Covering the Obama Administration

Politifact: Obama Meter
St. Petersburg Times site tracks President Obama's campaign promises. The site is a spinoff of the 2008 Election's Truth-o-Meter.

Whitehouse.gov
The official page.

U.S. Government 2010 Budget
President Obama's proposed fiscal year 2010 budget.

Recovery.gov
Track who gets what in the 2009 economic stimulus package.

Stimulus Watch: Keeping an Eye on Economic Recovery Spending
Find, discuss and rate shovel-ready projects that benefit from recovery spending.

Social Government
This site tracks ways that local, state and federal government use social media.

AskSam.com: Obama Speeches Archive
This site has a deep archive of Barack Obama speeches from 2002 to the present.

2009 Transition and Inauguration

Carroll Publishing Transition Tracker
A great site that tracks changes in appointed and elected government officials.

New York Times: Most-Used Words in Presidential Inaugural Addresses
From 1789 to the present.

Change.gov
Obama's transition web site.

SourceWatch Encyclopedia: Presidential Transition Resources

Council for Excellence in Government: Presidential Transition

The White House Transition Project
Program formed in 1997 to ease the transition between presidents. Includes resources from policy organizations, scholars, etc.

General Services Administration: Presidential Transition
Provides the services and facilities needed for the new administration's official duties. Helpful in tracking technology needs and other improvements (and costs) a new administration may have.

CNN: Interactive Inauguration Event Map

ABC News: Inauguration Site

ABC News: Obama's Cabinet

Inauguration Blog

Bartleby: Inauguration Speeches of Past Presidents
Searchable database of speeches.

History Matters: FDR's 1933 Inauguration Speech
Famous speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt given in Washington, D.C., March 4th, 1933. "We have nothing to fear ... but fear itself."

Government Accountability Office: 2009 Congressional and Presidential Transition

Library of Congress: Presidential Inaugurations
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations is a collection of approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital files relating to inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001. This presentation includes diaries and letters of presidents and of those who witnessed inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music.

Obama's Office of Urban Policy
Citizens can contribute ideas on policies to improve cities.

Library of Congress: Inauguration Dates
Great for quick reference.

infoPlease: Inauguraton File
A treasure trove of facts and background, including media coverage, famous addresses, inaugural trivia, and life after the presidency.

Federal Citizen Information Center: National Contact Center
A great resource for anyone covering the federal government. The site includes phone and hotline numbers to various agencies, Congressional phone directories, contacts for cabinet departments, etc.

U.S. Government Press Release Sites
A clearinghouse of agency press releases and announcements.

Government RSS Library
USA.gov's RSS feed for news releases, agencies, etc.

WikiPedia: Inauguration Day
Includes history and traditions with the ceremony.

Poynter.org: Inauguration Resources List

WikiPedia: Inauguration Day
Scroll to the bottom of the page for a chronological chart of details of details from past ceremonies.

TeacherVision: History of Presidential Inaugurations

Truman Library & Museum: Inauguration Quiz

MSNBC: Mayors' Cries to Help for Obama
Survey, presented as an image map, of advice to Obama from mayor's of large and small U.S. cities.

TeacherVision: History of Presidential Inaugurations

MSNBC: Estimating Large Crowds
Steve Doig of Arizona State University uses a process to estimate large crowds. He uses Obama's Presidential Inauguration as an example.

Executive Branch

Whitehouse.gov
The official page.

National Archive: George W. Bush Public Papers
Searchable database that complements the printed volumes.

Library of Congress Executive Branch Links
One-stop shopping for government agencies (many of the links are listed below, by the way). This page is just a set of links to government agencies and are organized by the departments they're governed by.

Washington Post Watergate Archive
The Post put up this archive site in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Watergate scandal. Site includes a chronology of events, bios of key players, articles, reforms and transcripts of chats with Bob Woodward and Ben Bradlee.

Department of Energy
Another database of nuclear accidents.

Department of Commerce

Department of the Treasury

Notable Names Database
More than 20,000 bios of famous people.

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Agriculture

Department of Education

Department of Labor

Department of Transportation

Department of the Interior

PBS: The American President

Sunlight Foundation: Online Foreign Agent Lobbying Database
The Foreign Agent Registration Act requires the Justice Department to maintain detailed reports of lobbying firms hired by foreign governments and by organizations. Just select legislators from a menu and it will show their records, lobbyist ties, etc.

Presidents of the United States

Past Inaugural Addresses

Presidential/Congressional nominees history
Information about all nominees (received, rejected, confirmed) for the current session of Congress. It gives names, position for which the individual was nominated and the status of their nomination.

C-SPAN: Nixon Tapes 1971-73

Presidential Libraries

University of Texas: Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers

Findlaw: Chronology of Congressional Sex Scandals

Polizine: Biggest Political Sex Scandals Ever

HuffingtonPost: America's Top Political Sex Scandals

Journalism.org: What Scandals Make the Biggest News?

The Presidential Debate Blog

Museum of Broadcast Communications: History of Presidential Debates

Commission on Presidential Debates

PIBuzz.com: Government Salary Lists
Look up salaries for all kinds of federal positions.

PBS: The American Experience - The President
A great interactive video site that lets you pick a question that a past president will answer in a video. (Examples: "How Influential is the First Lady?" and "How Do You End a War?"

Poynter.org: Backgrounding Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
Links, documents, photos, news announcements, statements, etc.

Gerald R. Ford Historical Photographs
Links, documents, photos, news announcements, statements, etc.

White House Museum
Unaffiliated with the government, this site gives a tour, stats, details about the building and surrounding area.

American Society of Civil Engineers
A 2005 report on failing structures in U.S. infrastructure.

Federal Reserve 101
Basic facts, research, etc.

Fedstats.gov
Links to hundreds of government agencies.

Google: Government Sites
Search government-only sites with this special Google feature

FedStats
Studies and stats on federal government research..

PIBuzz.com: Government Salary Lists
Look up salaries for all kinds of federal positions.

GovExec.com
Magazine on federal government and military.

USASpending.gov

Federal News Service
FNS produces transcripts of Presidential statements; briefings at the White House, State, Defense and Justice departments; speeches and press conferences of major political leaders and spokespersons; and Congressional hearings. Also offers English translations of Russian political speeches.

Almanac of American Politics
Key votes, committee changes and election results.

ABA Administrative Procedures Database ABA Administrative Procedures Database
This site "is designed to facilitate the exchange of information about federal and state administrative law among legislators, lawyers, hearing officers, judges, and citizens. (It) contains links to federal and state Administrative Procedure Acts (APA), reform proposals, and organizational and other resources."

Catalaw
Organizes legal and government sites into a basic catalog.

CIA Biological Incidents--Handbooks
A recently released unclassified document.

Office of Personnel Management
Federal government human resource agency.

Students.gov: Guide to U.S. Government

Governing.com: What Government Does
Background story on fundamental functions and services the government performs at all levels.

The United States in International Context Summary Fast Facts

The United States in International Context Full-Text Report
A 12-page .PDF document.

Center for Digital Government
Affiliated with Government Technology magazine, this organization has people who will talk to you, although they tend to be on the technology-is-the-solution side of things.

The National Journal
A weekly on politics and government published in Washington, put out a Guide to the Web in its Dec. 8, 2001 issue that probably would be helpful because it includes lots of government sites.

Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
A resource for journalists who want to stay current on open government developments or to learn more about access issues at the federal level.

StudentPress.org Sourcebook
Tools for covering federal government.

Federal Consumer Information Center

FDA Tobacco Regulation
An FDA database of every business that has been cited for selling cigarettes to minors -- searchable by zip code.

Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Center for Digital Government
Tracks happenings in online government sites.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Information from the nation's largest and fastest growing public service employees union.

GovExec.com
The online version of Government Executive magazine.

MissingMoney.com
Some states have their lists of people who are owed money online.

About.com's U.S. Government Info./Research

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
A non-partisan research organization focusing on analysis of government programs affecting low- and moderate-income people.

Searching Uncle Sam
Searching for online government info just got easier, thanks to the cutting-edge search engine Google.

National Archives and Records Administration Research Page
Sections for federal government, courts, textual records, microfilm, etc.

ForeignPolicy.com
Users have instant access to the best the Web has to offer on global affairs, governments, think tanks, libraries and multilateral institutions.

FedNews.com
A pay service that provides written transcriptions from government meetings and hearings the day of the event.

USInfo.state.gov
International strategic communications service that designs, develops, and implements a variety of information initiatives and strategic communications programs, including Internet and print publications, traveling and electronically transmitted speaker programs.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
FBI now gets authority to wiretap individuals, or under the secret FISA procedures, which is also a secret court proceeding.

Govspot.com
Government information portal: world, state, federal, etc.

PoliticalQuotes.org: Eigen's Political & Historical Quotations
More than 40,000 free quotations from more than 11,000 different historical and political figures in a searchable database.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill

NY Times: Newsroom Navigator Politics Section

Center for American Women and Politics

National Archives and Records Administration
Look up just about anything on this government-run database.

Common Cause
Washington watchdog group includes articles and studies the organization has done on the influence of campaign contributions on Congress.

Publicagenda.org
Inside source for public opinion and policy analysis on dozens of social issues.

Council on Foreign Relations

Justice for All

PoliticalResources.net
A fantastic site for researching global political issues.

Government Computer News
Leading provider of integrated information and media for the government information technology market. Blog, print magazine, white papers and more.

Social Security Administration Data on Women
A new site with demographic info. on women.

Social Security Death Records

Yahoo! Government Statistics

U.S. State Department Living Abroad Guidelines
Dozens of links to helpful resources for U.S. citizens on exchange rates, vital records, emergency services and more.

PBS Frontline: Government and Elections
A collection of companion Web sites on various political topics.

EditorsWeb.org
Internet portal to stories and news releases from Washington.

The Avalon Project
Yale Law School site that offers digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.

U.S. Department of State: Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2001
Full text available as .PDF and html documents.

U.S. Department of State: Additional Info and Past Editions
Full text available as .PDF and html documents.

GovernmentAttic.org
"Interesting Federal Government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act."

National Center for Education Statistics
A complete electronic catalog and fast facts.

Family Taxpayers Network
Look up Illinois teacher salaries at public schools. Helpful research tool.

Birth Rates by Country
An Infoplease chart containing both years and "selected countries."

Statehouse News Service
SNS provides Washington coverage for all the small newspapers of America.

Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies

State and Federal Government Surplus Sales
Search state-by-state for all kinds of items seized by the government or surplus items for sale. Can make for some interesting stories to see what bizarre things are up for auction in your state/area.

National Priorities Project Database
Search state data on socio-economic needs and federal expenditures.You also create your own customized tables, graphs and reports.

OMBWatch Blog

The Jamestown Foundation
The organization's mission is to "inform and educate policy makers and the broader policy community about events and trends in those societies which are strategically or tactically important to the United States and which frequently restrict access to such information." Includes a news archive, press releases and other resources.

Citizens Against Government Waste
A private, non-partisan, non-profit organization representing more than one million members and supporters to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the U.S. federal government.

Forms.gov: Federal Forms Catalog for Citizens
A hub for federal government forms. Search forms across government agencies.

Internal Government Forms for Federal Employees

Medicare.gov

U.S. Civil Air Patrol

American Enterprise Institute
This organization "conducts policy research supportive of limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong U.S. foreign policy and national defense."

FederalTimes
Federal government news, operations, agency management, etc.

ProPublica: How Much Stimulus Money is Your County Receiving?

Civics Quiz - Civic Literacy Report

New Deal Network
Background and documents from the New Deal.

GovGab Blog

Energy Information Administration
Resources from the U.S. Department of Energy.

MediaBistro: Fishbowl DC
Blog on Washington politics and buzz.

Follow the Money
Track who is giving money to state candidates. From the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Stateline.org

StateNet.com
Links to government sites in all 50 capital cities.

National Center for State Courts

Public Information Databases
Organized by state, this site offers links to more than 4,300 government databases.

Washington Post: The Best State Political Blogs

StateBudgetSolutions.org: Newsroom
A quick reference to newspaper coverage around the nation on state budget coverage.

Library of Congress: State Resource Guides
Provides links to external Web sites and a bibliography containing selected works for both general and younger readers. This site will be updated on a regular basis.

AJR: Cutbacks in Statehouse Coverage (.PDF)
A 2009 study that has a state-by-state breakdown of shrinking statehouse coverage.

CourtReference.com
Offers state-by-state links to online court record search services at trial courts and government agencies. Find court locations, other legal services offered and more.

Court Records Blog
Part of CourtReference.org's site, this blog covers some of the basics of court records, understanding documents, how a court room works, etc.

Free Public Records Directory
Free state court resources.

The Public i
A super investigative site from the Center for Public Integrity. Features studies, links to stories, commentaries and more.

National Center for State Courts

National District Attorneys Association

National Association of State Information Resource Executives
A great quick-reference of bios by state. Also has a directory page of topic areas such as education, revenue, treasures and legislatures.

ActivistCash.com
A great site. Roots out the funding sources of the most notorious anti-consumer groups. It continually adds profiles on the first of every month.

CityTownInfo.com
A collection of information on U.S. cities and towns. The site includes almanac-like reference data, property statistics, local weather reports, links to the official city web sites and maps for about 3500 cities. The site also includes a summary article on about 50 major cities.

National Attorney Generals Association
This site has links to state attorney general's offices. Most attorney general sites, such as New York's have information on nonprofit organizations that make more than $150,000 a year.

StateLocalgov.net

Prairie Net: Full-Text State Statutes and Legislation

National Center for State Courts: Listing of Courts
Links to state appellate, circuit and county courts Web sites organized by states.

National League of Cities
Studies, stats and stories on trends in urban and rural cities and towns.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Information from the nation's largest and fastest growing public service employees union.

State and Local Governments
A directory of links to state and local government sites.

PoliticalMoneyLine

National Governors Association: State Fiscal Update

Library Chapters/Associations by State

MoJo 400

USGenWeb
This non-profit Web site provides links to Web sites for every county and state in the United States.

Re-Entry Policy Council (RPC)
Policymakers representing Democrats and Republicans, law enforcement, corrections, health and other representatives.

Google: Government Sites
Search government-only sites with this special Google feature

National Governor's Association

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Council of State Governments

City-Data.com
This site has collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create profiles of all U.S. cities. It featuresthousands of pictures, maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment...), geographical data, crime data, housing, businesses, political contributions, weather, hospitals, schools, libraries, houses, airports, radio and TV stations, zip codes, area codes, user-submitted facts, similar cities list.

State Laws Database
Searchable index of state laws and legislation for all 50 states.

Stateline.org
A news service operated by the Pew Center on the states produces in-depth stories on state-based public policy issues.

Community Associations Institute

Governing.com
Features a report card for America's 40 largest counties.

CapitolBeat.org
Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors is an organization for statehouse reporters around the country.

State Agencies Telephone Directory

National Priorities Project Database
Search state data on socio-economic needs and federal expenditures.You also create your own customized tables, graphs and reports.

Center for Public Integrity: State Database of Law-Breaking Lawyers
Use image-map/database for a list of lawyers in your state.

State Government Sites
A quick-reference listing of state government sites.

