JNet's Picks of the Week - 2001

Here is a random selection of some of the best, most topical or just plain fun sites for journalists from 2001.

Click here for previous years of Picks of the Week, going back to 1997.

• Pick of the week for December 30, 2001:   Google News Headlines The best search engine on the web ended the year on top and got better with the introduction of a news headline page from more than 100 leading English language newspapers. You can't search the headlines yet, but the news is classified into six categories: world, U.S., business, entertainment, science and technology and sports. For more news tools, see JNet's Search news  page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for December 23, 2001:   NorthernLight News Search   One of the unsung and more under-utilized but fine search engines. Northern Light offers a quick way to search for news, with the option of limiting the hunt to the past two weeks, today's news and even the last two hours. Power Search gives you even more features. For more news tools, see JNet's Search news  page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for December 16, 2001:   RocketNews  A quick way to search through international news sources. One advantage -- it gives you a neat one paragraph summary of the newspaper story before you click. You can also limit the search to anytime within the past five days. You can search by category and do an advanced search. For more news tools, see JNet's Search news page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for December 9, 2001:   Ananova  A UK news site that provides good results from a wide range of news sources to your news query. You can also use the advanced news search to narrow down the time limit. And you can set up a free email service for your favourite news to be sent to you.   For more news tools, see JNet's Search news page.
  EXTRA TIP - DON'T BE A GONER:  Caught with the Goner virus? Click here to get McAfee's tools and click here for Norton's removal tool
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for December 2, 2001:   Fagan Finder    A wide-ranging web page that provides a goldmine of search resources for journalists. For example, the Search News page gives you the option to hunt through many news pages and the Search Law page gives you access to many databases.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for November 25, 2001:   CPJ Honours Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists honoured four international journalists last week for their fight to defend press freedoms. Read their gripping stories -- made all the more poignant by the killings of journalists covering the Afghan war. The CPJ has great background on that war and an interesting analysis of Al-Jazeera, The Canadian Committee For Free Expression also monitors the issue. For more on media freedoms and ethics, see JNet's Media Page
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for November 18, 2001:   Search Engine Colossus  A web directory that offers you links to search engines from 158 countries around the world. A great way to find obscure search tools in smaller countries or even specialized ways to search your own country. For more search tools, see JNet's Search Page.
  
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for November 11, 2001: Archive.org`s Wayback machine  Its advanced search allows you to search for any web site and see -- if they have it stored -- what it looked like years ago. There are also special archives for the Sept. 11 attack and the US 2001 election.  Archive.org has also started a television archive, beginning with excerpts from live broadcasts on Sept. 11
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for November 4, 2001:    Counterpunch   Investigative US newsletter also has a special Sept. 11 archive with tough, insightful inquiries ... for example, revelations about the problems with the new high-tech drone missiles used by the US military in Afghanistan. For more dissenting analysis of the war and criticism of media coverage, see Jnet's War Dissent Page
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for October 28, 2001:  Yahoo News alert   Many news web sites -- CNN, New York Times, CBC and others -- offer you free news bulletins by email. But you have to take their selection of headlines. With Yahoo News Alert, but in whatever keywords you want to monitor -- "anthrax" or "human rights" or "lord of the rings"-- and you'll get any news bulletins that mention that words from AP or Reuters. For more email tools, see JNet's Choose Your News page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for October 21, 2001:  Anthrax Coverage   Trying to avoid scare-mongering while keeping on top of the latest scientific and medical analyses can be a challenge. Try consulting two top American sites -- the CDC and Poynter for reliable news and tips for good coverage.
  
