NYU Journalism Toolbox (Bobst Library)

The bad news: There is no central repository of experts.

Encyclopedia of Associations [NYU-Only]
Use this resource to identify organizations that deal with your topic.
NOTE: Sometimes individual associations will have their own databases of experts in the field.

ProfNet [Free; Registration Required]
Designed with journalists in mind, you can search this network of 25,000 experts.

Subject-Specific Article Databases [NYU-Only]
Search a subject-specific database to find out which academics are writing about your topic. Subject-specific databases such as PsycINFO are very scholarly in nature and contain articles by academic experts in a field.

Two subject-specific databases that are freely available to the public are:

• ERIC
  This is *the* education database. Sponsored by the US Dept of Education, Institute for Education Sciences.
• PubMed
  Great for medical topics. A service of the US National Medical Library and the National Institutes of Health.

For Science and Medical Experts

• Authoratory.com
  Find experts in the specific areas of life-sciences, including chemistry, biology and medicine. (Site pulls its data by analyzing articles and authors in PubMed.) Still under development. Read more about Authoratory

• Media Resource Service
  A non-profit service that has served as a bridge between science and the media since 1980. Journalists can call or email and get help at no charge in locating expert sources of information on science and technology.

• American Men and Women of Science [NYU Only]
  ” biographical dictionary of the significant players in the physical, biological and related sciences”. Includes contact info.

Find an expert at NYU

Getting Started
Take a look at NYU Libraries Education Research Guide.

On the Beat: Covering Education
Free online tutorial geared towards journalists; you must register with News University. Developed in partnership with the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media.

Course Description from News U.
“This course is designed to give journalism students and reporters new to the education beat a brief introduction to the most pressing issues facing the educational system today, along with tips on how to cover this beat.”

• ERIC [NYU-Only]
  The education database. A freely searchable version is available at www.eric.ed.gov

• Education Full Text [NYU-Only]

Finding Statistics

NCES: National Center for Education Statistics

Education Blogs

Favorite Education Blogs 2008
From Jay Mathews of The Washington Post.

Identify a non-profit organization

• Encyclopedia of Associations [NYU-Only]

Info about a non-profit

• Guidestar
  Free with registration. Search for basic info, links to 990s.

Understanding a 990

• Demystifying the 990 (from the Foundation Center)

Articles about Nonprofits

• LexisNexis [NYU-Only]
  Good for industry news. Includes Chronicle of Philanthropy.

• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) [NYU-Only]
  Provides a more scholarly look at the nonprofit sector. Includes titles such as Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

SRDS Media Solutions [NYU-Only]
Click on Newspaper Advertising Source link and then click on Quick Title Search.

Editor and Publisher Yearbook [NYU Only]
NetID and Password required. Once you are in, click on Search Newspaper Directories.

State of the News Media: An Annual Report of American Journalism

Readership Institute at Northwestern University 

LexisNexis
To search transcripts, checkmark Transcripts. Transcripts are included from: NPR, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, among others.

Factiva
To search transcripts:

• Choose Source
• From the Select Source Category pulldown menu, select Publications -Type
• Click on Transcripts; this adds this to your search

Similar coverage as compared to LexisNexis. Includes The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Additional Sources of Transcripts at Bobst

• Try searching Bobcat. Keyword search for your network/television show AND transcripts
• CBS News Daily News Broadcasts, 1963-1986. Available via Microfiche
  Call number: Microfiche 524
  Transcripts of CBS news broadcasts from 1963-1986, including daily broadcasts, special reports, Face the Nation, and Sixty Minutes. For a more complete description see the Index, under Access, below.Use the CBS News Index, 1975-1986 in the (REFERENCE 1 PN4888 .T4C64a.) to locate transcripts. Annual volumes provide detailed subject coverage. Date and pages of transcripts are listed with codes for morning broadcasts (A), evening broadcasts (P), Sixty Minutes (60m), etc. The CBS News Index was not published for the years 1963-1974.

Getting Started

• New York City Buildings: Research Guide
  Provides sources for finding info about NYC buildings. Please note that this is a guide from the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University. For non-web resources, you’ll need to search BobCat to see if NYU owns a copy.