Lewis Mumford Center: Census Research
This site lists some census research analysis that is used by many reporters, especially those covering census information. It is run by Merci Miglino of the Lewis Mumford Center at the Research University at Albany, SUNY.

Ersys
A comprehensive collection of demographic, lifestyle, and economic data covering over 2,600 U.S. cities portrayed as thematic maps, informative reports, detailed tables and colorful charts --- all freely available.

CityMayors.com
Stats, contacts, other resources about city/local government.

National Governors Association
Anything you want to know about the nation's governors and policy statements on state and federal issues.

Policy.com
This non-partisan site covers every side of a topic with an easy-to-use index.

StateScape.com
This free database allows you to track legislation across states. It takes some time to use, though.

State Departments of Transportation

Locate State Government Sites
A search engine and image map takes you to official state sites.

Statelocal.gov
Clearinghouse of state and local government sites.

ProPublica: How Much Stimulus Money is Your County Receiving?

National Center for State Courts
Research, newsletter, links to other organizations.

Thomas.loc.gov
Local government sites.

JudgePedia.org
A great election resource that tracks state supreme courts, their elections and news on judges.

Taxpayers for Common Sense
Watchdog group on wasteful government spending. Site includes a media page and is organized by categories such as government contracts, energy, transportation, national security, etc.

Statenet.com

USACitylink.com
Includes some links to city government information. Some read like travel brochures.

GotoCity.com
Organized by state and city, explore data on many U.S. communities.

Law.com: Law News by State

National Association of Counties

Census Factoid Central
Get the statistical lowdown on where you live with a few mouse clicks at State and County QuickFacts.

PC Magazine's Undiscovered Websites: Government
From November, 2007, a great collection of sites that provide shortcuts to many federal government and news sites.

Institute for State Studies

Municipal Mall
Claims to be a meeting place for municipal and provincial leaders, as well as people who are studying government. Has a newsletter, events and discussion pages.

Chamber Of Commerce
A central resource for community, tourism and business information.

Index of State Malpractice Laws

First Headlines: State News List
Scan news from each state using an image map.

National Association of Secretaries of State

Center for Public Integrity: Watchdogs on Short Leashes
An interesting December 2001 study on how many state legislatures have ethical oversights.

Government Finance Officers Association
This association offers background on public-sector finance and accounting.

PIBuzz.com: Government Salary Lists
Look up salaries for all kinds of federal positions.

Sprawlwatch.org
This watchdog group offers a clearinghouse of stories on urban sprawl and the legislation to stop it. Hs a state-by-state summary of how state open space legislation is dying on the vine from budget cuts.

Other Urban Sprawl Web Sites
Dozens of great links to organizations and activist groups.

RootsWeb U.S. Town and County Database
Search for city and county sites.

Public Library Rankings.
The annual ranking of 9,000 public libraries is available in a spreadsheet copy for journalists. A good newsroom training tool for spreadsheets.

ePodunk.com
This site profiles every county and more than 25,000 communities across the country. The site was compiled by journalists formerly with the Detroit Free Press, the New York Times and American Demographics magazine. The site uploads new data daily, including census, EPA, FDIC, FEC, USGS, etc.

State Mottos List

GovExec.com
Magazine on federal government and military.

50States.com: State Mottos

AngelFire: Real State Mottos

Stateline: States in Finanncial Trouble (2009)

City of Chicago information server
A guide to Chicago city government. Good for finding offices, phone numbers, department heads, census info., etc. See also Chicago Chamber of Commerce.

Cook County information server
County offices, demographics, meeting schedules, etc.

FedBlog
A must-read for anyone covering politics and federal government. Daily updates on what's going on, links, resources, etc.

The Washington File
Another must-read for anyone covering politics and federal government. It's a feed of government-generated stories on global and national issues.

USA Today: State-by-State Population Growth (1790-2000)

State Data Centers
This Census Bureau site uses an image map to link to state data sites. A great site to hit on a weekly basis for updates.

AOL CityGuide: Government Guide
Enter your zip code, city or state to find links and contact information to services, officials, agencies, etc.

Open Congress: 50 Key Senate Votes

ResourceShelf: California State Archives Links
Databases of hundreds of historical documents and other pieces of the public record.

Wikipedia: State Agency Databases
A wiki on state databases that feature information on businesses, licensed professionals, etc.

USA.gov: Defense and International Relations Agencies
This site helps you identify government agencies at local, state, federal and international levels.

National League of Cities
Includes a press room and resources for best practices, etc. for running city government.

National Governor's Association: Greener Fuels, Greener Vehicles
A state-by-state resource guide in .PDF format.

Governing.com; What Government Does
Background story on fundamental functions and services the government performs at all levels.

State Legislative History Research Guides
From Indiana University, this site links to legislative tracking guides in all 50 states.

Cornell Law: State Courts Opinions

Web-Strategist: Social Networking Statistics, 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics: State Economies at a Glance
This handy image map helps you track census and economic statistics in all 50 states.

IRS: Tax Statistics

Cornell Law: State Courts Opinions

@journtoolbox
Follow the Journalist's Toolbox on Twitter.

Twitter

Mashable
A great guide to all things social media. A must-bookmark for Twitter users.

Twitter Guide for Skeptics and Newbies
Tailored to journalists, this guide from Columbia University Journalism Dean of Students Sree Sreenivathan gives you everything you need to know.

MuckRack.com
A huge directory of journalists on Twitter. A must-bookmark for journalists.

Search.Twitter.com
Twitter's version of Google.

BreakingTweets
Coverage of breaking news events and Twitter reaction from Craig Kanalley with the Huffington Post.

Hootsuite
Great Twitter management tool. Built-in link compressor, manage multiple accounts, schedule tweets for later, etc.

TweetDeck
Another great Twitter management tool.

Twitterfall
Great for chats, just type in a keyword and follow/participate in the discussion.

Monitter
As the name suggests, you can track three trending topics at once.

TwitterFeed
Feed your blog updates to your Twitter account using an RSS feed. Very cool.

Convotrack
Track an entire conversation surrounding a blog post or Web page. Just enter the URL.

WeFollow
A Yellow Pages for Twitter.

FriendorFollow
Who are you following that's not following you back? Track it with this tool.

Twitterless
Tells you who has stopped following you.

TwitPic.com
Makes it easy to move mobile phone or desktop photos to Twitter.

Twitalyzer
Analytics for your social media. Graphics, other stats on how influential you are as a tweeter.

Klout .com
Another Twitter analytics site.

Twittergrader
Evaluates how influential you are on Twitter.

Socialoomph
Twitter management tool that allows you to schedule tweets. Free and professional versions.

Klout.com
Twitter analytics page. Track how influential your tweets are.

TwitterCounter
Track Twitter statistics.

Trendistic.com
Tracks Twitter trends.

TwitScoop
See what's trending on Twitter.

TweetBeep
Set up alerts to track certain keywords on Twitter.

Twittercal
Sync your Twitter account with your Google Calendar.

Twtvite
A Twitter invitation tool that helps you schedule tweet-ups.

Wordpress: Twitter Tools Plug-in

Mashable: 10 Twitter Tools to Organize Your Tweeps

OneForty
Lists the best Twitter tools by category: desktop, mobile, media sharing, analytics, etc.

OneForty: News Twitter Tools
A must-bookmark list of key Twitter tools for news journalists.

Tweetmeme
Digg for Twitter. Very cool tool.

Twitscoop
Operates somewhat like Hootsuite. Available for iPhone and iPod Touch.

BackType
Much like ConvoTrack and BackTweets, enter a Web site's address and measure it's social media impact.

Government Computer News: Who Tweets in Government?

Twackle
Aggregates tweets about sports leagues, teams, athletes, events, etc.

Sportsin140.com
Tracks official athlete, coach and league Twitter accounts.

Coyle Media: Sports Fan Graph
Ranks pro and college teams and leagues by their Facebook and Twitter followers.

TweetMeNews
Create your own custom Twitter feed, similar to an RSS. Great tool.

Eight Great Twitter Directories

22 Sites for Twitter Backgrounds

Twitter Basics Powerpoint
A Powerpoint on Twitter fundamentals. Nice links and examples from Kathy Schrock.

MicroPlaza
Find information filtered by the people you follow.

TwitHorus
Aggregates and displays real-time tweet updates of tech companies by category.

GeoMeMe
Measure and share real-time local twitter trends.

iNewz
International news aggregator for the iPhone and iPod touch. Find it in the iTunes app store.

Smashing Magazine: 99 Essential Twitter Tools and Applications

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Twitter
A great list of resources from Charles Curle Design.

Sociable Blog: 100 Twitter Tools

OpenJason: 100 Top Twitter Tools

27 Twitter Tools to Find and Manage Followers

SPJ: Twenty Journalists to Follow on Twitter

Eight Tools to Filter Your Twitter Stream and News

RTDNA: Social Media Guidelines
Radio TV Digital News Association established guidelines for using Twitter and Facebook.

URL Shorteners

bit.ly
One of the more popular link compressors.

TinyURL
A popular link compressor that allows you to customize your compressed links.

Doiop.com
Choose a keyword to shorten your link to.

is.gd

j.mp

Ow.ly

YumURL

tr.im
Use cautiously, this site shut down for a short period in August 2009

LittleURL.net

Backgrounds

TwitterBackgrounds.com
Liven up your page with different designs and colors for your page. Easy-to-use. Many designs are free but some cost a small fee.

TwitterBackgroundsGallery

TwitRounds Free Twitter backgrounds

TwitBacks

ColourLovers.com

Twilk
Use your followers' icons to make your background.

Mobile Applications

For iPhone: Tweetie 2, Hootsuite or Simply Tweet in the iTunes store.

For BlackBerry: TwitterBerry.

FASCNET Internet Resources
A searchable database of hundreds of helpful sites, organized by beats and topics.

Cyberjournalist.net Reporter's SuperSearch

News & Observer's NeRD on the Road
The (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer's reporter intranet.

Web Resources for Journalists
Several helpful links on a single page.

SensibleTalk.com
Robert Niles, formerly of the USC-Annenberg's Online Journalism Review, writes in a community forum "devoted to media, business, arts and technology criticism." He invites readers to share their observations in a public journal on the site.

Pew Center: Journalism Tools
Links to resources for print, online, TV, radio journalists.

Digital Librarian: News and Journalism Resources

Nieman Reports: Reporter's Toolbag

Journalism Resources Blog
A great collection of links and helpful sites from web expert Marcus Zillman.

Academic and Scholar Search Engines and Sources

Moorehead State University: Journalism Resources

Gannett's Web Tools for Newsrooms

Assignment Editor
Started by the managing editor at CBS/WBBM-TV in Chicago, this site, under new ownership, is used worldwide to navigate millions of destinations on the Internet each month. Our main users are the news decision makers of the world who decide what hundreds of millions of people see and read each day.

InsertTexthere.com
Dozens of helpful links and a great listing of journalism job sites from former OC Register reporter Michelle Nicolosi.

Internet Resources for Writers
A great one-page stop for helpful writing and reporting links.

Reporter's Toolbox
A super links site from Chris Callahan of the University of Maryland.

Newsthinking.com
A super writing and journalism site from Bob Baker of the LA Times.

Poynter.org's J-Links Page

SunOasis: Media Resources Page

Al's Diggin' Sites
Reporting A list of fun, offbeat but helpful sites from Poynter's Al Tompkins. Includes an RSS feed.

60 Sites in 60 Minutes
A site full of legal research tools on one page.

Resources for Journalists

The Internet Scout Report
A weekly update of resourceful sites from the University of Wisconsin Department of Computer Sciences.

Scripting News
A Web log of news resources.

Resource Shelf's DocuTicker
A helpful research blog run by several top researchers.

PC World: 30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet

Sree.net: Journalists with Websites

NuzGeeks.com Directory
A non-profit site by journalists for journalists.

WSJ.com: Style & Substance Newsletter
Style tips from the Wall Street Journal.

the lowercase world of sreenath sreenivasan
associate professor of professional practice administrator, online journalism awards co-founder, south asian journalists association.

Roger Mellen's Journalists' Web Tools
A nice collection of links from a George Mason University professor.

The JournoList
This British site is an annotated list of sites chosen to help reporters, writers and editors make good use of the Internet.

Neat New Stuff on the Web
A super list of new resources updated weekly by librarian Marylaine Block.

NY Times: Newsroom Navigator
New York Times' free online directory of useful websites.

The Journalist's Toolkit
About 40 helpful journalism links, including tools, interview tips and Web guides.

The WorkingReporter.com
Information and links for all reporting needs.

Web Sites for Journalists
Hundreds of good links.

AP Style Exercises Online
Developed by Ron Hartung, coaching at the Tallahassee Democrat.

RobertNiles.com: Finding Basic Stats Online

No-Frills Jump List
San Francisco State's excellent Web tools site.

Web Resources for Journalists

Web Sites for Journalists

Smarting Surfing Links
A Columbia University professor offers tips on searching the Web.

Internet Journalism Resources
From Minnesota State University.

The One-Minute Web Guide
More than 400 carefully selected links for journalists.

PowerReporting's Top 100 Journalism Links
A great collection, listed in alphabetical order.

Brizcomm.com
Aims to be the benchmark for online content in Australia. Includes an archive of content-related tips from a weekly e-mail newsletter; a database of Web site reviews from a weekly columnist and weekly radio show; a free content jobs database for web work and workers; FAQs for content employers and employees; and contributed columns and reviews.

TheScoop.org
A journalism weblog.

The Internet Journalist: Neat Stuff

LA Community College Journalism 101
Links to dozens of helpful websites.

Columbia Journalism Review: Reporting Resources
Links to dozens of online tools.

Web Resources for Journalists

News & Observer?s NeRD on the Road
The (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer's intranet site for reporters.

A Journalist's Toolbox
Links to research sites from Cal State Northridge.

Moorhead State's Journalism Resources Page
A super site with hundreds of links.

Media and Academic Resource List
A links site to thousands of news resource sites.

Communications Central
A great links resource for communications, health.

WritePath.com
Reference materials for writers to address the questions journalists do.

Finley's Newsstand
Dozens of links. Chicago and AP stories.

The Virtual Acquisition Shelf & News Desk
"New and Useful Web Sites, Industry News, Full-Text Docs of Interest to the Info Professional."

PCMike.com
Mike Wendland of the Detroit Free Press runs this Blog site about news Web sites and tools.

JScoopMedia
Offers blogs, job tips, journalism school statistics and "valuable industry news for tomorrow's editorial talent."

European Journalism Center Reference Links

Freelancer Resource Links

The Journolist
Internet resources for journalists.

Newslab.org

Neat New Stuff on the Web

Journalism UK News Sources Page

PCWorld: 100 Useful Web Sites

Pressnet: Journalists, Journalism and Mass Media in Internet
Journalists, journalism, mass media, students, studious, teachers and professors of the journalism and the social communication.World directory. Specialized directory.

The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See
This directory, the companion site to the book of the same name, is brought to us from Chris Sherman and Gary Price, to research specialists. In addition to the Invisible Web Directory, a useful annotated directory of sources for "invisible" resources on the Web, the site features the text from the book's chapter on business and investing resources as well as .pdf versions of the introduction and table of contents.

Jim's Word/Writer's Links
A great collection of writing resources for journalists and others.