  
• Pick of the week for October 14, 2001:  Afghan Resources from Berkeley   The library at the University of Berkeley has assembled an extremely useful list of resources on Afghanistan, with everything from the straight facts of maps and data, Afghan opposition groups, human rights expertsand major and little-known news outlets. For more war-related tools, see JNet's  Covering War page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for October 7, 2001:  Afghan News As bombing raids begin, keep abreast of the latest news with this independent news site that compiles the latest news from AP, Reuters and other sources and an archive going back one year. See also the Afghan Network for the latest news from various print sources and also weekly features. For more war-related tools, see JNet's  Covering War page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for Sept. 30, 2001:  Journalist's Toolbox by Mike Reilley has always been a good guide to some of the best tools on the web. Now he also has a special page for covering war and terrorism with helpful links. For more war-related tools, see JNet's  Covering War page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for Sept. 23, 2001:  MediaChannel is one of many web sites covering the coverage of the big story on everybody's mind. You can also check out the Institute for Accuracy and FAIR. For more resources on monitoring the coverage, See JNet's  Covering War page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for Sept. 16, 2001:   Covering the crisis - Poynter Resources    Poynter has a special edition with an excellent collection of links to cover the crisis, but also thoughtful articles on how the media is coping. You can see front pages of major American papers and read columns and advice. For more special resources, see JNet's new Covering War page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for Sept. 9, 2001:   Opinion-Pages    There are specialized search engines that help you hunt for news (see JNet's News page) but how do you search for editorials and op-ed pieces? Opinion Pages allows you to search by country or by keyword for today's commentary and some archives as well.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for Sept. 2, 2001:   Learning Networks Ebrary    Freely view, browse and search business and economics books from leading publishers. Put in a keyword and ebrary searches recent bestsellers by author, title or subject. You download the free software and create an account (you have to give your credit card but you don't have to use it if you never make a purchase.) You can read the extracts or the entire book for free, order it online. If you want to print pages or the book or copy text, however, you have to charge your credit card. A good example of how the Internet can change the way we do research.
  
  
• Pick of the week for August 26, 2001:   Europe Environment Daily    A Europe's leading environment news service offers a breadth of services, including news and archives. It's expensive to sign up so it helps if you work for a major media outlet but there is a free trial available for four weeks. See other resources on Jnet's environment news page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for August 19, 2001:   AlphaGalileo    A free email news service for the latest scientific news from Europe. You have to register but at no cost. You get news releases, backgrounders, a search of archives and also access to a database of experts. For other scientific news services, see JNet's News Email  page
  
  
  

• Pick of the week for August 12, 2001:   CorpWatch  One of the best Alternate News sites just got better with a revamp and more in-depth tools for journalists. It now features a more robust issues library with backgrounders on topics like the World Bank, Sweatshops or Tobacco and an archived news library. For similar resources, see Jnet's Alternate News Page
  
  
  

• Pick of the week for August 3 , 2001:   Imesh  Napster is dead, long live Napster. There are many new products that take the best of Napster -- the ability to share files with other computers -- and advance the design. Imesh allows you to quickly transfer video, image and software files... great for exchanging large documents, graphics and pictures with your newsroom.
  
  
  

• Pick of the week for July 29, 2001:   Vivisimo   A smart new search engine which emphasizes precision instead of a large number of results. Its real strength is in the sub-categories ut creates if you put in a simple keyword. Ask for "AIDS", for example, and you will get your results organized into subject areas such as Prevention, Treatment and Memorials.
  
  
  

• Pick of the week for July 15, 2001:  Medianews   A well-known site for media insiders, Jim Romenesko's keeps getting better. Now hosted by the Poynter Institute, it continues to feature the latest news about the news business and media industry (mainly American but some international.) The site also features links to media commentators, alternative weeklies and useful journalism sites. For more media sites, see JNet's Media News Page
  
  
  

