Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
TIPSHEET
FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DAILY TURNS
• SPEED KILLS!!!
• Slow Down! (Don’t be RoadRunner)
• Stop
• Spend a Few Minutes Thinking AND
Working
• Keep a level head
• Take a deep breath
• Put event into CONTEXT
• Find ways to be extraordinary
• Meet and make a plan
• Talk it out with people whom you respect
• Try to Find Something OF VALUE –
Don’t just Grandstand
• Think creatively
• Be OPEN to possibilities
ASK:
What don’t we know after the obvious
“nuts and bolts”?
What do we WANT our viewers to
know? What should they know?
What would help viewers/readers
understand this event more (put into
context)?
What will help our organization’s
coverage provide that context and help
us stand out?
• Think outside the box to answer above
questions.
• What data might be available?
• How easily is it accessed?
• Is it in a form I can understand and
analyze?
• How fast can I understand and analyze it?
• What value could it provide to our
coverage?
• Where do I go to get data?
DO
• Find relationships; put event into context
• Be ready BEFORE breaking news hits
• Keep a special database folder to turn to
when breaking news hits
• Keep adding to that folder
• Use databases often
• Push yourself to do something different
once a month or once a quarter
• Try using data and responding BEFORE
event happens
• Practice, practice, practice
DON’T
• Rush to judgment
• In the effort to get on the air\publish forget
to ask basic who, what, where, why AND
how did I get this information? questions
• Lack context
• Forget to ask – does this ring true? If it
doesn’t triple check again
• NOT question your sources and their
motivations just like you do on “normal
day reporting
USE
• Social media for a sense of what’s going
on
• Google Street View (in Google Maps)
KNOW
• Know building & construction databases
• Know who’s responsible for what
• Know resources you can access quickly
and efficiently
• Know where to look
• Know what to look for
• How to turn data into interesting copy
PRACTICE
• Breaking data from non-breaking stories
• Digging into these types of stories from
time to time even if you don’t actually use
it on the air or in a story
• Using databases in your spare time
• Exercises and deadlines
BUILD
• Database library on your own
• Knowledge of where and how to get data
• Favorites folders with quick sites to use in
a hurry
• Lists of contacts and resources
• Team approach where all ‘get it’
• Make the story pitch once you have the
story, not before
• Create CONTEXT
• Find ways to be extraordinary
• SPEED KILLS!!!
Useful Web Sites
Aviation Accidents
• NTSB Database http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx
• FAA http://www.faa.gov/
• Track tail numbers http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Inquiry.aspx
• FAA Accident & Incident Data
http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/
• Airport-Data.com http://www.airport-data.com/ (ONE STOP search everything from
tail numbers, to airports, to serial numbers, etc)
• PlaneCrashinfo.com http://www.planecrashinfo.com/
• AirDisaster.com http://www.airdisaster.com/
• AirSafe.com http://www.airsafe.com/events/usrecord.htm (plane crashes by airline,
most fatalities, by model, crash rates)
• NASA ASRS (Aviation Safety Reporting System) http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/
• FlightExplorer.com http://www.flightexplorer.com/ (real time flight tracker)
• FlightAware http://flightaware.com/ (real time flight tracker)
• Air Traffic Controllers Radio Traffic http://www.liveatc.net/
• Airliners.net http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/ (any aircraft type & specs in
world)
• Plane Finder http://planefinder.net/
• Airplane photos
http://www.photovault.com/Link/Technology/Aviation/FlightCommercial/AircraftTy
pes.html
• National Wildlife Strike database http://wildlife.faa.gov/
• New FAA Wildlife Strike site https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/
• Last Words http://www.planecrashinfo.com/lastwords.htm
• FAA Preliminary Accident and Incident Notices
https://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/preliminary_data/
• NTSB Docket Management System
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/SitePages/dms.aspx
• CSRTG Aircraft Accident Database https://www.fire.tc.faa.gov/adb/adb/ADBlist.asp
• NTSB Major Investigations (includes ground vehicles)
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/pages/default.aspx
• NTSB Current Investigations (includes ground) but pretty up to date
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/current/Pages/default.aspx
• Aviation Safety Network https://aviation-safety.net/index.php
Automobile/Trucks
• FARS-Fatality Analysis Reporting System http://www.nhtsa.gov/FARS
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www.nhtsa.gov/
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation
http://www.safercar.gov/ (main page)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/defect/defectsearch.cfm (searchable
page)
• Office of Defects Databases http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/index.cfm
Federal Spending
• USA Spending.gov http://www.usaspending.gov/
• Federal Spending.org http://www.fedspending.org/
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Watch http://www.ombwatch.org/
• Project on Government Oversight (POGO) http://www.pogo.org/
• Data.gov http://www.data.gov/
• US Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/
• Federal Inspectors General https://www.ignet.gov/content/inspectors-general-
directory
California Government
• CA Secretary of State https://www.sos.ca.gov/
• CA Department of Conservation https://www.conservation.ca.gov/
• CA Dept of Conservation\ Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR)
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog
• CA DOGGR - Office of Enforcement
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog/Pages/Enforcement.aspx
• CA DOGGR Online Data
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog/Online_Data/Pages/Index.aspx
• CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE)
https://www.ca.gov/agency/?item=california-department-of-forestry-and-fire-
protection
Texas Government
• TX Public Records Instant Access Search https://texas.staterecords.org/
• TX Legislature https://capitol.texas.gov/
• TX Secretary of State https://www.sos.state.tx.us/
• TX Comptroller of Public Records Business Search https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/
• CorportationWiki http://www.corporationwiki.com/
• Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/
• Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/ (for quick public company profiles)
• LexisNexis (subscription must pay) http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/gateway.page
Natural Disasters
Hurricanes:
• National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
• Weather Underground http://www.wunderground.com/
• Storm Pulse http://www.stormpulse.com/
Earthquakes:
• US Geological Survey http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
• Online Earthquake Catalog Stats http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search/
Wildfire:
• Texas Wildfire Map https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/by-type/naturally-
occurring/fires-wildfires/
Flooding:
• NOAA California River Forecast Center:
https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/rfc_guidance.php
• NOAA Precipitation Forecast https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/qpf.php