Friend or Follow
A helpful database for tracking Twitter followers and to track who's following you.

St. Ambrose Library: Best Information on the Net
Thousands of resources from the web, just a click away.

Lee Enterprises' Editorial Matters
Focused mainly on the company's journalism products, the site also has a few resources subjects such as multimedia storytelling.

GateHouse Media Newsroom

IRE's Extra Extra

The Scoop: Derek Willis: Database of Computer-Assisted Reporting Stories

Press Think
Blog from NYU's Jay Rosen on new media and other timely topics.

PublicRecords Online Directory
Good first-stop in records searching, with an image map of the U.S. to guide you in finding the records. The site is a portal to official state web sites, and those Tax Assessors' and Recorders' offices that have developed web sites for the retrieval of available public records over the internet. For example, some Recorders' offices have marriage and birth records available online. Although not every county and parish has data online, many have home pages, and where neither is available a phone number has been provided.

Vital Records Database
Lists links to all the state and county agencies that keep vital statistics such as birth, death andmarriage records around the country. Also lists the fee the states charge for the records.

Searchsystems.net
Links to almost 5,000 public records databases. Claims to be the largest free collection of public records databases on the Web. Formerly the PAC-Info. site, just click on a state and you'll get a list of all free public record collections for that state. Most include incorporation filings.

Syracuse University: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)

Pretrieve.com Public Records Search Engine
A public records search tool designed to make finding information about a person or business from free public record sites faster and easier. Pretrieve provides categorized tabs with links to meaningful and relevant information and delivers users directly to their search results -- not simply dumping them off at the front door of the home page -- by preloading the search criteria.

Subsidy Scope: Searchable Database of TARP Transactions
From the Pew Charitable Trusts, links to a list of banks participating in the FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

ZabaSearch.com
This site provides basic information for free, including birth year, month, phone number and address for free and deeper background information for a fee. There is a fee for queries that return a wealth of info sometimes dating back more than 10 years: residential addresses, phone numbers both listed and unlisted, birth year, even satellite photos of people's homes.

LegiStorm
A database of congressional staff salaries and other valuable public records, such as the most comprehensive database of all privately financed trips taken by members of Congress and congressional staffers.

City-Data.com
This site has collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create profiles of all U.S. cities. It featuresthousands of pictures, maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment...), geographical data, crime data, housing, businesses, political contributions, weather, hospitals, schools, libraries, houses, airports, radio and TV stations, zip codes, area codes, user-submitted facts, similar cities list.

DeathIndexes.com
A handy state-by-state index of death records databases. A great research for quick searches.

BRB Public Records Archive
A list of 650 state, county, city and federal (court) URL's where you can access public record information for free.

RecordsPedia
Look up various records by search or by state name.

PublicRecordFinder
A list of more than 6,500 free public records sites.

Automated Access to Court Electronic Records
Provider of United States bankruptcy data to attorneys, lenders, employers and individuals. Has a helpful press center with statistics, news and trends.

Chicago Tribune: Your Government in Secret
A Tribune story on the stonewalling citizen requesting public records get from government agencies.

Chicago Tribune Open Records Help Desk
This site helps bloggers and citizens access public records. It features a database of complaints against government agencies, tips and an open forum to discuss issues for pulling records.

Chicago Tribune: Your Government in Secret
A Tribune story on the stonewalling citizen requesting public records get from government agencies.

Chicago Tribune Open Records Help Desk
This site helps bloggers and citizens access public records. It features a database of complaints against government agencies, tips and an open forum to discuss issues for pulling records.

AFL-CIO: 2009 Executive Pay Watch
The CEO pay database is extremely helpful in research for executive stories .

OpenGovTracker

Vanno: The Company Reputation Index
Captures gossip, news, opinion and personal insight about companies and their reputations, and turns it all into numerical scores and rankings.

National Personnel Records Center
A central repository of personnel-related records, both military and civil service. "Provide world-class service to government agencies, military veterans, former civilian Federal employees, family members, as well as researchers and historians."

PublicRecordSources.com
Hundreds of free sites, database sources, trade organizations and private investigators.

FedStats
Studies and stats on federal government research..

Pretrieve.com
Search by a name rather than state by state.

10kWizard
Information on publicly traded companies.

Datamasher.org
Charts government stats and other data.

Statemaster.com

ThisWeKnow.org

GovPulse.us

Data.gov
A government data mashup that is an initiative of the Obama administration.

USCourts.gov: Journalist's Guide to the Federal Courts

CourtReference.com
Offers state-by-state links to online court record search services at trial courts and government agencies. Find court locations, other legal services offered and more.

Court Records Blog
Part of CourtReference.org's site, this blog covers some of the basics of court records, understanding documents, how a court room works, etc.

Free Public Records Directory
Free state court resources.

Federal Citizens' Information Center: Privacy Resources

The Scoop Blog
CAR and investigative reporting.

The Associated Press and Freedom of Information

How to Use the Federal FOI Act
From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Investigative Reporters and Editors FOI Center

National FOI Coalition

APME: The People's Right to Know
A good FOIA guide.

Society of Professional Journalists: Freedom of Information Resources

ACLU Free Speech Resources

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information

Coalition of Journalists for Open Government

National Security Archive: Freedom of Information Act Resources
From George Washington University.

American Library Association: Key Principles on Government Information

U.S. Department of Justice Freedom of Information Act Information

FBI's FOIA Website

Society of Environmental Journalists FOI Resources

ProPublica: How Much Stimulus Money is Your County Receiving?

University of Missouri's Freedom of Information Center
Links, international FOIA laws and more.

Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press: FOIA Letter Generator
Just fill in the blanks.

Student Press Law Center: FOIA Letter Generator
Just fill in the blanks.

SPJ FOI FYI Blog

iDig Answers
Great for generating FOI-related story ideas.

Sunshine in Government Initiative

The FOI Advocate

WikiFOIA

Opensecrets.org
A fantastic site for researching campaign finance statistics.

ZipSkinny
Enter your zip code to gather U.S. Census data.

Electronic Privacy Information Center: Open Government
Tips, guides and links galore on public records access.

State Legislative History Research Guides
From Indiana University, this site links to legislative tracking guides in all 50 states.

Policy Archive
More than 12,000 public policy documents.

GAO: Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendment
A good humor site aimed at the web audience.

National Archive: George W. Bush Public Papers
Searchable database that complements the printed volumes.

Reporter.org: Who is John Doe? Investigative Tools
From the Reporter's Desktop, this is a simple list of resources you can access to get personal information about almost anyone in the United States.

Criminal Searches Criminal History Check
Good quick-reference, but assumptions should NOT be made solely on the offense displayed on this web site. The data includes more than criminal records, such as civil filings and traffic and other minor offenses, so people listed may not be actual criminals.

GlassDoor.com
Ratings, reviews and salaries for more than 11,000 employers. It's information posted by anonymous employees, so be careful with the information you use. Fact-check everything. It can be helpful as a quick snapshot of a company you're backgrounding.

State and Local Governments
A directory of links to state and local government sites.

Netronline.com
Links the user with the appropriate website for a particular state or county office.

AnnualReports.com
Like its name implies, access corporate annual reports from this database.

BRB Publications Free Resource Center
A directory to free public records, and tips on searching for public records.

ConstructionWebLinks.com
A directory of information about U.S. companies.

Stanford Law: Securities Class Action Lawsuit Clearinghouse

LifeHacker.com: Locate Original Documents Online
A guide to finding public records, etc.

Social Security Death Records

Public Records Online
Search state-by-state criminal records, real estate information and more.

Docusearch.com
This site claims to be "the place to find, locate & track down anybody! We offer locate searches, DMV driver & vehicle searches, telephone record searches, financial and bank searches, criminal and property records. Some searches are free, others you must pay for.

Public-Information.com
This site charges a fee. Search state/local criminal, DMV, prison records and more.

Neil Reisner: Knowing Public Records Law
Tips, guidelines, etc. from Florida International professor.

Neil Reisner: Finding Public Records
A how-to on locations of records for specific agencies, from Florida International professor.

Neil Reisner: Public Records and Journalism Portals
Sites to steer your to records, how-to's, etc.

Neil Reisner: Negotiating for Public Records
Tips, guidelines, etc. from Florida International professor.

Neil Reisner: Using the Web to Search for Records
A great set of search tips from Florida International professor.

FEC: Detailed Files About Candidates, Parties and Other Committees
Information on contributors, including city, state and ZIP.

Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
A great database from Cal-San Francisco that contains 20 million fully searchable documents from the1930s to the 1990s -- previously secret stuff from tobacco industry files obtained as part of the Minnesota AG and Blue Cross lawsuit settled in 1998.

CIA Electronic Reading Room
Documents can be searched from the main page or via an advanced interface that allows you to limit a search by date.

Oatis.com Reporting Resources
A comprehensive resource for reporters on deadline, this site offers links and tips for finding pubic records, business coverage resources and tips on software and how it can be used by journalists. It is run by Jonathan Oatis, an American journalist working for Reuters in London.

Political Moneyline
Track campaign finance, lobbying, and soft money with this site, developed by Tony Raymond and Kent Cooper, formerly of the FEC.

Center for Public Integrity
Tips and resources on using public documents, including campaign finance research.

60 Sites in 60 Minutes
A site full of legal research tools on one page.

U.S. National Archives

Reporters Desktop
Search and quick-reference tools site is a must bookmark.

Who is John Doe?
A great reference page for researching people and pulling public records on deadline.

Reporters Privilege
From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, this site offers all you need to know about reporter privilege in state and federal courts.

Shield Laws and Subpeonas
Some basics from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

FundRace.org
Search by ZIP code to see who in your area contributes to federal election campaigns.

PropertyShark.com
This website which makes real estate public records in New York and New Jersey easily accessible. It is free for moderate usage, i.e. citizens, reporters.

PI Newslink
A blog for private investigators/researchers.

The Capitol.net: Online Resources
Lists of helpful reporting links by category.

CIA FOIA Search
A browsable list of Frequently Requested Records is also available.

Findlaw Breaking Documents Newsletter
A free e-mail newsletter updating journalists on the availability of public documents used in big, breaking news stories (Enron, war on terrorism, etc.)

Freedom of Information Act: Famous Persons Listing

PIBuzz.com: Government Salary Lists
Look up salaries for all kinds of federal positions.

PC World: Best People Finders are Free
This site offers advice and links on researching people.

Accurint
A backgrounder site in which a basic look-up is 25 cents. A full report, which includes past addresses, relatives, properties etc. is under $8. Find out where someone is living, what property they own, etc.

RecordsCheck.net

Society of Environmental Journalists: FOI Tip Sheet

Acc-u-data
A for-profit searching organization that claims access to 41 public record databases that they will search for a fee.

IdigAnswers.com: Using Public Records
This site focuses primarily on using Florida public records, but trainers and professors outside the Sunshine State can find pointers on how to convey the importance of public records research to reporters through the site's Weekly Hit Records link. Many of these stories make for interesting workshop illustrations you can tap quickly.

Criminal-Records.com
Search federal court, divorce court, marriage licenses, military records and more.

Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records

Electronic Privacy Information Center
A government site that offers FOIA tips and more.

BlackVault.com
Government documents revealed by FOIAs.

Your Right to Federal Records
Brochure explains how you access records under FOIA.

Social Security Death Index
Get the SSN of the deceased.

MSN: Jobs and Paychecks by County
Track the best and worst for jobs, pay, pay increases, etc.

National Freedom of Information Coalition
Organization info., tips, conferences and more.

SkipEase.com
A specialized directory for people and public records searching.

Justice Department FOIA Guide
Good for anticipating the other side's arguments and interpretation of case history, especially when you are appealing a denial.

Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws 2002
A guide for working through the FOIA/open government process. It is published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

IRE: FOIA Resources

Obits 101
A national obits clearinghouse of links.

Forbes: Most Philanthropic Corporations

PAC-Info Public Records Locator

411Locate Public Records Search Tool
Includes marriage and divorce records, business finders and background checks.

Arms Sales Monitoring Project
An in-depth site featuring a database of notifications to congress of US arms exports to much of the world; U.S. and global arms transfers data; America?s biggest defense contractors; background on U.S. arms recipients.

SLA News Division: Surveys and Forms Section
Great resources for public documents and research.

CampaignFinance.org
Includes campaign finance research and a clearinghouse of key FOIA sites.

Lobbyist Database
Opensecrets.org, part of the Center for Reponsive Politics, has a database of registered lobbyists. Also tracks spending in particular sectors of lobbyists.

Center for Public Integrity: The Data Mine
An online series that will highlight inaccessible or poorly presented information from the federal government.

Special Interest Groups List
Opensecrets.org, part of the Center for Reponsive Politics, has downloadable lists of special-interest groups.

Council of Better Business Bureaus' Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org)

Charity Navigator
Another good charity evaluation site. Allows you to search alphabetically and by region.

Philanthropy.com: Organizations that Evaluate Charities
Breaks down the issues they look at when evaluating charities.

MinistryWatch.com
Evaluates more than 500 religion-based charities.

EPA's Toxic Release Inventory
"A publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered industry groups as well as federal facilities."

CriminalWatchDog.com
Provides criminal background reports to employers, landlords or anyone wishing to ensure their safety. Users can access their own private database of saved criminal record reports. U.S. state, county, national, federal and sex offender registry reports are available.

Cemetery Records Online
Maintains records from 4,307 cemeteries both nationwide and abroad. The site regularly updates users on which cemeteries have been added to their database.

Docusearch

Depth Reporting

University of Miami: Online News and Computer-Assisted Reporting Research Project

Zillow.com
Evaluate real estate value using this tool.

Trulia
It's a real estate site that contains a lot of community demographic information. It can give you a quick snapshot of schools, real estate, etc.

U.S. City Directories
City directories, arguably one of the most over-looked resources by genealogists, have been around since the 1700s. This web site attempts to identify all printed, microfilmed, and online directories, and their repositories, for the United States.

HURRICANES, TORNADOES AND OTHER DANGEROUS WEATHER

IRE Resource Center: Hurricane Resources
A collection of investigations that were done after past hurricanes, including much of last year's award-winning work, and tipsheets from the reporters who have covered hurricanes and other disasters. Also included are references to relevant articles in The IRE Journal and Uplink, as well as chapters in IRE books.

IRE: Covering Weather Disasters
There, you'll find information about the IRE and NICAR Database Library Storm Events database, the official U.S. government record of storm events around the country since 1950. The IRE Resource Center has a collection of investigative stories about storms and natural disasters, plus tipsheets and archived Uplink and The IRE Journal articles to assist journalists in covering disaster.

National Hurricane Center

Storm Pulse
Storm tracking site that features great graphics for following hurricanes, etc. Allows you to search storms by name, region, etc.

HurricaneAdvisories.com
Track progress of hurricanes.

LSU: Hurricane Response Mapping

Storm Tools for Journalists
Great tools for covering weather from Poynter's Al Tompkins, and a team of storm watchers and experts.

LiveNewsCameras.com: Hurricane Page
FOX-based site has live radar and cameras from cities in the path of the storm.

Weatherbug.com
Coverage of national weather events.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center
Tracks watches and warnings for the entire United States.

CNN: Hurricane Special Section
Safety tips, facts, etc.

