What's a writer to do when he's writing a story about the Internet--and barely knows what the Internet is? Here at the IPG we wish that was a rhetorical question, but we know all too well that all too often journalists are thrown into net stories to sink or to swim. Another journalist may know the Internet like the back of her hand, but can't find just the right fact at just the right time. For both of those cases, here's a listing of frequentally asked questions (FAQ) files and other information sources. Before using these, be aware that while we've found them to be usually reliable, every source should be taken with a grain of salt. Just because something is on the net means that it's any more reliable than any other source. Let the writer beware!
Directory
FAQs & Usenet
Internet Providers
Internet Advertising
Journalism Resources on the Net
Mailing Lists
Online Publications
Other Journalist Organizations
Writers' Resources
Usenet FAQs
- FAQs on FAQs
- List of Usenet FAQs
- Internet Media Coverage FAQ
The alt.internet.media-coverage newsgroup isn't what it used to be, filled now with people ready to vent their spleen but seldom with useful discourse, but the FAQ is still valuable for anyone starting to write about the net.
- Usenet news new users
- Net Abuse
These are the things that have been done on Usenet that you really don't want to do yourself if you expect to have the Usenet community respond to you with something other than hostility.
- Emily Postnews
This is the essential online guide to netiequette, etiquette as practiced on the Internet.
- How to find the right place to post
Essential training for Usenet news users.
- How to find people's E-mail addresses
Where to get Internet service
One question you'll run into time and again is where to get Internet service. Here are some of the places you go to find out where you can obtain access.
- The List
- Providers of Commercial Internet Access
Internet Advertising
- Interne Advertising Guide
Don't lead your readers astray! Before giving any advice about advertising on the net, make sure you know what you're talking about.
- Global Internet News Agency
The name is misleading, GINA is actually an attempt to create an Internet focused PR wire service similar to the better known and broader scope Business Wire. Still, it is useful for keeping track of who's releasing what.Journalism Resources on the Net
- Anne Stuart's No-Frills List of Resources for Writers and Editors
This enormously useful page of journalistic web pointers and offline references was complied by Anne Stuart, Senior Writer of Inc. Magazine and IPG member.
- Interactive Publishing Alert
Maybe there's someone who covers the world of online publishing better than Rosalind Resnick does in her subscription-based IPA, I just don't know anyone else who comes close. It's not cheap, but if you're serious about online-publishing, an IPA subscription is a must.
- The Internet Newsroom
This publication comes at the net from a somewhat different angle. Its meant to make the Internet useful for journalists covering almost any subject, while the IPG's main focus is on journalists covering the net itself.
- Internet Timeline
This timeline is maintained by BBN Planet, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), so as you might guess, it blowes the company's horn rather a bit, on the other hand, it's also easy to understand and pretty accurate.
- Yahoo: News and Media/Journalism
Includes subsections on awards, broadcast journalism, civic journalism, conferences, education, employment, environment, institutes, individual journalists, organizations, photojournalism, student resources, web directories, Usenet groups, and like that.Mailing Lists
- Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists
Almost everyone's heard about Usenet newsgroups. Less well known, but more reliable -- and more valuable, since their membership isn't open to just any crank with an opinion -- are mailing lists.Other Journalism Organizations
- American Society of Journalists & Authors
- National Writers Union (NWU) Membership
- NWU Position Papers
Net News
- Simba Internet Media Daily
Production line Internet news.
- Inter@ctive Week
One of the two best, IMHO, sources for daily news about the online world. I@W covers the online services and business side of online as well as the Internet.- Netday News
You guessed it, the other, IMHO, best site for daily Internet news. Netday, however, is more focused on the Internet.- Cyberwire Dispatch
Is Brock Meeks the best journalist, online or offline, covering online? A lot of us in the business think so.
- C|Net
Online Publications
- Editor & Publisher
Like everything else on the Web E&P is still growing, but it's still the closest thing we have on the Web to the print world's Folio.
- Steve's Online Newspapers
The best single place to find any online newspaper that's printed in pixels instead of ink.Writer Resources
- Contract Tips for Freelancers
Beware the red tape my son, the words that bite... Also, check the base page of the group that produced this: The American Society of Journalists and Authors
- Tech Writers Job Hotline
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