and the Congressional Record. Senate Press Gallery Credentials, press secretary contacts, daily news conferences. Bill tracking, key votes, and a cool tool to compare one member's votes to another's. It's all there. A to Z list of federal agencies. Audits of major agencies, investigations of federal programs. Government Accountability Office This is the investigative arm of Congress. Reporters can subscribe to e-mail alerts for newly released reports and testimony |
Campaign FinanceThis is the official FEC site where you can find out about campaign finance law and reporting schedules. Most importantly, the agency now posts campaign filing reports on-line in electronic format within 48 hours. Center for Responsive Politics This non-partisan watchdog group provides a rich campaign finance database, allowing reporters to search donors by industry and find the top recipients from any business or sector. They also have good soft money data. Portions of this site are for (paying) members only. Free sections include: House and Senate campaign finance data; presidential campaign finance datal; politician PACs, 527s and defense fund foundations. Search by donor, donor zip code, employer, or by PAC. An array of tools including a compilation of contribution data from both federal and state races, information about political fund-raising, and much more. |
JournalismJim Romenesko links to the latest news, commentary and links about journalism and the media. Updated throughout the day. Investigative Reporters and Editors IRE includes a searchable database of more than 11,000 investigative reporting story abstracts, handouts developed by speakers at IRE conferences, campaign finance data and sources and a directory of investigative reporters worldwide. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press The best thing about this site for regionals is the Freedom of Information Act letter generator. The group also provides information about state laws on open records and public meetings. They also have a legal defense hot-line for journalists. National Institute on Computer Assisted Reporting NICAR provides access to a multitude of federal data including: FBI Uniform Crime Reports; OSHA workplace safety information; home mortgage applications; boating accidents and more. In addition to searchable databases, they also have handouts and tip-sheets on computer assisted reporting. |