NOAA: Historical Hurricane Tracks
This new geographic information systems-(GIS)-based tool allows you to query the entire Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone data record from 1851 to the present.

Hurricane History

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Hurricane News Page

U.S. Census: Facts & Stats on Start of 2007 Hurricane Season

IRE: Hurricane Resources

Poynter.org: Covering Hurricanes

Cyberjournalist.net: Hurricane Katrina Newsblogs

Wall Street Journal Storm Blog

Hurricane Isabel Blog
WVEC.com in Virginia ran a Hurricane Isabel blog for its readers. An interesting approach to storm coverage.

USA Today: Hazardous Weather Page

USA Today: State Forecasts

Tropical Storm Prediction Center

HurricaneTrack
Track storms online.

Hurricane Hunters

HurricaneTrack.com

Storm Name List

Poynter.org: Hurricane Resources

National Weather Service Southern Region Weather School: Severe Weather
A great primer on severe weather basics.

Chase Day
A site for tornado chasers. Lots of images.

IRE and NICAR Database Library: Storm Events Database
You must be an IRE/NICAR member to access this database. An official record of all kinds of disasters, kept by the National Climatic Data Center. It shows the location, the type of disaster, numbers of deaths and injuries, and the cost of damage. Current as of Dec. 31, 2002, the data includes 491,070 records of tornadoes, hurricanes, hail storms, blizzards, ice storms, droughts, floods, heat waves and more.

NOAA's Hurricane Page
Photos,latest tracking data, etc.

Hurricane 2001
The site features updated forecasts on the latest storms in every region of the United States. Also an archive of past storms.

Tsunami-Ready Certified Communities
There are already 21 such communities on the West Coast/Alaska/Hawaii, and one on the East Coast. Interesting trend story.

National Weather Service: Storm Ready! Initiative

Florida Weather Center -- Tampa Bay Online
Always has current hurricane info.

FEMA Storm Watch
The Federal Emergency Management Agency tracks hurricanes. Watch site that provides backgrounders on preparedness, satellite images and weather outlook.

UNISYS Hurricane/Tropical Data

CharityNavigator.org
Track charities invloved in hurricane relief.

Hurricane and Extreme Storm Impact Studies

Coastal Population Tool
From the NOAA. A handy tool when reporting on hurricanes or tropical storms. Track the number of people who live in a coastal area. This helps track evacuation and damage estimates.

Disaster Center Disaster Recovery Site
Use these bulletin boards, links and other resources to track clean up and communications after a storm.

USGS: Track River and Stream Flows
Helpful in covering floods, hurricanes.

NOAA: Coastal Population Tool
Track populations in coastal cities.

CDC: Tips Sheet of Hurricane Recovery
This site includes tips on storie food, washing hands without water, preventing West Nile Virus, cleaning mold, etc.

Florida and Island Webcams
Helpful in tracking storms.

How Hurricanes Work

Hurricane Hunters

NOAA: Costliest Hurricanes

St. Petersburg Times

Central Florida Hurricane Center

New Orleans Times-Picayune: In Harm's Way
Package (pre-Katrina) on why hurricanes are such a threat to New Orleans.

Gulf Coast Oil Platform Maps

WSMV Weather Radar and Hurricane Coverage

StormTools
Resources from Poynter's Al Tompkins.

VueToo: Hurricane/Tropical Storm Gustav
Follow information on the storm through various windows housed on a single page.

Hurricane Video and Audio Feeds
Feeds are helpful for tracking any big tropical storm or hurricane in the world.

CNN.com: El Nino 2002 Fact Sheet

NOAA: Historical Hurricane Tracks
Use this database of maps to look up tracks of past storms.

Florida Hurricane Damage Database
Covers six Southwest Florida counties, from the Keys to Manatee County, using Google Images. Users can zoom to a neighborhood and either view reported damage or report damage.

Houston Chronicle Hurricane Central

FOX Carolina Hurricane Page

Galveston Hurricane: 1900 (CNN)/

Mathematics of Tsunamis
The math and physics rules that govern them.

National Weather Service for Several Northeastern Cities
Unofficial historical weather data for the region.

FEMA: Dealing with Flood-Damaged Property

Generator Safety During Storms, Floods

Hurricane Insurance Blog

Floodsmart.gov
Resources from the National Flood Insurance program.

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration

Weather.com: Tornado!
Extensive look at this force of nature, teaching readers about the power of tornadoes and how to protect themselves from their wrath.

National Lightning Detection Network Database
This site consists of more than 100 remote, ground-based sensing stations located across the United States that instantaneously detect the electromagnetic signals given off when lightning strikes earth. These remote sensors send the raw data via a satellite-based communications network to a network control center. The site also has information on land surface, atmosphere, oceans, locations and other databases.

CyberJournalist.net: Tornado Blogs
A team of WeatherBug meteorologists and two users are posting blogs about tornadoes and severe weather in the Midwest. Find out more about it on Cyberjournalist.net.

Des Moines Register: Parkersburg Tornado
Use this aerial Google Map to pull up video and stories about a tornado that hit Parkersburg, Iowa, in May 2008. The storm wiped out the southern one-third of the town.

Des Moines Register: Iowa Tornadoes Database
List of tornadoes, path, damage and rating. Uses Google Maps to identify locations on Iowa map.

National Weather Service: National Tornado Fatality Map
This image map allows you to click on states/cities where deaths occurred.

IRE Tornado Resources
General links, tips and tools for covering tornadoes in your area.

TornadoVideos.net
This site is run by storm chasers who also give tours. It's promotional, but it has some incredible storm video and facts about severe weather.

What is a Tsunami?

FLOODING AND SAFETY

National Weather Service: River Flooding Map
Track what rivers are flooding around the country.

FEMA: What States Spend on Flood Damage

FEMA: Flood Hazards Mapping

CDC: Hurricane and Flood Recovery

CDC: Flood Cleanup

Red Cross: Repairing a Flooded Home

Poynter.org: Iowa Media Coverage of Floods

Poynter.org: Resources for Covering Floods

Generator Safety During Storms, Floods

Floodsmart.gov
Resources from the National Flood Insurance program.

NatureServe.org
Offers data, information on conservation issues, nature safety and global warming issues.

Library of Congress: Flood Response and Recovery

ABC 7 Chicago: Flood Resources
Chicago-based WLS TV posted flood resources.

NASA Earth Observatory Site
Look at natural hazards such as volcanoes, fires and floods through satellite photos, etc.

MSNBC Flood Map
Uses text and video icons to locate stories along an online map. Just click on the map (usually along a river) and you get stories and information from that area's flooding issues.

HURRICANE GUSTAV

Weather.com: Hurricane Gustav Tracker

State of Louisiana Emergency Site
Links, news updates, changes in emergency management.

New Orleans Times-Picayune Hurricane Center
News, storm tracking and more.

New Orleans Times-Picayune My Storm Blog

HurricaneTrack.com
Blog and Java tracking maps of Gustav.

Hurricane Gustav Resources Blog

BlogHerald: Hurricane Gustav Resources

About.com: Hurricane Gustav Resources

Wikipedia: Hurricane Gustav

Flickr: Photos and Videos of Hurricane Gustav
Includes links to support groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Twitter: Hurricane Gustav
Get updates on the storm from "tweets."

FEMA: Hurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav Information Center

WGAL Hurricane Center

HURRICANE KATRINA

New Orleans Times-Picayune: In Harm's Way
Package (pre-Katrina) on why hurricanes are such a threat to New Orleans.

Discovery.com: Hurricane Katrina Fact Sheet

PolicyNewsLinks.com: Hurricane Katrina Press Releases

CharityNavigator.org
Track charities invloved in hurricane relief.

Generator Safety During Storms, Floods

Floodsmart.gov
Resources from the National Flood Insurance program.

IRE Resource Center: Hurricane Resources
A collection of investigations that were done after past hurricanes, including much of last year's award-winning work, and tipsheets from the reporters who have covered hurricanes and other disasters. Also included are references to relevant articles in The IRE Journal and Uplink, as well as chapters in IRE books.

PolicyNewsLinks.com: Hurricane Katrina Press Releases

HURRICANE IKE

Houston Chronicle Hurricane Central

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Galveston County Daily News

WHP-CBS Hurricane News

KPRC-NBC Hurricane News

My FOX Houston

KTRK-ABC

National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Ike

Storm Pulse Hurricane Ike Tracking Map
Storm tracking site that features great graphics for following hurricanes, etc. Allows you to search storms by name, region, etc.

Vuetoo: Hurricane Ike Situation Page

Weather Underground: Hurricane Ike

HurricaneAdvisories.com
Track progress of hurricanes.

LiveNewsCameras.com: Hurricane Page
FOX-based site has live radar and cameras from cities in the path of the storm.

Gulf Coast Oil Platform Maps

Hurricane Video and Audio Feeds
Feeds are helpful for tracking any big tropical storm or hurricane in the world.

StormTools
Resources from Poynter's Al Tompkins.

WINTER WEATHER

National Weather Service: Snow and Blizzards
Survival tips, weather terms, etc.

AllWeatherSports.com
Cool tips on how to winterize your bike in the snow, etc.

National Weather Service
Maps, terms, forecasts, links to dozens of other sites.

The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather History
From this page you can find out what the weather was like for any of 1,500 locations around the United States or Canada on any date from 1994 to the present.

AllAboutSnow: Snow Facts

National Snow and Ice Data Center
Stats, terms and resources galore!

SnowStats
Snowfall statistics for the U.S. and Canada. Just click on the interactive map or menu.

Weather.com: What Is a Blizzard?

GuiWeather
Uses Google Earth to map and track storm warnings, etc.

Weather.com
The Weather Channel's site. Weather and cool stuff from every part of the world.

Snocountry.com
As the name implies, weather reports for skiers and mountain areas.

CNN: Winter Weather

University of Illinois Winter Storm Resource Center

Winter Weather Awareness

Accuweather Winter Storm Center

SnowStats.com
Latest snow conditions for all major North American ski and snowboard areas. Just click on the state or area of Canada you want.

Natural Gas Supply Association

OutdoorPlaces.com: Frostbite Treatments
A great checklist of treatments.

Basics of El Nino and El Nina

Mid-Atlantic Weather Station
A nice set of links to mid-Atlantic weather sites. Some global weather sites as well.

USA Today Ski Guide
Weather forecasts for key ski areas.

SkiMaps.com

Intellicast
Regular weather updates, including maps.

Intellicast's U.S. Satellite Photo

Automated Weather Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Magazine
Several stories on trends and the science of weather.

Weatherunderground.com
Weather data from 1994-present.

The Weather Network

Washington Post Weather Page
Posts world weather news, images, historical data and an outlook for the beaches. Type in a city for an instant forecast.

RainorShine.com
Simpler than Weatherchannel site with many helpful links.

CNN Weather

National Climatic Data Center
Up-to-date weather data.

Marineweather.com
In-depth coastal forecasts.

OTHER WEATHER SITES

National Climatic Data Center

World Meteorological Organization

American Meteorological Society
Research, announcements, news releases, etc.

The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather History
From this page you can find out what the weather was like for any of 1,500 locations around the United States or Canada on any date from 1994 to the present.

iMapWeather
A great interactive map for tracking storms.

Washington Post: The Climate Agenda

Earthwatch Weather on Demand
Headlines, radar forecasts for national and international locations, warnings, advisories on blizzard, flood, storm and high winds.

Emol.com
You can see a map with Flash animation showing flooded areas, and a gallery of images about the rainfall.

WeatherBug Hurricane Watcher

CSS Weather Page
Resources galore.

Emergencyemail.org
A great site; you can sign up for national emergency alerts or sign up for state, county, local alerts.

WeatherUnderground
Full of weather facts, forecasts, links, etc. Type in your ZIP code to get weather in your area.

WeatherBonk
Uses Google Maps to show you weather all over the world.

Bob Vila: Home Storm Safety Tips

PhysLink: Lightning Strikes on Planes

SpaceWeather.com
Tracks solar wind, meteors, planet temps, etc.

Hurricane History

PBS: Running Dry Documentary
Is there a drought in the Southwest?

FEMA
Disaster management resources.

Tropical Prediction Center

Automated Weather Source Neighborhood WeatherNet
Covers the United States, UK, Canada and New Zealand.

Farmer's Almanac Weather Page
Provides some of the forecast information from the print almanac, including full moons and meteor showers.

UK Weather

Interactive Weather Info. Network

U.S. Census: Facts & Stats on Start of 2007 Hurricane Season

Doppler Radar Sites
Links to radar shots in all 50 states.

We Can Solve the Climate Crisis
A project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years. Our economy, national security, and climate can't afford to wait. Funds programs in a variety of areas, including education and children's services, the arts, community service, the environment, AIDS and literacy.

Gannett's Science and Weather Page
Dozens of links to hurricane and tornado sites.

Aws Inc.
Provides software to subscribers with weather updates and alerts of local weather conditions delivered to the PC desktop. It also provides sport statistics for individual high schools and recreation leagues.

Air Weather Association

OntheSnow.com Ski Reports

Snow Crystal Growth
Informative background information on the physics of snow.

Council on Foreign Relations Climate Crisis Guide
An excellent multimedia site on climate change issues.

Online Climate Data Directory

Climate Maps of the U.S.

NOAA: Climate Monitoring
Droughts, severe weather, etc.

Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media
News, notes, resources page, RSS feed, etc.

UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Links page, graphics and presentations from past events.

WeatherBill
Pick an industry and track weather threats to that industry in your area. Examples: mining, construction, etc.

National Geographic's Nature's Fury
Words, images and video on wildfires, hurricanes, etc.

National Weather Service, Oklahoma: Severe Weather Links

Weather.com: Severe Weather Page

Weather Center's Heat index

Doppler Radar Sites
Links to radar shots in all 50 states.

Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions
Looks at demands on power grid.

Department of Energy: Demands on the Power Grid

Red Cross: Heat Waves Page

National Climate Prediction Center
A 15-page .PDF with stats about the advertising and media job markets.

FightGlobalWarming
Helpful press section includes a "low-carbon diet kit." Good source for experts on the topic.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Has a great links, press and glossary sections.

LiveNewsCameras.com
FOX-run news cameras site has several weather cams.

BP OIL SPILL/TOXIC WASTE/NUCLEAR POWER

The Daily Glob
Great oil spill resources from the Society of Environmental Journalists.

EPA: Oil Spill Data Tools

Poten.com: Oil & Gas Industry
The site is a great source of story ideas, news and data for journalists covering the oil and gas industry, transportation industry and commodity markets. Covers issues such as oil transportation rates from the Middle East; disruption in supply due to Venezuelan strike; natural gas price volatility in the United States; and environmental issues relating to oil tankers.

IfItWasMyHome
offers a great mapping tool to help you visualize how big the BP oil spill is in your area. It also includes a widget of the livecam of the leak.

NY Times Oil Spill Map

How Big Is Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Uses Google Earth 3D maps.

MaptheSpill.org
Interactive map of the Gulf region where users can post photos and other content.

Oil Spills Links
Links to associations and government agencies that deal with oil spills.

U.S. Public Interest Research Group

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
In a .PDF format.

The EPA's Oil Spills Site

Scorecard
Green Adviser ZIP code-based pollution site.

