Finding and cultivating sources
Return to the main Net Tour page.Newsgroup and listserv postings
Use newsgroups and listservs to find discussions - sometimes by experts, sometimes by those with axes to grind - that you can enter and then contact those involved who may have knowledge on your beat.
- Google Usenet (news groups) Archive - Use it to find newsgroup postings on any topic, dating from 1981. Once you've found a posting, click on the author's name to get a profile of the postings he or she has made.
- Tile.Net - Tile.Net offers the most comprehensive site with links to listservs. It does not offer a general search. Instead, you must drill down by name, description or domain of the listserv. Also lists ftp sites.
You can use the Usenet options in many bigger search engines to find postings, though they weren't created for that purpose.
Finding experts
Use these sites for experts who can not only provide you with the background quote, but also can give you deeper understanding of how the systems work that they know firsthand.
For help in cultivating sources, turn to pages 68-85 in The Investigative Reporter's Handbook, 5th ed.
- ProfNet - Find experts by submitting your query to ProfNet, a relay to public information specialists at more than 1,000 universities, think tanks and corporations. You may need a couple of days to get results, but try looking at ProfNet's database of experts in a pinch. You must register to use the site.
- AllExperts - This is a volunteer-based question and answer service. Volunteers include “lawyers, doctors, engineers, and scientists.”
- Experts.com - Search for experts or browse by category. This site claims to “include authors, consultants, engineers, physicians, professors, scientists, specialists, and more. The registry has been a resource to attorneys, businesses, reporters, insurance companies, judges, librarians, the media, and countless others.”
- FACSNet - Run by and for journalists, FACSNet is compiling a list of sources in its database, which is searchable by topic.
- FindLaw - Searchable directory of lawyers and law firms.
- Martindale-Hubbell - From LexisNexis, this site serves as a resource for legal professionals. It also has a searchable directory of lawyers and law firms.
