It

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Its out there somewhere

• Finding factsand avoiding fictionon the Internet

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Directory assistance

• randyjessee_at_earthlink.net
• jjessee_at_timesdispatch.com
• 804-649-6118 office
• 804-363-2784 cell
• www.rjessee.com/out_there.ppt
• (theres an underscore between out and there)

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The Internet is

1. Full of accurate, useful information
2. An easy way to avoid mistakes
3. Full of lies, slander and misinformation
4. An easy way to embarrass yourself and your
   publication and get sued.
5. All of the above

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Nuestra Senorade Buena EsperanzaA cautionary
taleof research gone awry
5
Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza

• The Daily Evergreen at Washington State
  University needed a story about Filipino-American
  History Month.
• The assignment was given to a freshman journalism
  student writing her very first story.

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Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza

• The reporter wrote
• The first Filipinos landed on the shores of
  Morro Bay, California, on a Spanish galleon
  called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza.

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Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza

• The reporters editor said
• Not bad, but dont you think you ought to
  translate the name of the ship?
• So the reporter went to Google

8
Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza

• The first Filipinos landed on the shores of
  Morro Bay, California, on a Spanish galleon
  called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza,
  which translates to The Big Ass Spanish Boat.

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Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza Our Lady of
Good Hope

• The reporters online source was
  www.Pinoylife.com, a humor site.

10
Nuestra Senorade Buena Esperanza

• Pinoylife.com wrote
• You know, some people really need to learn that
  just because something is on the Internet doesnt
  mean that it is true.

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Do you Fnu Lnu?
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Search enginesare not the problem

• Software cannot differentiate fact from fiction
• If its on the Internet, a search engine
  eventually will find it and report it
• It can be the cyber equivalent of gossip, where
  the original statement and the eventual statement
  are miles apart

13
Sarah Palin

• www.digitaljournal.com/article/259257

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CONSIDERthe source

• Official sources are always the safest
• College and university sources are next
• Lexis-Nexis is next but expensive
• Publications own sites are on-par with
  Lexis-Nexis but only for their own material
• Wide-open search enginescaution

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Official sourcesUsually right on target

• http//www.courts.state.va.us/caseinfo/home.html
• http//www.crimcheck.com/freerecords.htm
• http//www.ci.richmond.va.us/
• http//www.co.henrico.va.us/
• http//www.chesterfield.gov/
• http//www.co.hanover.va.us/

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Collegesand universities

• http//www.ibiblio.org/ -- a really cool place
  to find out about lots of different things
• http//www.library.vcu.edu/
• http//www.virginia.edu/lib.html
• http//www.lib.vt.edu/
• http//www.wm.edu/libraries/index.php
• http//www.editteach.org

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Lexis-NexisCostly but comprehensive

• http//www.nexis.com/research -- Youll need your
  own account or use it in your library
• http//www.lexis.com/research -- Ditto
• Lexis and Nexis are just as accurate as their
  original sources
• Corrections posted prominently and regularly
• Sources are paid for their material

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Publicationsites

• www.timesdispatch.com You can search the last
  six months for free after that, you have to pay
  for archive access.
• www.nytimes.com You can search the current
  weeks data for free. If you subscribe to Times
  Select (7.95 a month), you can retrieve up to
  100 archived files per month.
• www.washingtonpost.com You can search the last
  60 days for free after that, you have to pay for
  archive access.

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Publicationsites

• www.nytimes.com/navigator -- Absolutely free,
  updated regularly by a member of The New York
  Times news staff. This site is the home page of
  all members of The New York Times news
  department.
• http//www.reporter.org/desktop/ -- Another great
  compilation of research tools.

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Search enginesUse them carefully

• Narrow your search as much as possible
• Use the advanced techniques in Google or Yahoo
• Ignore blogs or use them to point you to a
  reputable source
• NEVER use a wiki as a source
• Think Whats the source and how is it
  referenced?
• www.google.com

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Maps and pictures and maps with pictures and

• www.mapquest.com
• www.mapblast.com
• www.nationalgeographic.com
• http//www.virginia.gov

22
Miscellaneous cool stuff

• http//www.landings.com/_landings/pages/search.htm
  l -- Find out who owns an airplane or what
  airplanes an agency or company owns
• http//www.flightaware.com Track commercial and
  private flights

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Miscellaneous cool stuff

• http//www.skeetobiteweather.com/ -- Makes it fun
  to track a hurricane
• http//www.weatherunderground.com/ -- A different
  way of looking at the weather
• www.nhc.noaa.com National Hurricane Center
• http//www.superpages.com/ -- Finding phone
  number, people and addresses

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Miscellaneous cool stuff

• www.newseum.org Daily posting of front pages
  from around the world
• www.poynter.org The ultimate source on
  journalism ethics, trends and yes GOSSIP!
• www.snd.org The designers view of the world
• www.newsdesigner.com Ditto