EmergencyNet News Today
Site monitors current and potential political, social an natural crises.

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
A non-profit organization monitors waste from computer corporations in Northern California.

Understanding the Nuclear Threat

Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Assessments for Nation's Nuclear Plants
A cool interactive graphic of economic data.

U.S. Fire Administration: Fire Statistics

Smithsonian Institute: Three Mile Island Disaster
Archive from the nuclear plant disaster in Pennsylvania in 1979.

PBS: Meltdown at Three Mile Island

Dickinson College: Three Mile Island Archives

Information About Nuclear Accidents
Background on the worst accidents in history. You can find similar information in a print almanac.

Nuclear Threat Initiative
Tracking the threat of other countries' pursuits of nuclear weapons.

Nuclearfiles.org
A good list of nuclear accidents.

Nuclear Bomb Blast Calculator
Estimates the scope of devastation on nuclear attacks on specific U.S. cities.

Infoplease Nuclear Accidents Page

National Interagency Fire Center's National Fire News Site

Pollution Locator: By State
A state-by-state report from U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

California's Pacific Gas & Electric
The site features several pages related to the blackouts, including maps, company bankruptcy documents and more.

National Interagency Fire Center

Northwest Interagency Coordination Center

SafetyAlerts.com

University of Michigan Documents in the News
Search safety reports from many areas -- transportation, environment, etc.

Public Safety: Household Products
Check this National Library of Medicine database (4,000 items) about health risks of products you might have around the house.

Kidsource.com
Studies and research on safety and health issues for kids.

Florida Division of Forestry
More information on the state's wildfires.

BioTech's Life Science Dictionary
Over 6,700 terms with biochemestry, toxicology, medicine, ecology and more.

Animal Legal Defense Fund

TSUNAMI AND EARTHQUAKE RESOURCES

NOAA Tsunami Page

NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

NOAA Tsunami Graphic from Chile Earthquake

NOAA Tsunami Graphic from Chile Earthquake
February 2010 earthquake.

USGS Tsunami and Earthquake Resources

FEMA Tsunami Page

CDC: Tsunamis and Public Health

How Stuff Works: Tsunamis

Landfall and Famous Tsunamis

Examiner.com: Hawaii's Tsunami History

AP: Raw Video of Chile Earthquake

YouTube: Thailand Tsunami Raw Video

What is a Tsunami?

Mathematics of Tsunamis
The math and physics rules that govern them.

USGS Earthquake Forecasting Site

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
In-depth bulletins on the most recent major earthquakes around the world.

USGS Earthquake Regional Sites
Detailed stats and discoveries in your area.

Official U.S. Earthquake Hazards Program
Background, research, regional sites, seismic networks and more.

U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
More than 400,000 photographs taken during geologic studies of the United States, from 1868 to present. Search through earthquakes, volcanoes, state parks, etc.

MSNBC/Live Science: How Earthquakes Work

ABC News Interactive Map on What Causes Earthquakes

USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program
Background, research, regional sites, seismic networks and more. In-depth bulletins on the most recent major earthquakes around the world. Also features hazard maps, list of the biggest, fact sheets and more.

USGS: Earthquake Regional Maps

USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program

How Stuff Works: Earthquakes
Predicting, seismology, how they work, photos, etc.

History of Earthquakes in Canada

About.com Geology: Modified Mercalli Scale

U.S. State Department: 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

Poynter: Resources for Covering Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Earthquake Images

2008 China Earthquake Blog

AIRPLANE SAFETY

NICAR Aviation Disasters Database

NICAR Accidents and Incidents Database

World IRE "In The News": Airplane Crashes
View the links to these resources and information about obtaining these resources. These pages have been updated to include our most recently added resources.

Aviation Safety.net
Identify problems with airlines and with individual planes. This powerful site will give you pilot backgrounds, aircraft safety records, plane maintenance records (by tail number), etc.

National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Page
Safety stats and alerts.

IRE/NICAR: Plane Crash Resources
Data about FAA service reports, aircraft registry, aviation accidents and incidents (covering everything from fatalities to passenger infractions), and federal contract information through the Individual Contract Action Report database. A companion website to IRE's Beat Book "Covering Aviation Safety: An Investigator's Guide" is linked to from the site's resource page. The Resource Center has a collection of investigations on myriad topics related to aviation safety and accidents, as well as tipsheets on how to cover this sort of disaster.

Office of Airline Information

Federal Aviation Administration
Helpful links, safety information, news releases, guidelines and more.

AirDisaster.com
Breaking news on plane crashes, including photos, stats, databases, etc.

SpeedNews.com
News on the aviation indudstry.

Chicago Tribune Flight Tracker
Track flights around the world by airlines, cities and times.

Air Safety Online
Weekly report card on the airline industry worldwide regarding safety, ontime arrival and more. Also has a special report on fuel tank dangers.

PsychLaws: Tragedies Database
Search by state.

Washington Post's Worst Aviation Disasters

Air Accident Database

AirSafe.com
Airplane safety site with plenty of solid research.

AV Web
Independent aviation site includes new, blog, industry trends and research.

Aviation Landings Site
FAA online databases, including an archive of FAA service difficulty reports -- searchable by aircraft type, aircraft manufacturer and the ``N' registration number -- and a searchable database of the ``N' registration number. See the three databases directly below.

Air Line Pilots Association
Industry news, labor issues, history, etc.

Federal Aviation Registry
FAA site helps you check aircraft registration.

Air Line Pilots Association
Represents most of the airline pilots in the U.S. and Canada for labor union.

FlyingFear.net
Addresses all types of issues with flying, lightning strikes, bird strikes, etc. Written by a flight attendant and includes statistics, tips, news, etc.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

NTSB: Aircraft Accident Database
Look up the narrative on an aircraft accident.

FAA Air Traffic Information

Trip.com
This site accesses FAA information that allows you to track any commercial airline flight in North America.

Flightview.com
Tracks any flight in-air. Similar to Trip.com and Flight Tracker.

FlightArrivals.com
Similar to Flight View, Trip.com and Flight Tracker.

Aviation Safety Network

FlightView

TrackAFlight

AirSafe

Landings
Track airline flight landings.

FAA's Aviation Consumer Protection Home Page

Airliners.net

Final Report on the Airline Customer Service Commitment (DOT)

Ice and Aviation
Former CNN anchor Miles O'Brien writes about the plane crash outside of Buffalo.

PhysLink: Lightning Strikes on Planes

Flight Global
Aviation, air transport, airline, safety, helicopters, spaceflight and more.

Flight International
Online site for aviation trade publication.

FlightBlogger
A great blog on aviation technology. Be sure to double-check information you find on this site.

WORKPLACE SAFETY/VIOLENCE

OSHA Workplace Safety Site

Occupational Health and Safety Administration: Workplace Violence

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Workplace Violence
Annual stats on shootings, etc. This .PDF is from 2008.

NICAR/IRE Occupational Safety and Health Administration Database
More than 3.6 million workplace inspections in all states and U.S. territories from 1972 into June 2008. Information is also available on persons injured in workplace accidents. Details include the person's gender, age, extent of injury, nature of injury and part of body and source of injury. It also includes whether any hazardous materials were involved. Journalists can use the data to investigate the safety of local industries and businesses over time.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: Workplace Violence

University of Iowa: Workplace Violence Study
Downloads as a .PDF file.

OSHA's Statistics Page
Government site with statistics and research on injuries and safety issues in the workplace.

National Safety Council
Non-profit organization does several studies on a variety of safety issues. A great database of stats and periodicals.

COVERING WILDFIRES

Red Cross.org: Brush Fires
Stories, disaster relief, etc.

Red Cross: Feb. 2002 California Brush Fires
Stories, disaster relief, etc.

NYFD: Brush Fire Safety Tips

Phoenix.gov: Brush Fire Safety

Children's Safety Zone: Protecting Your Home from Brush Fires

Health Effects of Wildfires
Links from the National Library of Medicine.

Firehouse.com Wildfire Coverage

National Interagency Fire Center's National Fire News Site

FirefightersNetwork.com

HowStuffWorks.com: How Wildfires Work

GeoMac Wildland Fire Support
A multi-agency government site.

International Association of Fire Chiefs
Site includes resources on wildfires.

National Fire Protection Association

U.S. Fire Administration
Part of FEMA's site, it includes stats, prevention campaigns, safety tips, list of fire-safe hotels, winter fire safety, etc. Has e-mail updates and an RSS feed.

Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes

Twitter.com: 2007 Southern California Fires Coverage List
A quick scan of headlines.

San Diego Tribune 2007 Fire Blog

CraigsList: 2007 Southern California Fires Forum

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

Transportation Security Administration

Safe Road Maps
An amazing site from the University of Minnesota that allows users to enter their address and see a map or satellite image of all the road fatalities that occurred in their area. Search can be narrowed to determine the age of the driver, or whether speeding, drinking or seatbelts were factors.

Center for Automotive Research
Many safety studies and stats.

Automotive News
Industry news, financial information, safety, etc.

Motorcycle Industry Council

American Motorcyclist: Laws by State

Motorcycle Helmet Laws by State

Motorcycle and Bicycle Helmet Laws by State

Safercar.gov
One-stop shopping for government information on crash test.

League of American Bicyclists
Bike advocacy site features safety, biking groups, legislation around the country on bicyclists' rights.

America Bikes Coalition
Advocates rights and safety for bicyclists.

Government Accountability Office: Commercial Drivers Certification
A study (.PDF format) of the certification process for drivers with serious medical conditions.

IRE: Resources for Investigating Highway and Water Transportation Deaths

IRE/NICAR: National Bridge Inventory Database
From IRE: "The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory database lists structural evaluations and codes for all bridges in the U.S. This includes bridges on highways, railroads, pedestrian-bicycle, overpasses and those designated as historically significant. The data includes fields that indicate the year the bridge was built, how many lanes and several key fields that can be used for an overall indication of a bridge's quality. There is also a field that indicates the feature intersected, for example if the bridge goes over a body of water or if it intersects with another highway or roadway."

MSNBC.com: Dangerous Roads Database
Enter state and county in database.

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
Studies and stats on accidents, tips, etc.

SleepFoundation.org
Site includes drowsy driving facts.

Highway Safety Research Center at UNC
Conducts interdisciplinary research aimed at reducing deaths, injuries, and related societal costs of roadway crashes. Research examines motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian crashes, taking into account human, vehicular, roadway and environmental factors.

Highway Users
Organization with studies, links and stats on highway accidents, tolls, etc. Great for anyone covering safety or transportation issues.

Census.gov: Extreme Commute Rankings
Organized by community.

State Highway Safety Laws
From the Governors Highway Safety Association. Organized by type of law and by state.

American Public Transportation Association
Statistics, facts, and more.

Scenic America
Lobbyist group that focuses on keeping debris off highways.

North American Transportation Statistics
Sort by country or type of stat. Includes passenger travel, safety, vehicles, infrastructure, etc.

School Bus Data
Injury, accidents and other national statistics.

School Bus Seat Belt Issue FAQ

National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running

U.S. Public Interest Research Groups
Transportation, healthcare, money and politics, media reform, tax and budget, law, higher education and environmental issues.

National Association of Pupil Transportation: School Bus Safety

Speed Trap Exchange
Users contribute speed trap locations around the nation.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Major Transportation Facilities of the United States
Map of major interstates, etc.

National Motorists Association
News, press releases and links.

U.S. Civil Air Patrol

Highway Watch
A Washington-based anti-terrorism training program for transportation workers.

Poytner.org: Tips for Handling/Airing 911 Calls

Electric Auto Association

PBS Frontline: Rollover -- The Hidden History of the SUV
Companion site to the TV show on SUV danger/safety issues.

NHTSA: Van Safety
Tips from the U.S. government on preventing rollovers in 15-passenger vans.

USDOT: America's Worst Bottlenecks
Lists the worst two-dozen highway bottlenecks in America.

Automobile.com
Car reviews, directories, safety, studies, etc.

National Trucking Associations
Resources and regulations for trucking industry.

Truck Safety Site
A very useful Web site run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

NICAR's Trucks Census Database
Details on costs for the database and includes story examples and data samples.

IRE/NICAR: Truck Accident Databases
Current as of December 2001, the data includes 952,887 records of truck crashes. Fees up to $500 are charged for the content.

National Transportation Statistics 2002

Collision Safety Institute
Dozens of helpful stats, research projects and reports.

NHTSA State-by-State Stats on Traffic Deaths (2003-04)

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Auto safety and engineering studies.

Society of Automotive Engineers
Auto safety and engineering studies.

AutoSafety.org

Federal Highway Administration Expertise Database

National Transportation Safety Board
Government site with statistics and research on transportation disasters.

U.S. Department of Transportation

AVWeb.com
Aviation magazine site.

Advancement of Air Cargo Safety

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Injury Web Site
A good site for national stats on injuries.

CDC: Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System
A database that provides customized reports of injury-related data.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Highway Loss Data Institute
Studies and stats on highway accidents. Also a set of related sites.

Federal Highway Safety Statistics
Traffic vehicle statistics broken down by state.

Fatality Analysis Reporting System
Department of Transportation chart is a great resource.

SafeRoads.org: Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
An advocacy group with polls, stats, safety tips, etc.

Car and Driver: How To Deal with Unintended Acceleration

Highways.tv
Offers a handy collection of Web links arranged by state featuring the latest info on traffic snarls and construction spots, as well as real-time road camera feeds.

SafeRoads.org: Speeding Facts and Stats

National Safe Kids Campaign
A searchable site that features news and research on restraint laws for transportation, playground safety, holiday safety, etc.

National Center for Safety Analysis
Part of the Department of Transportation, this site includes studies and surveys on roadway accidents, etc.

Trucking Safety Information

SmartMotorist.com
This site offers "expert advice on the newest technology, safety equipment, and strategies for safe navigations of today's roadways. You'll find clear, informative articles on subjects like cell phones, SUVs, road rage, and winter driving.

American Academy of Family Physicians: Driving with Epilepsy Laws

Bicycle Safety Institute: Helmet Laws by State

CNN: Ford Explorer Tire Recall
Links to several stories about the controversy and recall.

Firestone Tire Recall -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

US AIRWAYS CRASH

US Airways Statement
Official statement from the airline about the crash.

FlightAware.com: Radar and Flight Track of US Airways 1549
Search by state, year, etc.

Airbus.com: Airbus A320
Performance, specs and seating layout chart.

Airliners.net: Airbus A320 Specifications
Schematics, cockpit and fuselage photos, stats and more.

Aircraft-Photos.net: Airbus A320

CNN: Airbus A320 Crashes into Sea off France
From November 28, 2008. Plane crashed during a training session.

SeatGuru.com: Seating Chart for US Airways Airbus A320

US Airways: Airbus A320 Specifications

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Rolls Royce: The Jet Engine
Type of engine in the Airbus A320.

Rolls Royce Media Room

FAA National Bird Strike Database
Search by state, year, etc.

Dates of Past Bird Strikes on Jet Engines

YouTube: Bird Strike with a 757 Jet
Not the same type of plane as the one in the US Airways crash, but it shows the impact a bird can have on an engine.

