-Dan Sprehe
Sprehe is a Certified Fraud Examiner and introduced us to this Web site, which allows you to search individual's public records, giving you a freakish amount of their personal information.
I probably know more about you than you do.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
General Web sites.
Here is a list of Web sites that can be helpful when stalking, tracking or trying to find out information... sometimes known as investigative reporting.
-This Web site allows you to type in the area code and prefix of any phone number and it will give you the city, state, service provider and type of phone that number belongs to.
-A list of every newspaper in the nation, as well as links to their Web sites. This is great not only to keep up on news, but to also search stories that might be helpful in your research.
-Snopes.com lists outrageous statements made about just about everything. This site makes it easy to debunk any rumor with its 5 point grading system.
It rates a story:
-True
-False
-Multiple Truth Values
-Undetermined
-Unclassifiable Veracity
After rating it, the site goes into a good amount of detail about why things received the ratings they did.
-Sign up as a journalist and the site will connect you with thousands of professionals... at no charge!
-Although this site has not been updated since 2003, it still comes with a lot of helpful tips when you don't know where to go.
-IRE.org dedicates itself to improving the quality of investigative reporting. It costs a lot to become a member, but it doesn't cost a dime to become a fan of it on facebook!
-A great site for news from all over. It is a great place to look for story ideas or find stories related to your topic.
-This site will tell you just about everything about campaign fundraising. The search tool on the site allows you to search by Donor, ZIP Code, Organization, Keyword or Industry.
-The Illinois Board of Elections provides information about the election, voting and campaign disclosures.
-Lets face it, you don't get hired as a journalist because of your outstanding ability to compute numbers. Let's all take a moment to thank the internet gods for the invention of the percentage calculator.
-The Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services has so much information on it, you'll probably want to puke. A fun section of the Web site is deadbeats, which has a profile for every person who owes child support. The site also lists agency information, who to contact for FOIA requests, laws and rules, a phone directory and a lot of other useful information.
-The Illinois Division of Insurance has all kinds of helpful insurance-related things! Links to banking, financial institutions, Senior Health Insurance Programs, and news (whats been going on in the insurance world, where to to file FOIA, etc.) are just a few things the site has to offer.
-This lovely little government Web site offers "Official information and services from the U.S. Government." It has information on grants and loans; management and operations; and tax information.
-Another government Web site that offers data and statistics on businesses, employment and labor laws, information on licenses and permits, as well as a ridiculous amount of other helpful resources.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Free Venice Beachhead
I was an intern at a pretty sweet newspaper in Venice, Calif. this summer.
The Free Venice Beachhead is a monthly paper that has been in the Venice community for almost 40 years.
They have 6 years of back issues available as PDF files on their Web site. Pay close attention to the July and August 2008 issues... I have articles in both.
Bananagrams!
Bananagrams is too fun to not share!
This scrabble-esque game is a fun game to play just about anywhere there is a flat surface. In airports, restuarants, bars or your desk!
Not to mention, it comes in a fun banana-shaped pouch!
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