• Pick of the week for July 8, 2001:  Harvard Research   Tap into the wealth of research at Harvard University with this well-organized site. You can search by topic, researcher or keyword. The results give you abstracts, links to articles and contact names for interviews. The main subject areas are Mind, Body, Society,Space, Earth,and Technology,
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for July 1, 2001:  EarthBrowser   Download this 3-D spinning globe and get current weather conditions and forecasts, real-time earthquake notifications, current cloud cover and webcam images. You can rotate the globe in any direction, get close-up views of geographic regions, or zoom out to view the entire Earth from space. You can also add cities you want to check on, Free trial before you buy.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for June 24, 2001:  Metor One of the newest multiple search engines. Fast and efficient, it allows you to choose which of the top engines you want to use, and includes Google which many other multiple search tools do not. After you get your results, you can click the "Browse" button to see all the web pages found in a convenient window. Press "Check" to detect the availability, date and size of each page, "Analyze" to extract the context of the search words you asked for within each document For more meta-search tools, see JNet's Multiple Search page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for June 17, 2001:  PublicPolicy Library seeks to "place public policy knowledge in the public domain." For journalists who want deep background on a major issue, you'll find policy papers and resources for free from think tanks,governments, and universities -- over 700 policy and research papers, You can search by subject, author, country,institution, or title or browsed by topic under four categories: social policy, economic policy, international issues,and political thought. For Canadian policy issues, see the excellent Policy.ca.   See also the Canadian Policy Research Networks
  
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for June 10, 2001:  Behind the headlines  A UK academic site that provides good resources and web pages for top stories in the news. Operated by the  Resource Discovery Network,  The RDN's 30,000 resources are selected, catalogued and described by subject and information professionals drawn from over 60 UK education institutions.
  
  
• Pick of the week for June 3, 2001:  Diggit   A new and one of the best ways to find stills and photos on the web. It not only does a better job in its simple search (which allows you to decide what size of photo you want) but it's advanced options allow you to tweak the search even more -- for example, by searching for the keyword you want in the filename of the picture or the caption, and not just on the web page.  For more ways to find stills and video, see JNet's Visual Search Page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for May 27, 2001:  10KWizard  Simple, fastest way to find out information on any company or business person  that is available through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  in in the United States.  Real-time access and key word searches allow you to look for information using ticker symbols, company names, industry type, individual names.  Plus up-to-the-minute insider transactions, transactions by large shareholders and IPO filings. For more business tools, see JNet's Business News
  
  
• Pick of the week for May 20, 2001:  ProjectCensored 2001   The annual hit list of investigative stories ignored by the mainstream media is out for 2001 and it's always a great read. You can get fascinating background on 25 stories -- everything from the selling of water to nuclear waste and GM foods.  Plus an introduction by Noam Chomsky.
  
  
• Pick of the week for May 13, 2001:    CNet News This news search tools trolls through major American media sources and gives you results for each newspaper, magazine or TV network. Included in the search are NBC, CNN, Financial Times,  Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, the New York Times, Salon, Time, USA Today, and the Washington Post. For more news search tools, see JNet's news page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for May 6, 2001: Globalinfo News from Africa, Asia, Latin America and other developing regions prepared by journalists from those regions on a wide range of topics including the environment, trade, conflict, industry, human rights, gender, arts and culture.  Free for two weeks, then for a modest price.  
  
  
• Pick of the week for April 29, 2001:  Reuters Health E-Line Specialized news search from one of the largest news organizations in the world.You can search by date for the last few weeks and topic. There is also a pay-for service (free search and only $3.50 per article) for medical professionals at Reuters health news. For more health news, see JNet's Health News Page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for April 22, 2001:    News of the week   The Poynter Institute's David Shedden gives journalists useful links for a top story of the week. While usually an American story, the issues are frequently of world importance -- such as the recent China-US spy plane dispute or Mad Cow Disease. An excellent way to find the best news sources for a current story. For more ways to find news, see JNet's Search news page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for April 15, 2001:    StopFTAA FTAA   With the Summit of Americas taking place by the end of the week in Quebec City, check out the various protest sites that provide news, analysis and background. Stop FTAA is a good starting point, with a News Index. A20 was one of the original Seattle counter-sites. CMAQ is the official site for alternate media in Quebec City.  A new Canadian web site called Rabble.ca launches April 18 and StraightGoods has more summit coverage.  For more business criticism, see JNet's Business News Page and also JNet's Alternate News Page.
  