IPP Media: Bird Strike a Danger to Air Travel

Aviation Safety Network

AirSafe.com: Fatal Events Since 1970

Twitter: US Airways Jet Crash
Photos and accounts of the crash and the rescue.

AirFareWatchdog
Track airline prices on this blog. Also has some industry and safety news.

FOOD SAFETY

Food Safety
A government site with several regulation listings.

AP-Ipsos Poll on Food Safety

Consumer Product Safety Commission

USDA Food Safety

USDA Economic Research Service: Global Food Security
Data, FAQ, reports and helpful links.

Safe Food Handling Fact Sheets

USDA: National Nutrient Database
Enter up to five keywords which best describe the food item. To further limit the search, select a specific food group.

Zeer
Displays the nutritional labels from packaged food.

Investigative Food Safety Resources and Tipsheets
From IRE.

Chicago Tribune Recalled Food Database
More than 2,800 products recalled related to food allergens.

The National Library of Medicine Dietary Supplements Labels Database
Labels from more than 3,000 brands of dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc.

American Beverage Association
Industry news, studies, consumption statistics, experts, etc.

Feeding America: Food Bank Locator
Search by ZIP code or state.

Feeding America: Hunger and Poverty Statistics

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Hunger Statistics
From 2007

National Center for Food Safety and Technology

USDA Meat and Poultry: Holiday Food Safety
Look under featured topics menu and pull down to Holiday Food Safety.

Dietary Supplements Labels Database
From the National Library of Medicine, this database offers information from the labels of over 2,000 brands of dietary supplements in the marketplace, including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other specialty supplements.

Eco-Labels.org
Resources that monitor a company?s claim on a label. Also helps customers decipher what?s on a label. Very handy in covering consumer issues.

American Meat Institute

BacteriaMuseum.org
From the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.,/p>

National Cattlemen's Beef Association

National Meat Association

FAO: Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture
Site includes a database on global, regional and national food security.

IRE: Food Safety Stories
A database of investigative stories.

FLOODING AND SAFETY

National Weather Service: River Flooding Map
Track what rivers are flooding around the country.

FEMA: What States Spend on Flood Damage

USGS: Flood Fact Sheets

HowStuffWorks: Levees and Floods

MSNBC Flood Map
Uses text and video icons to locate stories along an online map. Just click on the map (usually along a river) and you get stories and information from that area's flooding issues.

FEMA: Flooding Q&A

Flood Terminology

FEMA Floods: What to Do

FEMA: Flood Hazards Mapping

USGS: Floods Fact Sheet

CDC: Hurricane and Flood Recovery

CDC: Flood Cleanup

Red Cross: Repairing a Flooded Home

USA Today: Flood Resources
Dozens of links to weather service resources, etc.

U.S. Drought Monitor
Includes graphics, photo gallery from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Generator Safety During Storms, Floods

Floodsmart.gov
Resources from the National Flood Insurance program.

NatureServe.org
Offers data, information on conservation issues, nature safety and global warming issues.

NASA Earth Observatory Site
Look at natural hazards such as volcanoes, fires and floods through satellite photos, etc.

MSNBC Flood Map
Uses text and video icons to locate stories along an online map. Just click on the map (usually along a river) and you get stories and information from that area's flooding issues.

Poynter.org: Iowa Media Coverage of Floods

Poynter.org: Resources for Covering Floods

Red Cross Safe and Well Database
Disaster victims can register on this database, which is searchable by name, street, phone numbers.

CDC: Spotting Suspicious Letters and Packages
Tips on how to spot a package that might be a terrorist threat.

Recalls.gov
View recall announcements once they go public: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, etc.

Household Products Database
Health and safety information on household products.

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
From the World Security Institute, this site provides in-depth resources on global affairs.

Homeland Security Digital Library
Search engine allows you to scan more than 30 homeland security blogs.

Poynter: Tips for Covering Mass Shootings
Track who is tweeting a site or blog.

Office of National Drug Control Policy

SAJA: Mumbai Attack Resources

FightGlobalWarming
Helpful press section includes a "low-carbon diet kit." Good source for experts on the topic.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Has a great links, press and glossary sections.

World Meteorological Organization

GlobalEntry.gov
Fingerprint entry program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

MedlinePlus: Gun Safety

Environmental Working Group: Cosmetics Database
Skin Deep database ranks cosmetics based on hazardous ingredients.

ClimateCounts.org
Ranks companies based on their impact on global warming.

GoodGuide.com
Ranks personal-care and household products on environmental friendliness.

American Society of Civil Engineers

Office of National Drug Control Policy

Federal Hate Crime Legislation

MedlinePlus: Patient Safety

Preparedness Resources
Web site for the book, "The Unthinkable", by Amanda Ripley, which explores why some people survive catastrophes and others don't.

National Center for Healthy Housing

National Children's Advocacy Center
Deals with child abuse issues.

Library of Congress: Flood Response and Recovery

Consumer Reports Magazine

Sun Safety Alliance
Newsletter, safety tips, media center and expert sources on sun and the risks of skin cancer. It includes a good kids section as well.

Reliefweb.int: List of Natural Disasters 1980-Present

Alliance of Information and Referral Systems
The professional association for over 1,200 community Information and Referral (I&R) providers, primarily in the United States and Canada.

Disaster Finder
Run by the NASA Solid Earth and Natural Hazards Program, this service was created for the disaster community at-large so that the best links in disaster information could be found quickly and easily. Links are categorized within the Disaster Finder database according the Disaster services section of the Taxonomy of Human Services: A Conceptual Framework with Standardized Terminology and Definitions for the Field.

Child Welfare Information Gateway
A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Has sections on abuse, library search, statistics, online catalog, adoption information and more.

U.S. Government Publication Digitization Projects: Regulatory Documents

Childproofing Tips
Basic tips for your home and yard, child-safety products, etc.

American Society of Civil Engineers
A 2005 report on failing structures in U.S. infrastructure.

MSNBC Bridge Tracker
The map shows the condition and inspection dates for more than 100,000 bridges in the U.S. that are crossed by at least 10,000 vehicles per day. The records come from the latest National Bridge Inventory, as analyzed by msnbc.com. Inspections through 2006 are included. Only bridges, on/off ramps and overpasses within .2 miles of your chosen route are shown. The locations were provided by state departments of transportation.

Government Pandemic Flu Site

USDA: Forest Service

Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration
Has several helpful resources, including a blood alcohol content calculator.

American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials

Homeland Defense Journal
Full archives of publications, special reports, etc.

Tips for Uncovering Sealed Cases

SecretNoMore: Publicly Accessible FBI Files

Association of State Dam Safety Officials

National Cheer Safety Foundation
Stats and resources on cheerleading injuries.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Insurance Information Institute
Public safety, crime and other stats.

SkyscraperPage.com
Tracks skyscrapers around the world. Rank by city, etc.

Association of Equipment Manufacturers

National Consumer Protection Week

U.S. Fire Administration
News releases and safety tips galore.

Poynter.org: Ricin Information Super Site
A great collection of resources on the deadly poison found in three Senate buildings.

Automobile.com
Car reviews, directories, safety, studies, etc.

Center for Science in the Public Interest's Food Additives Guide

NatureServe.org
Offers data, information on conservation issues, nature safety and global warming issues.

CDC: Bird Flu Facts

International Center for Journalists: Disaster and Crisis Coverage Tips
A great guidebook of tips.

International Center for Journalists: Journalism and Trauma
Tips on dealing with victims, violence, our own experiences, etc.

Bullying Whys
This site helps people find information that they may need to help deal with a bullying situation. Run by a woman in Virginia, the site offers links, tips and much, much more.

Firefighters: Real Stories
Great for any reporter seeking anecdotes for feature or trend stories. It can help with sourcing and finding experts in this area. Has a great history of firefighting section as well.

Collision Safety Institute
Dozens of helpful stats, research projects and reports.

WHO@ (Working to Halt Online Abuse)
Resources, stats, facts and protection tips about online stalking.

The Consumerist
This corporate watchdog site blows the whistle on bad customer service, poor products and corporate waste. It's a great resource for tracking local companies (through the site's search) and tracking how consumers are dissatisfied. Be careful using material on the site, as some of it may be unconfirmed material. But it serves as a good road map for finding business stories.

CDC: List of Fire Associations

CDC Fire Deaths Map
Click on the image map to find listings of fire deaths by state.

National Wildfire Update
This site tracks wildfires around the country.

Firehouse.com: Worst Firefighter Tragedies

U.S. Fire Administration

FirefightersNetwork.com

GeoSpatial Wildfire Report
A multi-agency government site.

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Looks at safety concerns, studies, expert resources, etc.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Features a research clearinghouse so you can track what experts, drug companies say about imported medicines.

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Drowning Warnings

National Youth Sports Safety Foundation

EPA's Toxic Release Inventory Raw Data
Data dating back to 2002 that can be broken down by region (county-by-county), industry, chemical and more.

State-by-State Listings of Tattoo Laws

The National Fire Protection Association

National Homeless Coalition

UN Secretary General's Database on Violence against Women

HUD Homelessness Resources

National Coalition of Homeless Veterans

Department of Veteran Affairs Homeless Page

Department of Energy: EnergyStar Site
Helps teach businesses and individuals how to conserve energy. Good for tips and demands on the power grid during a heat wave, etc.

Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions
Looks at demands on power grid.

Red Cross: Heat Waves Page

Childrens Defense Fund
The press releases section is a great source for new studies and news about poverty, safety, school cuts, etc.

Public Interest Research Groups
Consumer protection, environmental groups, dangerous toys, etc.

Chicago Tribune: Toy Safety
Warnings on how to avoid buying secondhand toys that could be tainted with lead.

Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
Links to about 10-12 good sites.

Highway Safety Research Center
Based at the University of North Carolina, this organization conducts interdisciplinary research aimed at reducing deaths, injuries, and related societal costs of roadway crashes. Research examines motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian crashes, taking into account human, vehicular, roadway and environmental factors.

Background Checks for Firearm Transfers (2001)
Includes full-text report and Excel spreadsheets.

Boating Safety Links
State laws, tips, etc.

National Counterterrorism Center 2009 Counterterrorism Calendar
Available at this Web site and as a .PDF.

Terrorist Nuclear Attacks on Seaports: Threat and Response
A .PDF file.

CNN: Hurricane Special Section
Safety tips, facts, etc.

CDC: West Nile Virus Facts

USGS World Volcanic Activity
History of volcanoes, tips on what to do if caught in one, reports on latest activity around the world.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Government agency that investigates violations of safety regulations in several industries. The site, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, includes listings of regulations, key contacts and investigations.

International Association of Firefighters
News items, studies, updates, sources, etc.

OSHA's Stats page
Government site with statistics and research on injuries and safety issues in the workplace.

National Safety Council
Non-profit organization does several studies on a variety of safety issues. A great database of stats and periodicals.

Household Food Security in the United States
Download this 2007 report in .PDF format.

Department of Homeland Security
Press briefings, stories, latest warning, etc.

Ready.Gov
From the Department of Homeland Security, this site offers ,plans, tips, etc. on safety resources. Tips such as instructing Americans on how to increase our chances of survival when explosions detonate outside your vehicle.

U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration
Stats and research from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Child Abduction Site
Several helpful research tools if you're covering this topic and a wealth of media contact information.

PublicCitizen.org
Founded by Ralph Nader, this group's site feature's a global trade and Congress watch, health research and other helpful studies.

Disaster Insurance Information
Good background on filing claims and policy concerning the Sept. 11 tragedies.

Teacher Magazine: Making Schools Safer
Some interesting programs that schools are using.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Subscribe to a free e-mail alert service that will send notices of recalled products to your mailbox. The agency has jurisdiction over about 15,000 types of consumer products.

Spinal Cord Injury Information Network

Aquatic Risk Management

Aquatic Safety Research Group
Tips, research, etc.

Licensed Occupations Database
Search database to find licenses required for practicing a profession or occupation in a certain state.

Material Safety Data Sheet Repository
A site full of testimonials and consumer safety data. Search and sort by product, industry, etc.

National Center on Family Homelessness
A 2009 homeless study in .PDF format.

National Institute of Health: Rethinking Drinking
Stats, facts, research and sources on how alcohol impacts our health.

KidsHealth.org: Staying Safe in the Water

USA.gov: Replacing Vital Documents
Tips on how to replace documents that could be stolen or lost in a disaster.

Bridging the Gap: Bridge Safety Report

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
News, studies, expert sources and more from the National Institutes of Health.

RideAccidents
Tracks park and play-ride safety issues.

How To Behave in an Emergency
Tracks park and play-ride safety issues.

Perishable Pundit
Blog about perishable food product industry by Jim Prevor. Features a lot of alerts on food safety and recalls. Prevor is editor-in-chief of Produce Business and Deli Business magazines.

Governors Highway Safety Association

VineLink: Who's in Jail/Prison
Use this image map to select a state, then sort through the listed jails and prisons to track who's in jail and who is about to be released. A great resource.

National Fallen Firefighters Association

COPS: Concerns of Police Survivors

Motorcycle Industry Council

Bomb Threat Checklist
The Los Angeles Police Department's site provides a "bomb threat checklist" to download should you receive such a threatening call.

Violence Policy Center
A libertarian public interest law firm offers several free legal resources off its site.

MeatingPlace.com
Products and food safety site. Articles, background and recent news.

MediaChannel's News Dissector: Covering Riots
As "riots" erupted in the north of England, journalists in London, including Danny Schechter, took part in a seminar aimed at improving coverage of conflict.

CBS News Disaster Links Page

BankRate.com: Dealing with a Natural Disaster
Report in the wake of North Carolina's Hurricane Floyd about the difficulties people can expect to face when natural disasters strike.

Glossary Agent
Description: Glossary Agent(tm) is an expanding, focused gateway to online monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual glossaries in insurance and related fields such as law and finance. Topics include environmental protection, finance, health care, information technology, insurance, law, medicine, safety, transportation and weather.

Recycled Waste News

Homeland Defense Journal
Full archives of publications, special reports, etc.

Food & Water Watch
Consumer group site targeted at abuse of enviornmental resources by corporations, such as water companies, fish farms and factories.

State Recycling Association Contacts

Healthier Swimming Blog

New York City Office of Safety and Health
A non-profit provider of occupational safety and health training, advocacy and information (including technical assistance and industrial hygiene consultation) to workers and unions throughout the New York metropolitan area. More than 250 union organizations and 400 individuals: union members, health and safety activists, injured workers, healthcare workers, attorneys, public health advocates, environmentalists and concerned citizens.

Mathematics of Tsunamis
The math and physics rules that govern them.

SaferParks.org
The site addresses amusement park accidents; it's run by the mother of a child who was injured on a ride.

Theme Park Inspection Laws by State

ThemeParkInsider: Accident Watch
A guide to safety at amusement parks across the U.S.

The Roller Coaster Database
A searchable database of more than 1,000 roller coasters. Includes information by location and distance, breaking news on the industry, record holders, etc.

National Climactic Data Center: Drought
Several graphics and other research.

NOAA Drought Page

International Association of Firefighters
News items, studies, updates, sources, etc.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety
Database of state laws, tips, etc.

CDC: Fireworks Injuries, Facts, Stats
Links to dozens of faiths and practices.

