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Better Watchdog Journalism: Enterprise Beat Reporting with Documents, Databases and Difficult Sources See where we are scheduling Better Watchdog Workshops
Below is a sample schedule for a "Better Watchdog Workshop." In some cases, the workshops may be extended to Sunday for special sessions for students or for hands-on training in computer-assisted reporting.

Sample Schedule
9-9:45 a.m.	Welcome. What is investigative journalism? How to do it on a daily, weekly and long-term basis. What resources to use. The importance of knowing and using freedom of information laws.
9:50-10:40 a.m.	The art of finding and cultivating sources. How to get the best information and interviews through source development to the interviewing techniques.
10:45-11:25 a.m.	Paper and database trails. Documents and data you need to know about and get.
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.	Making effective use of the Internet for investigations. From better search techniques to the "Invisible Web." Find out everything you are missing.
12:15-1:15 p.m.	Lunch on your own
1:15-2:05 p.m.	Dissecting profit and nonprofit businesses. Using regulations and licensing documents to dig deeper and find great stories.
2:10-3 p.m.	The right to records and meetings. How to use federal and state laws. How to write an open records request. How to appeal and challenge denials. How to keep a steady flow of information and ideas coming in.
3:05-3:35 p.m.	Managing and juggling. Putting it all together. How to cover a beat and still produce investigative stories. How to manage your day. How reporters and managers can collaborate.
3:40-4:10 p.m.	Following the money trail in elections. How to uncover the stories by looking at contributions, expenditures, committees and nonprofit groups and all the financial loopholes.
4:15-4:45 p.m.	Brief overview of computer-assisted reporting. Examples of blending databases into investigations. What to ask for in electronic files and how to ask for them.
4:50-5:15 p.m.	Questions and answers. Review of follow-up resources.