JNet's Picks of the Week - 1998

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

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

  • Pick of the Week for December 27, 1998:  The Year in Review:  Tired of those boring Year in review features?  Then try the Sunday Times year-end quiz with such queries as:  Which, according to the International Congress on Obesity, is the fattest nation in the world?  (If you're not registered -- it's free -- go to the main Sunday Times page first.)  And for thoughtful essays on major international issues, check out Le Monde Diplomatique's English edition for December.

  • Pick of the Week for December 20, 1998: Impeachment of the President. No matter how tired you may be of the story, you can't escape it. As usual, the Washington Post and the New York Times offer excellent special sections, with archives, documents and video.

    For the latest on the Iraq War, read (carefully!) the news from The Pentagon or the British Ministry of Defense. For opposition news, see The Global Movement to End the War and the Iraq Foundation, a
    US-based charity fighting for democracy in Iraq.

    For a refreshingly critical look at both these stories, see Democracy Now and the Pacifica Radio Network.

    And even journalists have to take a holiday. Check out these Christmas games for your children, a delightful Chanukah site with video and stories, and IslamCity's excellent resources on Ramadan.
    Plus my Religion Page for more serious reading ... 

  • Pick of the Week for December 13, 1998:    The Stevie Cameron Letters    For a taste of the battle against media corporate concentration, read the full text of the letter that well-known Canadian journalist and author Stevie Cameron wrote in response to media tycoon Conrad Black. Black accused Cameron of betraying an RCMP source in her Mulroney scandal coverage, but you can read the RCMP officer's own letter and decide for yourself.

    For more on media concentration, check out the CJR's Who Owns What? page for a quick search on the Black empire or any company. You can also check out a CJR article on Conrad Black, the third largest media baron in the world.

    For more on censorship, see the Index of Under-reported Stories on Corruption    An international panel of leading journalists will select up to ten of the most important stories of under-reported corruption.

  • Pick of the Week  for December 6, 1998:  Personal databases:  A US company, Docusearch, gives some examples of free personal databases available on the web (US only) -- including marriage, death and criminal records.  Check out J-Net's new Spy on People page for more.

  • Pick of the Week for November 30, 1998:  Quebec Election:  The sovereignist Parti Quebecois is poised to win a majority government in the Dec. 1 elections.  Live coverage from CBC Newsworld.  Great background (including audio and video feeds) from the CBC election site and from the Montreal Gazette.  En Francais: Le Soleil et Radio-Canada

    International news is dominated by the Pinochet controversy.  The Daily Telegraph (free registration required) has good stories and links, including LondonNet's Pinochet Page,   Amnesty International's reports on the former dictator and the excellent human rights site, Derechos Chile

  • Pick of the Week for November 22, 1998:  Northern Light Advanced Search.   The advanced features of one of the best search engines allows  you to click (see "Select Sources") for just newspapers and journals. You can also narrow down the time frame and the type of web site (educational, government, etc). The Northern Light Current News Search provides a search of news stories from over 70 newswires and online publications.
  • Pick of the Week for November 15, 1998:  InfoSpace People Finder   The Canadian version of the best phone book online now offers Reverse Lookup (put in a phone number and find the person), plus Find Neighbours ...  ask the neighbours what the subject of your investigation has been up to!   The U.S. version has all the reverse tools and instant maps as well.  A UK version is more primitive.
  • Pick of the Week for November 8, 1998:  ReutersTV   One of the fastest ways for TV journalists -- or anyone else -- to quickly search for visual archives. Punch in a keyword and Reuters provides the story, a script and even tape number if you want to order.
  • Pick of the Week for November 1 , 1998 :  BBC World Lectures   Impressive list of world scholars talk about broad issues for the millenium -- everything from patriarchy to the Asian crisis.
  • Pick of the Week for October 25 , 1998 :  Bloomberg News headlines   One stop shopping for the top news headlines from around the world.

    For Canadians, the National Post makes its debut this week. Also, see the CBC TV's The National web site for the very public war of words between the CBC and the Prime Minister's office over the APEC affair

  • Pick of the Week for October 18 , 1998 :  Newstrawler   Finally -- a search tool that allows you hunt through only newspaper web sites. Divided by country -- United States, Canada, UK and others.  Not a perfect device, but an excellent start.

  • Pick of the Week for October 11 , 1998 :  Earth Tuner         If you listen to RealAudio news stations as much as I do (check out my Radio page), you'll enjoy EarthTuner, a neat software that puts a globe on your desktop. Click on a country and get a links to all the web radio stations there.  

    And if you're fed up with the Lewinsky scandal, read a blistering attack in The Nation by Morton Mintz on all the real scandals the American media are missing

  • Pick of the Week for July  26 , 1998 :    JURIST     Designed especially for the convenience of journalists working on legal stories, this page contains links to academic experts, contact information for law professors and law schools in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, and Web-based Subject Guides for a variety of legal fields. JURIST Canada is the Canadian section.