AmericanPyro.com
Site for the fireworks industry trade that features safety tips.

VOLCANOES

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Maps, phone contacts, photos, etc.

Mount St. Helens Volcano Cam
A webcam from the volcano.

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Photo Library
Photos galore, including before/after shots.

Mount St. Helens Links
A clearinghouse of links to sites about the eruptions.

USGS: Pacific Northwest Seismographic Network
Measures quake activity inside Mount St. Helens.

USGS: Mount St. Helens Updates
Daily updates on the volcanic activity. Monthly updates when the activity is slow.

How Stuff Works.com: How Volcanoes Work
Daily updates on the volcanic activity. Monthly updates when the activity is slow.

How Volcanoes Work Home Page
Daily updates on the volcanic activity. Monthly updates when the activity is slow.

Volcanic and Geologic Terms
Daily updates on the volcanic activity. Monthly updates when the activity is slow.

Volcanoes Database
Click on the database link to search by continent, type, activity, etc. Compare and contrast volcanic activity.

NASA Earth Observatory Site
Look at natural hazards such as volcanoes, fires and floods through satellite photos, etc.

Michigan Tech Volcanoes Page
Links galore.

Volcanic Clouds Website

PBS Nova: Volcano Deadly Warning
Background on seismic signals, emergency response, preparation, etc.

Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program
Background on seismic signals, emergency response, preparation, etc.

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA EXPLOSION

NASA: Columbia Accident Investigation Board
Regular updates on the findings of the shuttle crash.

Space Shuttle: Thermal Stress
A 1987 .PDF report about thermal stress on the orbiter upon re-entry.

CNN:Shuttle Independent Assessment Team

CNN: NASA Summary of Shuttle Independent Assessment Team(SIAT)Report

Space.com: Photos and Background of Columbia Crew
Interviews with each crew member while they were in space on this mission.

SAJA: Bio of Astronaut Kalpana C. Chawla
A detailed biography and links to stories about her.

Kennedy Space Center, Media Handbook
A .pdf format.

NASA: STS-107 Overview, Bios

NASA: STS-107 Media Archive (Photos)

NASA: STS-107 Mission Page (From Eurpean Space Agency

NASA: STS-107 Research Mission

Columbia Missions (with STS-107)

Google: Columbia Shuttle Links

CRS Issue Brief: Space Launch Vehicles: Government Activities, Commercial Competition, and Satellite Exports
Twenty pages in .PDF format.

CRS Issue Brief: Space Stations
Twenty pages in .PDF format.

A Primer for Journalists Covering Space
An excellent master?s thesis full of tips and ideas.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Goddard Space Flight Center (Maryland)

Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, Ala.)

Howstuffworks: How Space Shuttles Work

Presidential Commission Report on Space Shuttle Challenger Accident
Rogers Commission Report - not all parts are online at this location.

NASA Space Shuttle Challenger: Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle
A part of the Rogers Commission Report.

Houston Chronicle Space Page
In-depth coverage of the explosion.

IRE Space Shuttle Disaster Resources
There are at least 13 stories in our Resource Center about the Space Shuttle that might be of assistance.

Texas Police Agencies (Locate Debris

Orlando Sentinel Coverage of Columbia

MSNBC: Space Shuttle Timeline 1981-2002

NASA Space Shuttle Challenger: Federation of American Scientists
A part of the Rogers Commission Report.

NASA: Space Shuttle Annotated Bibliography
Chapter 7.

CBS News: Stats on Space Fatalities
Features many key stats.

SpaceFlightNow: Radar Images
Radar image of debris field and links to data on mission.

CyberJournalist.net: Sites Covering the Columbia
A gallery of cover snapshots from a sampling of sites and analysis of the effectiveness of their approach.

NASA Earth Image Database
Thousands of pictures of earth and other research materials.

Sky High Pix
NASA's Remote Sensing Tutorial offers a big collection of overhead shots across the country.

Science@NASA

Space.com
Great research and interactive tools.

NASA: Space Shuttle and International Space Station

Space Station Page

POPULATION ISSUES

U.S. Census Bureau: U.S. and World Population Clock
Database allows you to search releases, warnings and news from the Food and Drug Administration.

USA Today: State-by-State Population Growth (1790-2000)

HOLIDAY SAFETY

U.S. Public Interest Research Group: Toy Safety
A downloadable .PDF of the annual report that finds toys for sale that violate a federal ban on small parts in toys.

Recalls.gov
Lists products recalled by manufacturers.

American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
Largest association for companies in the toy and children's products arenas. Good for sourcing, research, retail statistics, parental tips, safety and industry links.

HealthyToys.org
Consumer action guide to toxic chemicals in toys.

Time to Play Magazine
Safety, types of toys, blogs and some retail information.

THE AUGUST 2003 BLACKOUT

CNN: Blackout State-by-State

IRE Blackout Resources
Resources to help cover the blackout that hit. Dozens of cities in the United States and Canada. Includes tips on covering utilities, databases and more.

WASHINGTON METRO ACCIDENT

Washington Metro Home Page

Washington Metro Train Maps

American Public Transportation Association

American Public Transportation Association: Rail Safety Committee

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration: Commuter Rail Safety Study (2006)

Commuter Rail Safety Management Program

CommuterPage.com: Safety and Security
Focuses more on security but has some accident-related content.

Federal Railroad Administration
The site's Office of Safety Analysis explores research on rail accidents, including a database with inspection reports, broken down by county.

American Roads and Transportation Builders Association

Department of Transportation: Accidents at Railroad Crossings Study

International Railway Safety Conference

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Mobile Site
This EPA site downloads fast on a small screen and provides a wealth of information for reporters: blogs, contacts, press releases, information by ZIP code, etc.

Environmental Working Group
Research on health and the environment.

Full Frontal Scrutiny
Studies advocacy groups with green names that are actually funded by corporations.

EPA: ACToR Database
Collects information on more than 500,000 man-made chemicals from over 200 public sources.

EPA National Center for Computational Toxicology

GreenerChoices.org: EcoLabels Center
Tests the validity of a product label that claims to be "green."

Exploratorium.edu
This online museum features a collection of more than 600 innovative, interactive exhibits about science, nature, art, technology, etc.

U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
More than 400,000 photographs taken during geologic studies of the United States, from 1868 to present. Search through earthquakes, volcanoes, state parks, etc.

Yahoo!'s Environment and Science page
Updated news stories and links galore. Video and audio too!

IfItWasMyHome
offers a great mapping tool to help you visualize how big the BP oil spill is in your area. It also includes a widget of the livecam of the leak.

Envirolink

Environmental News Network

Arbor Day Foundation
Media page has press releases, logos/illustrations, PSAs, storm recovery kit and more.

National Wildlife Federation

GreenPeace
Environmental activist group with dozens of blogs, press center, sources, etc.

Greenpeace: Stop Greenwashing
Greenwashing describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. This Greenpeace site is a great resource to find more case studies of companies' greenwashing as well as other criteria and how to suggestions for businesses to go green ethically.

Council on Foreign Relations Climate Crisis Guide
An excellent multimedia site on climate change issues.

Global Wind Energy Council
The council is a global forum for the wind energy sector, uniting the wind industry and its representative associations.

EnviroVote
A project by two journalism graduate students that aims to show the potential environmental impact of the 2008 elections.

World Meteorological Organization

FightGlobalWarming
Helpful press section includes a "low-carbon diet kit." Good source for experts on the topic.

Environmental Organization Web Directory

Natural Resources Defense Council

Reader's Digest: 50 Cleanest-Dirtiest Cities

Society of Environmental Journalists

Formyworld.com
A cool database that allows you to call up environmental news by zip code.

Natural Resources Defense Council
A nice resource for expert sources and studies. The organization releases studies on the environment, including beaches, erosion and water quality. The organization claims it "works to protect wildlife and wild places and to ensure a healthy environment for all life on earth."

The Sierra Club
Conservation site has a press room, politics and issues section, video and more.

Washington Post: The Climate Agenda

USGS Earthquake Terms
A quick-reference glossary.

Farmer's Almanac Weather Page
Provides some of the forecast information from the print almanac, including full moons and meteor showers.

National Wildfire Update
This site tracks wildfires around the country.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Water Center
Research, education, newsletter and links.

USGS Earthquake Regional Sites
Detailed stats and discoveries in your area.

Scorecard.org
This site leads you to high-risk areas for environmental problems. Just use a zip code for a complete list of top pollutants and polluters in that area. A very easy-to-use database.

Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Publications, news, netcasts, etc.

Environmental Law and Policy Center

Society of Environmental Journalists FOI Resources

Water Conservation Tips

Earth Journalism Network

Defenders of Wildlife

National Governor's Association: Greener Fuels, Vehicles Guide
Download in .PDF format.

ScienceDaily
News and articles on science, health, environment and technology.

Garden Writers Association

SolarBuzz.com
All about solar power, industry stats and solar power equipment managers.

Eco-Index
Managed by the Rainforest Alliance, the Eco-Index is a bilingual, searchable database of more than 1,250 biodiversity conservation and sustainable development projects in the North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean.

PaperCalculator.org
Developed by Enviornmental Defense, a nonprofit group. Offers U.S. average wood consumption energy use, and other environmental impacts of different kinds of paper.

AutoblogGreen
Tracks green efforts, or lack thereof, of the Big Three automakers.

Envirolink
A clearinghouse of breaking news and studies of environmental issues.

Environmental News Network
This started as a print newsletter but is a news site updated constantly.

Environment News Service

Science and Technology News Network
Award-winning site with high-end news headlines.

EnviroInfo
A list of links and information on organizations, business, publications, online databases and software, research, and education for air pollution, biotechnology, chemistry, ecology, impact and risk assessment, laws, pollution, sustainable development, soil and wetlands, and water and wastewater.

Ease History
This Michigan State University website features videos and photographs from 1900 to the present. The site connects historical events, campaign ads and core democratic values. Users can search on over 600 videos and photographs and view them inside three different interfaces. It's built from an environmental perspective and includes ad campaigns from the 1950s to present.

Whooping Crane Trust
This site follows the annual spring migration of the Sandhill cranes, among others.

Dept. of Energy: Active Oil Rigs
Use this state-by-state map to see where oil rigs are running in the United States.

Animal Legal Defense Fund

National Priorities
A must-bookmark for any reporter, this site has a state-by-state breakdown of what's happening environmentally across the country. The site offers community groups resources to shape public policy and influence the national budget.

California Coastal Records Project
This site features an aerial photographic survey of the California Coast and updates on a periodic basis. This photographic database contains over 12,000 frames of the California coast shot since 2002.

Energy Information Administration Country Analysis Briefs
Official energy stats from the U.S. government. Use this image map to look up information.

USGS: Geographic Names

Earth911.org
Recycling tips galore.

FuelCells.org
Answers basic questions about fuel cell technology and links to companies and universities doing research in that area.

WikiSpecies
From Wikipedia, this site explores the environment.

SolveClimate.com

American Society for Microbiology

Environmental Information Resources
A great collection of quick-reference links to environment sites, studies and other resources.

USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program

USC GIS Research Laboratory

USGS: Track Invasive Plant and Animal Species

Wilderness.net

National Gardening Association

USGS: Track River and Stream Flows
Helpful in covering floods, hurricanes.

Earthquake Forecasting Site

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
Government site offers tip sheets, contacts, studies and other resources.

Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool
Consumer guide to cutting fuel costs. From the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center.

Nature
An international weekly science journal that publishes full-length research papers in all disciplines of science.

Macauly Library of Animal Video and Sound
A sort of You Tube meets Wild Kingdom, this site lets you search its vast database for all things animals.

Academy of Natural Sciences

EPA Study: Coastlines
Detailed by region, this report shows the poor conditions the U.S. coastlines are in.

Deeply Curious
An archive of thousands of ocean and land photos from world-renowned photographers.

U.S. National Parks Listing
Describes all 388 national parks in the U.S. Includes travel pointers/services.

TrailLink Trails Database
A database of free trail information that allows you to acess surface types, locations, distances and even photos.

International Fund for Animal Welfare
International non-profit that works on a variety of wild and domestic animal issues. It has offices in 15 countries and more than 2 million supporters. It was founded in 1969 to stop the Canadian baby seal hunt and now works on animal issues ranging from whales to elephants to the bushmeat crisis in Africa. The site has a plethora of information, statistics, white papers and scientific reports that may be an asset to any journalist writing about wild or domestic animal issue.

Academic Earth: World's Top Scholars
Search this database of video lectures.

Encyclopedia of Earth

EPA Greenversations

National Parks Traveler

Tsunami

Tsunami Basics
From the University of Washington Earth and Space Sciences department.

NOAA: Tsunami Research Program

BlogPulse: Tsunami Coverage
An in-depth analysis of tsunami-related coverage.

Sophos: Tsunami Relief Hoaxes
A great collection of hoax e-mails and other scams.

SAJA: Tsunami Resources
Lists experts, links, sources and more.

Wikipedia: Tsunamis
Basics on the Indian Ocean earthquake.

ReligionLink: Tsunami Stories
Several stories on religion angles in the wake of the disaster.

AlertNet.org
Lists tsunami relief efforts.

Tsunamihelp.blogspot.com
Dozens of bloggers in Asia update their tsunami sites daily.

Tsunami Relief Blog

Tsunami Missing Persons Blog
This site attempts to track down and pair up missing with families.

Physical Sciences Information Gateway
Launched on Sept. 17, 2001, PSIgate is the physical sciences hub for the UK's Resource Discovery Network (RDN). From this page, users can search the PSIgate database, search an expanded catalog (PSIgate+) generated by harvesting pages from the PSIgate database, or search across RDN databases. Returns include resources focused on astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, physics, history of science, and more.

PollingReport.com: Environment Poll Collection
Search by group name, incident, leaders, members and cases.

StoriesThatMatter.org
A great source of environmental story ideas from an organization that targets career investigative journalists who develop general interest, nationally significant environmental and national security stories and then work to break them in the commercial media.

World Energy "Areas to Watch"

OceansFuture.org
Jean-Michel Cousteau explores the Northwestern Hawaiian islands.

Alliance to Save Energy

Online Archaeology
Field notes, profiles, find of the week, etc.

Food & Water Watch
Consumer group site targeted at abuse of enviornmental resources by corporations, such as water companies, fish farms and factories.

Geologists and Earth Scientists
Biographies of leaders in these fields of study.

American Society of Testing and Materials
News and information from this regulatory agency includes a consultants directory.

USDA: Forest Service

Geological Society of America

National Geographic: Conservation
Interactive maps and other resources.

PBS: Evolution
Web site based on the miniseries. Includes background information, photos and videos.

Faultline
A new California's environmental magazine.

The Ecology Center
Publishes a paper quarterly, Terrain; there's a link on the main site.

The National Atlas of the United States
A set of interactive maps, including some special maps on volcanoes, exotic species, vegetationgrowth, federal Indian land areas, hazardous waste, nuclear sites, etc. The site is updated weekly.

National Parks Conservation Association

365 Days of Trash Blog
Dave Chameides blogs about yearlong project to save all of his refuse to help the environment. Interesting.

U.S. Public Interest Research Groups
Transportation, healthcare, money and politcs, media reform, tax and budget, law, higher education and environmental issues.

