Twenty Web sites BYU-Idaho reporters should know -- and use for ideas and for powerful information:

Open Secrets: The Center for Responsive politics takes data from the Federal Election Commission and puts it into a searchable database -- you can go down to the zip code level and find out who in your community is a leading donor or who is giving money to your representatives. Hundreds of interesting, important stories might be done through campaign finance, even if you aren't your paper's political reporter.

The General Accounting Office: The GAO is an arm of Congress that regularly issues reports on topics of interest to reporters and citizens. Because they are independent investigators, they have access to information not usually available to people on a regular basis. There are hundreds of reports, many filled with startling facts, that don't get the reporting they deserve.

Inspectors General: For more than a quarter century, inspectors general have investigated agencies within government and people's interaction with government. Most agencies have an inspector general. Each issues at least an annual report to Congress about their investigations. The IGNET, this link, will link you to the various Web sites of inspectors general throughout the Federal government. Start with their annual reports for interesting story ideas.

Fedstats: The good people at the Census Bureau have made links to all statistical agencies within the federal government. You can access statistics by topic and region on demographics of just about any sort. The single best statistical site in the world. One especially powerful part of this site is the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Thomas: This is the place to track legislation of interest to you -- you can word search by topic -- say Yellowstone or Idaho. You can look at appropriations bills for your area. Just the fact of proposing a bill is newsworthy. Members of Congress use this Web site, so you can too. It has historical documents, such as the Federalist Papers and the exact wording of the Constitution.

Idaho government. Idaho.gov is the Web site for information about Idaho. It has the best statistical information about the state there is. You can find licensing information, crime statistics and government handbooks. Particular favorites are campaign finance in the Secretary of State's office, the searchable legislative bill index, the school report cards, crime statistics and the Secretary of State's listing of business records search -- this allows you to see who owns what in the state. I also appreciate the Attorney General's online manuals, especially about open meetings and public records in the state.

Associations Unlimited. Sometimes the best source of information is a group that has experts and experience in a particular area. These associations have publications and Web sites that can lead to further story ideas and contacts for quotes. A terrific resource. Because it is paid, it is only available through the library's Web site on campus or similar on-campus sites, I think.

transtats. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has this site of downloadable data for use for consumer stories about accidents and commerce. The single best source I know for beginners in Computer-assisted Reporting. If you are using a Mac, try downloading using the Safari browser. This won't lead to overnight stories, however.

PR Newswire. About 50 years ago, companies who wanted to get the word out about their product and their company developed a news service patterned after the news services like AP, providing press releases and official statements, like that. The result was PR Newswire. Now available over the Internet, it is a searchable database of press releases of more than 40,000 companies and organizations. It is a great way to get story ideas and learn how to write a press release.

CIA World Factbook. Arguably the single best source of data about international relations. More of a reference than a source for story ideas. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool. You might profitably consult the State Department's country profiles and the World Bank's similar country profiles.

IRE. The Investigative Reporters and Editors Web site is a powerful site about the art and craft of doing reporting and similar research. Of especial note is the EXTRA/EXTRA section, which daily includes links to the best of investigative reporting in the country. Useful for discussion and for giving you story ideas. It sister Web site, reporter.org, and IRE include a beat source guide -- useful links in each beat. IRE also runs the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting at its offices at the University of Missouri. NICAR's Web site includes links to data available to reporters, both free, and available for a fee through NICAR's services for reporters. I also appreciate its list of links -- its net tour.

Student Press Law Center. This non-profit helps support freedom of the press. Though its fights and principles mostly apply at public institutions rather than at a private institution like a BYU, SPLC's understanding of press freedom and freedom of information are truly significant for any student journalist. Its Freedom of Information Act Letter generator is among the most important resources available. I'd, of course, tone down some of the rhetoric in our small towns for these letters.

Public Agenda. For those wanting to understand, in detail, how Americans feel about their lives in general and about complicated public issues. Daniel Yankelovich's Public Agenda is a significant, interesting Web site. It also has a page to help journalists understand public opinion research basics. You should understand these principles before you start.

Infospace. This is, for my money, the best way to find information about phone numbers. Of especial note is the criss-cross directory, a directory that can find the phone numbers of everyone living on a street. Useful when you want to interview neighbors.

Searchsystems. This Web site links you to thousands of publically available databases. It is arguably the best link for public databases on the Internet. You can bore down even by county or state data. It is a wonderful site.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. Much like Associations Unlimited, this is only available through the campus library system. However, it is among the single best sources of information of article. Its rich database of news articles dates back to 1980. It has public opinion research for 25 years. It is interesting, fascinating way to get undated on what is going on.

Ebsco Academic Search Premeire. This database of academic journal articles is only available through the library as well. Nevertheless, it is useful for those who wish to learn about scientific approaches to most topics -- more than 4,000 journals are availabe in full text. Most Comm 240 students should try to find at least one article from an Ebsco search. This remains an underused source, in my opinion. You might also use the Web of knowledge or other remarkable subscription resources that our library now has available through the Internet. Many are, of course, only available through campus resources. SIRS, Proquest, Oxford Encyclopedias, J-STOR, Facts on File and the CES digital collection are all worthwhile.

Firstgov. President Clinton started this one-stop shopping site for government information. The main complaint might be that it provides too much information. Nevertheless, for many reasons, government data is an underused source. On virtually any topic of importance, the government has produced some sort of document or resource you can use that is credible. I'd recommend the advanced search function because you can find files, such as Excel files, useful for computer-assisted reporting.

The National Academy of Sciences. An underused source. The National Academy of Sciences produces reports on a wide variety of topics. It is interesting and fascinating in the information it provides. The Academy was established by President Roosevelt to provide unbiased scientific consensus -- as much as possible -- and scientific issues of interest to public policy.

Chris Callahan's links. Chris Callahan at the University of Maryland is widely regarded as the leading expert on Internet sources among journalists. His reporter.umd.edu Web site is a widely used list of links.

Journalism sites:

Project for excellence in Journalism: The Committee of Concerned Journalists Web site at Journalism.org has wonderful blogs, tips and resources.

The Poynter Institute: Long a leader in Journalism training and resources, the Poynter institute in Florida remains a leader in training and resources for journalists.

The Society of Professional Journalists: SPJ is the oldest of the journalism professional organizations. It does a great job.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: This will keep you informed about the latest in news about legal issues and the media. Its resources can help you understand law and the press.

Committee to Protect Journalists: This wonderful non-profit follows press freedom issues around the world. It tries to talk about each instance of threats to individual journalists.

AND FOR FUN ...

Astronomy Picture of the Day. I look at this site most days because I like to learn something new. It is a lot of fun.

LDSChurchtemples.com. Bruce Satterfield keeps us all updated on the latest of church temples. Fascinating images. I've been struck by some of the remarkable designs of the new temples such as in Helsinki and Redlands, California.

opinionjournal.com. The Wall Street Journals, mostly, free Web site of opinion is a great read and interesting. James Taranto's daily Best of the Web Today Blog is a lot of fun.

Trekweb.com Steve Krutzler's Web site is about all things TREK.

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