  • Pick of the Week for July  19 , 1998 :  AskJeeves   Ask Jeeves a natural-language question (such as: "Where can I find information on lead pollution?") and he'll come back with some suggestions for web pages to look at.  A good alternative if you're having problems using search keywords.

  • Pick of the Week for July  12 , 1998 :  Mapquest   Even journalists have to take vacations.  Plan your holdiays with Mapquest (or MapBlast for better Canadian maps).   Microsoft's Expedia is a popular vacation planner (and Bill Gates even offers Canadians a Canadian version of Expedia).   You can also buy cheap last minute airline tickets at Priceline.

  • Pick of the Week for July  5 , 1998 :  State of The Nation   Celebrate July 4th, the American holiday of flag-waving and firecrackers, with one of the best critical journals of American society -- The Nation magazine.  Its web site includes highlights from the current issue, archives, and links to a half-hour RadioNation show  with interviews you don't hear on mainstream radio.
  • Pick of the Week for June 27 , 1998 (and July 1):  Canada Day - Infoculture   Juky 1 is Canada's national holiday, and while most Canadians are not the flag-waving sort, many Canadian web surfers are frustrated by the American domination of the web. CBC's Infoculture site is welcome respite -- topical news, audio and features about Canadian culture and the politics of art. A great site. Aussi disponsible en francais par Radio Canada.
  • Pick of the Week for June 21 , 1998 :  My Reference Desk   An excellent collection of links to encyclopedias, law libraries, dictionaries and other basic facts you might need.
  • Pick of the Week for June 14 , 1998 :  Spying on people    Several American companies are offering --for a steep price -- background checks on people including very private information.  Advanced Research Inc promises   bank records and medical histories.  TR Information promises asset searches that include details about safety deposit boxes and current bank records (with one week, for about $300). A background article on the ethical and legal rules these companies may be violating is on the Washington Post web site for the next two weeks. You can also check out my page of Private Eyes.
  • Pick of the Week for June 7 , 1998:  Le Monde Diplomatique    One of France's most prestigious newspapers puts some of its feature articles on the web. If you want the latest month's version, you have to subscribe -- it's not free . But there is free access to previous month's editions. Plus, a bonus for those who can't read French -- Le Monde Diplomatique In English , with selected translations. Again, subscription required for current articles. Free access to back issues
  • Pick of the Week for May 31 , 1998:     3D Thesaurus     Improve, ameliorate, strengthen, reinforce, tighten and galvanize your writing and have fun, pleasure, enjoyment, thrills and smiles doing it with this three-dimensional word tool. A real delight to use and watch. (Technical warning: You need a browser that supports Java and it doesn't work easily behind firewalls.)
  • Pick of the Week for May 24 , 1998:    The Fall of Suharto:   Indonesian Daily Online and Reformisa are among the  many protest sites. The Indonesian Home Page has one of the most complete lists of links. Bisnis is one of the few English language newspapers on the web (and there is also a list of other Indonesian media). You can also listen to live Indonesian radio (not in English).  As usual, the Washington Post's special report section provides lots of good background information
  • Pick of the Week for May 17 , 1998:      $20,000 Award  for International Investigative Reporting    A new award recognizing the best international investigative reporting in the world by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative research organization based in Washington, D.C.  The award will go to a journalist or team of journalists who have demonstrated excellence in transnational investigative reporting the previous year.  For more information on the award, including how to apply, visit the ICIJ Web site or e-mail info@icij.org.
  • Pick of the Week for May 10 , 1998:      KnowX      Bills itself as the most comprehensive source of (American public records on the web. Not free, but not terribly expensive.   The People Finder provides users with access to 160 million individuals and 92 million households in the U.S. You  can locate people by searching the residence directory, home value and ownership records, death  records, and home buyers and sellers records. The Business Background Check to uncover   bankruptcies, liens, lawsuits and judgments with data about more than 12 million companies  There are no  charges  for sign-on but you do pay for the information you need. Most searches are free, but some cost 50 cents during peak hours.
  • Pick of the Week for May 3 , 1998:      Heads of State     An up-to-date listing of the names, addresses and often phone numbers of most of the world's heads of state.  Amazingly detailed, often listed provincial or state leaders as well for many countries.  You can even send an email to heads of state from Antigua to Zambia.
  • Pick of the Week for April 26, 1998:      MapBlast     Find a map for most major cities and locations in Canada.  MapQuest also offers US sites and Canadian sites.  Use these in conjunction with online phone books and there is no one you can't pinpoint!
  • Pick of the Week for April 19, 1998:      Pulitzer Prize     Read the American print stories that won the big prize of US journalism, all listed on the Editor and Publisher site. 
  • Pick of the Week for April 12, 1998:      Irish Times    A shaky peace agreement  was finalized in Northern Ireland this weekend. To  follow the   story, there are some excellent online resources.  The Irish Times is a mainstream paper with good news.  An Phoblacht  is a   weekly from a pro-IRA stand.  And you can listen to a half hour of Irish news from RTE Dublin
  • Pick of the Week for April 5, 1998:      Editor and Publisher    One of the best journalism sites on the web for news and commentary on the profession (mainly American) and an excellent directory and search tool for newspapers, TV and radio.   you can hunt for the media outlet you're looking for by region and category.
  • Pick of the Week for March 29, 1998:      Newbot     Finding recent news can sometimes be a pain on the web -- many search engines might give you unrelated, ancient stories. Newbot, by the folks at Hotbot, can be programmed to searchfor stories in the last 6 hours, 24 hours, or recent days.  It searches only U.S. news sources, but it's an impressive list --  including Forbes, New York Times, and the WEashington Post. Plus there's a free download for a personalized Newbot robot you can run from your own computer.
  • Pick of the Week for March 22, 1998:      Bibliofind     On Oscar night, why not be different than the 1 billion people who reportedly watch the gala.  Curl up instead with a good book.  Bibliofind is an online database of books for sale with a great search engine.  Amazon.com is another, better-known bookstore on the web.   And if you really can't live without the Oscars, check out  the  Golden Rasberry Award Foundation. ("While the "real Academy" wracks its brains trying to find even five good films that were made this year, why not take a look at the other 500 bad films of the year...")
  • Pick of the Week for March 15, 1998:   AltaVista's Instant translator  You probably use AltaVista as a great search engine but did you know it can also translate entre web pages for you -- from Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and a few other languages to English and vice versa.  Instantly.  Plenty of errors and goofy faux-pas, but you can at least get a sense of what that foreign newspaper is saying.   You can also translate your letters to a foreign source or pen pal
  • Pick of the Week for March 8, 1998:   CJR on the Clinton scandal  Many people feel the real scandal in the White House is the way the American media handled the allegations of a sexual affair. The Columbia Journalism Review dissects the disaster in four hard-hitting stories, including "Where we went wrong" and "The Fumble in Dallas."
  • Pick of the Week for March 1, 1998:   National Security Archive:  Want the scoop on the CIA?  This independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. has broken some of the major stories -- including the recent scoop about the CIA's long-censored condemnation of its own role in the Bay of Pigs disaster.
  • Pick of the Week for February 22, 1998:  World Political Database     Information on contemporary leaders from 185 countries, the office-holders longest in power,  women leaders, European governments since 1990,   African rulers, heads of state killed in or out of office, and obituaries of prominent leaders. Who was the premier of Alberta  from 1925-34, for example? (John E. Brownlee of the United Farmers of Alberta. )
  • Pick of the Week for February 15, 1998:      CP Top Canadian News    Late breaking news is hard to find on the net, especially with Canadian content. The folks at Canadian Press and Canoe bring you one of the best sites for Canadian, Ontario/Quebec stories , Western Canada stories and Atlantic Canada stories along with the CP BizTicker
  • Pick of the Week for February 8 to 14, 1998:    Valentine's Day   My annual selection for this holiday: Send your favourite source, your grumpy news editor or your loved one an Animated Greeting Card --they move, they dance, they sing, for a couple of dollars.  You can even personalize your gift with a name and a message.  Another card site is available from Hallmark.  And you can also send free flowers at Virtual Flowers or a free Postcard.
  • Pick of the Week for February 1, 1998:    The Winter Games    Get the history behind the Nagamo Games .  Encyclopedia Britannica's Olympic Winter Games site offers  an overview of the Olympic movement, histories of each of the past seventeen Olympic Winter Games,articles about the events included in the Winter Games, biographies of past competitors, and a searchable Olympic Record database.