American Society of Civil Engineers
A 2005 report on failing structures in U.S. infrastructure.

ENF PV Industry Directory
A global photovoltaic industry directory published in seven languages, showing details of more than 5,000 solar companies.

WorldChanging: Global Warming Animations

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
A superb environment site.

HealthyBuilding.net
Another superb environment site.

Planeta.com
Eco-travels in Latin America. News articles, search, resources and more!

GreenBiz.com
Comprehensive resource of environmental information, tools and data aimed at the mainstream business community.

The Why Files
From the National Science Foundation, this site looks at the science, math and technology questions behind the news.

Outdoor Writers Association of America

Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce - Environmental Coverage
Daily news coverage of Pacific Northwest, national and international environmental issues.

Recycler's World
Information on recycling just about any material you can think of.

Lycos Environment News
A daily update of environmental news.

Yahoo! Environmental News
Another daily news feed.

MSNBC Environment Page

The Amicus Journal
A quarterly environmental magazine online.

EcoTopics International

BioTech's Life Science Dictionary
More than 6,700 terms with biochemestry, toxicology, medicine, ecology and more.

FuelEconomy.gov
Several price comparison tools and more.

Internet Resources for Earth Sciences
A super set of links from Cal Berkeley.

WWW Virtual Library: Earth Sciences

Official U.S. Earthquake Hazards Program
Background, research, regional sites, seismic networks and more.

Volcano Live
Updated news and Webcams on eruptions around the world.

Ask a Volcanologist

The Sierra Club

Pollen.com
A great site for allergy sufferers or anyone writing about allergy season.

California's Pacific Gas & Electric
The site features several pages related to the blackouts, including maps, company bankruptcy documents and more.

Society of American Foresters
Scientific organization for the profession.

Wildlife Society
Scientific organization for the profession.

North Dakota State University Extension Service: Flooding
Tips on dealing with floods.

GlobalStewards.org: Environmental Tips
Tips on dealing with floods.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Story Ideas
A great place for news tips, stats and more.

Food and Agriculture Organization of America
Stories and press releases on global trends, economics, forestry and more.

Earth Times

Earth Science Picture of the Day

Environics.net

Annenberg Public Policy Center

Wavegen.com
A cool site about using oceans to generate electricity.

The Natural History Museum Dinosaur Directory
Your kid knows 'em all, but you don't.

LizardHouse
Graphics, tips and background on various types of lizards.

U.S. Geological Society
Detailed explanations tailored to the media.

Swell.com
Look up real surfing spots.

The Mountain Institute

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration

NOVA
PBS show has a site dedicated to science, environmental issues and math. Links to top news stories in the categories.

Discover the Outdoors
It's more of an outdoor sportsmen's site, but it does have some helpful links.

Center for Environment and Population
CEP partners with leading experts and organizations to link science, to policy, and public outreach to better understand and address the issues. It helps compile, assess, and advance current knowledge and emerging trends on population and the environment.

Environmental Media Services
EMS is a private non-profit foundation-supported educational organization, is dedicated to encouraging environmental public health scientists and medical practitioners to contribute to public discussions about their work through the media. It has a helpful listing of environmental news on the site's left rail.

EPA: Toxic Releases Data

National Weather Service: National Tornado Fatality Map
This image map allows you to click on states/cities where deaths occurred.

International Dark Sky Association
Looks at city lights pollution.

Garden Writers Association

National Gardening Association

Electronics Takeback Coalition
Nonprofit group offers tips and ideas for recycling and disposing of electronics. Includes news/resources, corporate responsibility and legislation/policy sections.

National Institute of Medicine: Environment
Studies, breaking news stories and experts.

MSNBC/Live Science: How Earthquakes Work

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Has a great links, press and glossary sections.

GetWorking.org

Blue Planet Foundation
Advocates for safe drinking water.

FilterforGood.com
Group that opposes bottled water.

Think Outside the Bottle
Corprorate Accountability International's campaign to challenge corporate control of water, including the bottled water industry.

We Can Solve the Climate Crisis
A project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years. Our economy, national security, and climate can't afford to wait.Funds programs in a variety of areas, including education and children's services, the arts, community service, the environment, AIDS and literacy.

EnergyTomorrow.org

National Geographic's Map Machine
Maps tied to government statistics.

LA Times Environment Section

Newsweek: 2009 Green Rankings for U.S. Companies
List of 500.

The Alliance for Climate Protection
A nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Pew Center on Global Climate Change

American Geological Society: Earth Science World Image Bank

Freshwater Ecoregions of the World

U.S. Green Building Council

EPA Fuel Economy Guide
Lists vehicles that get the best/worst gas mileage, fuel-saving tips, etc.

TheBioenergySite

EPA Green Vehicle Guide

American Planning Association: Great Places in America
Site examines what makes for great neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces work.

Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment
Puts on educational seminars for journalists.

ClimateCounts.org
Ranks companies based on their impact on global warming.

EcoWorldly - International Environmental News for the World Citizen

The Organic Center

American Wind Energy Association

American Wind Energy Association: Wind Entergy Basics

U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Savers Blog

EnergyTomorrow.org

National Center for Healthy Housing

American Lung Association: State of the Air We Breathe
.PDF format of 2009 report.

Park Histories: National Park Service
Ken Burns' documentary.

Maritime Knowledge Centre Sea Library
Bibliographic catalog of the Maritime Knowledge Center's collections of books, conference proceedings, key IMO documents, articles, videos and DVD's (over 70,000 records).

Association of Battery Recyclers

Water Resources Center Archives

CleanSkies.tv
From the American Clean Skies Network, this site offers energy and environmental news, information, discussion and commentary.

Scitable: Learn Science
Search science and nature topics, find experts, discussion forums, etc.

Wild Film History
Wildlife films and television programs from 1896 to the present. It includes oral histories and video interviews.

MNN - Mother Nature Network
Breaking news, articles, blogs, videos, and how-to guides. You can search by format or category.

American Progress: Green Recovery
A program to create jobs and a low-carbon economy.

National Recycling Coalition

The Glass Packaging Institute Recycling Page

Geology.com: U.S. Map Collections for All 50 States

Knight Center Beat Guide: Energy Resources

Energy Savers
From the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Energy Information Administration
Resources from the U.S. Department of Energy.

CarbonRally
Tips to reduce your carbon footprint.

The Internet Bird Collection
Free online audiovisual library. The site is searchable by species or keyword and includes more than 30,000 videos and 2,000 photos.

WebEcoist: Nature Photographers

Mobile Industry Reading

Poynter's Mobile Media Blog
Regina McCombs and Damon Kiesow keep you current on all of the mobile tech news and trends.

Poynter: 10 Questions to Craft Your Mobile Strategy
From Regina McCombs.

Steve Buttry: Mobile First Strategy
2009's editor-of-the-year says newsrooms need to think mobile first.

2011: The Year Mobile Takes Over
Blog post with good stats from Jeff Sonderman.

Mashable: Seven Ways Journalists Can Use Foursquare
Great basic tips.

iPhone Photography
TampaBay.com shows us that the iPhone camera can produce great work when put in the right hands.

Tips on Using a Camera Phone

Mashable: Best Android Apps for Photo Editing

Global Mojo
A great mobile blog.

ReadWriteWeb
Mobile and social networking resources galore.

Silicon Alley Insider: Moblie

GoMo News

The Pragmatic Bookshelf
Books, readings and other resources on building mobile sites (code mostly).

App-Building Tools

Sencha Touch
First HTML5 mobile app framework.

AppMakr
Use this free tool to develop your smart phone app.

PhoneGap
Use this free tool to develop your smart phone app.

MoFuse.com
Mobile content management system.

Peepcode
Screencasts on how to build code for apps.

Modernizr
Library of Javascript code.

Dive into HTML 5

TwitterFeed
Feed your blog updates to your Twitter account using an RSS feed. Very cool.

HTML5 Readiness
Test what code/features work in which browser. More web-driven than mobile, but it can be helpful.

12 iPhone Application Resources

Other Helpful Tools

Chartbeat
Real-time analytics of your site.

Recommended Apps for Journalists
Use these iPhone apps (many available on other smart phones) to transform your phone into a reporting tool. Suggestions? Let us know: mikereilley1@gmail.com

Social Media

Hootsuite
It launched in December 2009 to much fanfare. It has some handy tabs for managing multiple accounts, but it's not as easy to use as the Web-based version, which I use to manage six accounts. I find Tweetie 2's interface to be much quicker and easier to use. And Hootsuite (at least the early versions) crashed and had a lot of bugs.

Twitter for iPhone (formerly Tweetie 2)
In my opinion, it's the gold standard of Twitter management tools. It's easy to retweet, scan your followers' posts, your posts, add/delete followers, direct message, etc. I use this far more than I use Twitter itself.

Delicious
This social bookmark site makes managing your links and pages easy. It's free, and you can build a searchable database of resources for stories, term papers and other projects.

CoverItLIve
The iPhone app is even easier to use than the desktop version. Build an launch a chat on a specific topic in less than two minutes. Promote it over social media and imbed polls, video, audio and photos into the chat. Great for field reporting and user interaction. Nice tool for covering elections, sporting events and community meetings/events.

Reporting Tools

Dragon Dictation
This app records short interviews or dictations and turns them into text. I've used it a few times and I like how it easily converts copy and drops it into an e-mail. But be warned with this tool and any other dictation: words run-together and are lost in translation. Won can be replaced by one. The context isn't always clear. Plus, Dragon and other services, like Jott, struggle with accents and dialects. I would test this out a few times before trying it on a story.

Police Radio
This hasn't caught on as much with newsrooms, but I think it will in the future. This app allows you to listen to police, fire and rescue and other emergency calls in several cities across the country, including Chicago. It may not be perfect, but it beats lugging a police scanner around.

iTalk and SpeakEasy
Easily convert audio interviews into sound bites for the Web. I prefer iTalk because you can wirelessly transmit audio from your phone to a nearby laptop without using a cable or e-mail. You just have to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Everyblock
Great hyperlocal, geo-location site created by Chicago's Adrian Holovaty. Look up public documents, news, reviews, photos and other information by ZIP code. It covers a limited number of cities, but it's a great help for reporters or anyone covering a specific neighborhood. MSNBC has purchased the Everyblock site and app, by the way.

Google, Google Earth
Google's app has voice-activated search. And Google Earth helps you find anything on the planet.

Maps/Maps Buddy
Maps Buddy works similar to AroundMe (see below). It's helpful for finding businesses, addresses and other locations.

ZIP Finder
Not sure of a city or neighborhood's ZIP? Find it here.

Reference and Helpful Tools

Dictionary

Convertbot
Great tool for converting heights, weights and other measurements. I use it several times a week along with the calculator. Great for quick fact-checking on stories, too.

WeatherBug
I like the interface better than the WeatherChannel's.

AP Stylebook
Messy interface, clunky and a waste of $30. Using the reference book is much faster ... and better! Don't buy this app.

Blogging

Wordpress
Easily file a short text post for your blog, but longer posts will tire your fingers quickly. It's good if you have no computer readily available, but I don't do a lot of mobile blogging.

Location-Based

FourSquare
News media are finding new ways to use this location-based app.

GoWalla
See FourSquare.

AroundMe
Another great app for journalists who travel. This shows you where restaurants, bars, hotels, coffee shops, banks and (yes) Apple stores are based on your location. I've used it several times while on the road. It shows you locations, maps, walking distances, etc. Very similar to MapsBuddy. I prefer both to the Where app. Just friendlier interfaces.

Taxi!
Contact any cab service based on your geo-location. This one costs a couple of bucks, but it's worth it for any reporter in an urban area.

FlightTrack
Helpful for journalists who travel. I've found it to be very accurate for my flights the few times I've used it.

Photography and Photo Editing

Photoshop Mobile
Editing and effects that the iPhone camera won't let you do. It's only basic edits, but if you're working as a backpack journalist or filing a mobile report, this is a handy tool.

Photo Forge
Has some of the same tools that Photoshop Mobile has. I used this app up until the Photoshop app became available.

PhoneGrafer, Snapture, CameraBag, Camera Zoom
Zoom and add various lenses and features to your iPhone camera shoots. Choose one or two as you see fit. PhoneGrafer is my favorite as it offers many settings and effects, and has a built-in level to make sure your shot is true. PhoneGrafer usually costs a few bucks, but I picked it up for free during a holiday sale. Keep any eye out for a deal in the iTunes store.

Video and Audio Recording/Editing/Streaming

ReelDirector
Sort of a mini-Final Cut Pro for iPhone video. You can add lower thirds, transitions like cross dissolves and other features to your video, then post to the Web. If you shoot/post a lot of video, get this. It offers many more editing features than the basic iPhone camera/video interface. Money well-spent.

1st Video
Similar to Reel Director, this $9.99 app also records audio and works with still images. It allows you to edit video and audio but does not allow you to enter lower-thirds onto your video like ReelDirector does.

iMovie
New to the iPhone 4, this app allows you to edit video on your phone. So far, it has received rave reviews.

Ustream
This app lets you stream live video from you iPhone video camera straight to your Ustream channel. I use a Ustream channel with my DePaul journalism classes: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chicagostories

Qik
Move videos straight to the Internet from your camera.

Skype
Great tool with iPhone 4.0's camera.

AudioBoo.fm
Create podcasts up to five minutes on your mobile device and post. It includes geolocation and photo features.

News Apps

Fluent New, NewsFeed and Byline
Good Really Simple Syndication apps. Fluent is the best in that it retains the branding of each feed site so you know what outlet you're looking at.

NY Times, CNN, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, NPR News, AP Mobile
Must-haves. All have nice interfaces. NPR's is particularly nice. AP and CNN have mobile alerts on top headlines daily.

Newsy
Terrible Web site but a great app from the people who created Ask.com. Shuffle through a collection of videos produced by University of Missouri journalism students that summarize how various media outlets covered a specific issue or top.

ABC News and MSNBC.com
Both have some nice features, but they don't live up to their Web sites. I would choose one but not both.

Sports

MLB.com
The best out there, hands-down. Radio and TV feeds from games anywhere, any time.

ESPN Score Center
Not impressed.

FOXSports
I prefer the scoreboards to ESPN ScoreCenter. They download much quicker.

Sportacular
An easy-to-use interface with alerts, news, standings and scores from every sport imaginable. It has some great soccer coverage.

ESPN Radio
Listen to local broadcasts in larger markets, or tap in to the national feed. Very user friendly and great sound.

AOL Radio
Listen to many CBS Radio stations, including many popular sports stations, and other regional/local broadcasts.

Music

Pandora, Slacker Radio, WunderRadio
If you're tired of listening to your iPod, this is a nice break.

Shazam
Made famous by the Apple ad, this app identifies recorded music by musician, title and links you to the iTunes store to buy it.

Miscellaneous

Wine Snob
Red or white with that steak and lobster? This will pair it with food, cheese, etc.

Urban Daddy
Nightlife tips galore.

GrubHub
Find out who delivers.

Tipulator
Break up arguments among those annoying people who can't figure out how much to leave. This calculator makes it easy.

Urban Spoon
Shake and find a restaurant near your geo-location.

RunPee
Funny. Offers suggestions on what point of a movie you can use the restroom ... and not miss a key scene.