  
  
• Pick of the week for April 8, 2001:    ScitechDaily   Breaking news, background features and an excellent list of web resources on science stories -- deep enough for the specialist writer but also accessible to general reporters looking for guidance.  This web site is affiliated with Closer to Truth, produced by several scientists affiliated with PBS in the United States. For more science resources, see JNet's Beats Page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for April 1, 2001:    Card Trick   It's April Fool's Day -- have some fun. Try this card trick and see if you can figure out how it works.  For more amusement, try watching this TV news report of the Exploding Whale, or other ways to divert yourself during a slow news day at JNet's Fun Page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for  March 25, 2001:    AllStarNewspaper  The editor's of Brill's Content, the American media-watch magazine, pick some of the best in daily news stories, every day of the week updated at noon.  The selection is almost exclusively from the major American newspapers, but you still get one-stop shopping for some of the top stories of the day. you can also get the choices emailed to you by free.
  
  
• Pick of the week for  March 18, 2001:     BroadPage  Always need to read the same six newspapers?  Want to check out your four favourite financial web sites. Instead of opening up separate browser windows, Broadpage allows you to look at as many pages as you want at the same time.  A free download with unobtrusive advertising or you can pay for a commercial-free version. Click on their News format and you'll get 6 pre-selected top papers, but you can change them to whatever web news sources you want. You can also save multiple formats, so you can check out all your news picks, then with a  simple click all your travel picks, your sports picks or whatever topics you choose. For more browsing tools, see JNet's NewsViewers  Page. 
  
  
• Pick of the week for  March 11, 2001:      LibrarySpot   A one-stop reference desk for journalists and other researchers with quick access to some of the best web resources for biographies, maps, dictionaries, and libraries online.For more reference tools, see JNet's Reference Page. 
  
  
• Pick of the week for  March 4, 2001:      Backwire    A vast collection of free email news services you can subscribe to. The current affairs offerings include the Washington Post, BBC and Reuters.  Politics includes Salon, Slate and  the New York Times.  Plus everything from technology news and sports.  See JNet's Choose your news for other email services
  
  
• Pick of the week for  February 25, 2001:      NewsEmailer saves you time by sending you free summaries of the latest news articles from around the world. You can choose up to five newspapers from the United States, Canada (English and French) and a handful of international papers. Or you can choose your news by topics (everything from Business to War) and have up to ten articles about each subject sent to you.
  
  
• Pick of the week for  February 18, 2001:     HeadlineSpot  A brand new and top-flight service for journalists that offers a quick glance at the latest headlines around the world. Its search box allows you to search ABC, BBC, Yahoo! News and the Washington Post. You can also do an international search , search for photos and for TV news.  Plus many more options and tips. A must-see for busy journalists.
  
  
• Pick of the week for  February 11, 2001:     Researchville    An excellent one-stop research site for journalists. The main page allows you to search several news headline sites, such as Moreover and WorldNews.com .  You can also search several newswires , dictionaries and encyclopedias at once.  Other pages let you search some of the best tools for video and audio archives as well as still photos.    
  
  
• Pick of the week for  February 4, 2001:   Babylon   A free download tool that allows you use dictionaries with a click of your mouse and translate a word into or from the majority of the languages spoken on the Web. You can even download a male or female voice to hear the English pronunciation.You can also receive instant information online or offline, use glossaries and make currency, measurement and time zone conversions.   For more translation tools, see JNet's  Translate Page.  For more neat tools, see JNet Search Tools
  
  
• Pick of the week for  January 28, 2001:   Bloomberg TV Eyes  Put in any word and Bloomberg will email you any time that word is spoken on Bloomberg Television. An efficient and free way to track business stories.  (You can also search past transcripts.) The service is run by TVEyes, which allows you to monitor other newscasts as well. For more ways to find TV news archives, see JNet's  Search Video Page.  For more business news, see JNet Business
  
  
• Pick of the week for  January 21, 2001:   NewsAnchor  "You have news" the announcer says on your desktop and you can read the latest flashes from CNN, ABC, BBC Science, and Reuters.  It's a free download and you can choose the news sources from their extensive, if largely American, list.   For more news tickers, see JNet's Choose Your News page.
  
  
• Pick of the week for  January 14, 2001:    Find a Quotation   Looking for the source of that famous quote you want to use in your lead?  This web site gives you access to some of the web's best quote finders, including Quoteland, Words of Women , Bartleby and Bibliomania.