    For up-to-date news on the Games, Sports Illustrated and CNN have joined forces to bring you news and views.
  • Pick of the Week for January 25, 1998:  Investigating Clinton   You can't escape it. It is the only story coming out of Washington and dominating the news. So you might as well get it from the best source.  The Washington Post  is not only breaking a lot of the story. Their web site continues to be one of the best news sources online.   Check out their Special Report -- "Clinton Accused" section on the scandal... great background, and even previews of tomorrow's paper!

    The more controversial and very unreliable Drudge Report   has also  been the source of leaks and news.
  • Pick of the Week for January 18, 1998:      Internet Phone by VocalTec   My favourite net phone, with an easy to use program that integrates sound and pictures. I talk to -- and see -- my children when I am on the road.
  • Pick of the Week for January 11, 1998:       Canadian Chat Forums Online  One of problems with newsgroups and chat rooms is the shockingly low level of intelligence in many of these groups. And for Canadian journalists, the lack of Canadian content. Canada.com features all the chat groups run by the Southam newspaper chain.  You might find more intelligent chat here.
  • Pick of the Week for January 4, 1998:  The BBC Online  One of the world's finest news services also boasts one of the world's best news sites.  Enjoy the famed World Service with twice daily netcasts, World News headlines and many feature articles.  An excellent example of making a news web site better than the traditional news outlet.