• NYC Department of Buildings
  Contains statistics, codes, and other reference materials for buildings in NYC.
• Jack Brause Real Estate Library
  Part of NYU, the library contains materials on all aspects of the real estate industry, from finance and investment, to development, management, and economics. Resources include industry forecasts, property ownership, zoning laws and maps, mortgage banking, retail leasing trends, real estate investment trusts, or even job hunting. Open to the public.
• Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (NYU Reference 1 NA31 .H32 2000 Non-circulating)
  Provides definitions of terms.

Building Codes

• NYC Construction Codes

Building Violations

• NYC Department of Buildings
  Provides general info about violations
• ECB Violation Reference Guides, I & II
  Provides explanations of Environmental Control Board violations.
• NYC Buildings Information System
  Find violations, property profiles, safety reports, inspections, equipment tracking (includes elevators), and more. **NOTE: You’ll need the building’s address in order to search.

Building Safety/Design Post 9/11

• National Institute of Standards and Technology and the WTC
  Contains reports and recommendations that were the result of a 3-year investigation of the WTC collapse.
• United States Fire Administration
  Part of FEMA, the USFA provides safety tips, as well as fire statistics.
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Safety and Health Topics
• NYC Fire Department Training Bibliography
  Contains links to useful sources about fire safety, emergency procedures, etc.
• FEMA

Information About a Contractor, Company, etc.

• Virtual Business Library: Company and Financial Information

Finding articles

• LexisNexis
  See LexisNexis posting for search tips.
• Factiva
• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
• Wilson OmniFile Mega FullText
  Includes the database “Applied Science and Technology”; useful for an engineering perspective.

Need access to the AP Daybook outside of the Journalism Dept? Access it via Factiva from any location.

Here’s how:

• Go to Factiva
• Enter the following statement in the free text search box: ny day schedule
• Be sure to UNCHECKMARK the “Obituaries, Sports, Calendars” box in the Exclude from area.
• Select a date; use “in the last day” for today’s schedule

News Media Yellow Book REF6 PN 4899 .W304 N49
Directory of “who’s who among reporters, writers, editors, and producers in national news media” (newspapers, networks, television stations, programs, magazines, etc.) Includes contact information. Also includes non-US media.

NYU Expert Contacts

• Experts at NYU from the Office of Public Affairs
• Office of Public Affairs Press Contacts
• Some individual departments have their own contacts
  • SCPS Experts Directory “offers journalists an online guide to the expertise of current faculty and administrators. These experts can provide comment on a wide range of topics related to adult and continuing education and New York’s signature industries – business, real estate, finance, hospitality, tourism, film, publishing, the arts, and more.”
  • Stern Resources for Journalists
  • Steinhardt Faculty By Expertise
  • Wagner Faculty Experts for the Media
  • Try browsing the faculty section within a specific department and look at faculty research to identify potential experts.

Getting Started: Reference Sources

• Quick Reference Sources
  Lists useful reference sources by category (ex. biographies, directories, etc.). Many are [NYU-Only].
• CQ Public Affairs [NYU-ONLY]
  Provides in-depth reporting on issues. Great for covering controversial topics.
• Fedstats
  Topical gateway to statistics collected by the government.

Finding Biographical Info

• Ancestry Library[NYU-Only]
  Provides basic info (addresses, birth/death dates), etc. for individuals in the US. Draws from census and other mailing directories.
• Marquis Who’s Who [PRINT]
  These guides provide basic biographical information. These can be useful for less well-known field. Numerous Who’s Whos in different fields are published. To find Who’s Who, search for Who’s Who as a title in Bobcat.
• Biography Resource Center [NYU-Only]
  Provides access to articles and full-text entries for individuals. (Better for well-known people.)

Finding News

• LexisNexis [NYU-Only]
  For more LexisNexis search tips see the LexisNexis post.
• Factiva [NYU-Only]
  Like LexisNexis, Factiva covers tons of news sources. There is overlap, but Factiva tends to be better on the trades.
  • TIPS–Use the hlp command to tell it to find your keywords in the Headline Lead Paragraph Ex. hlp=nolita
  • Click on Custom to see all of the searchable field abbreviations.
  • Use the Region menu to limit your search to sources/articles identified with that region.
• EthnicNewsWatch[NYU-Only]
  Includes ethnic newspapers. Note some newspapers may be non-English.