http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog Behind the scenes Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:34:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Help Me Investigate blog is now moving to http://helpmeinvestigate.posterous.com/ - see you there. http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/please-update-your-feeds-moving-this-blog-to-posterous/ This week Gawker reported on a piece of investigative journalism in the New York Times which was estimated to have cost $400,000 "That $400,000 number comes straight fromTimes Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati estimating what it would've cost...had the Times paid for it in its entirety. But the bill for it was heavily footed by ProPublica, ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/how-much-does-journalism-really-cost/ In the second of this series of posts I want to look at how Help Me Investigate used game mechanics - how they worked in practice - and some of the plans for future development in this area. Too small to be a game When HMI first quietly went 'live' there were ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/critical-review-hmi-and-game-mechanics/ In the first of a series of posts reflecting on the first 10 weeks of Help Me Investigate I'm going to look at how social dynamics played out on HMI, and what we might do on that side of things if we move into full development. What sort of community? One of ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/critical-review-hmi-and-social-dynamics/ I recently had something of a mini-crisis of confidence: "Was Help Me Investigate really needed?" I was asking myself. Given that investigations already take place on blogs, on forums, and in Facebook groups, is a tool like this really needed? The original idea behind HMI was inspired by investigations like these. ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/the-clue-is-in-the-name/ There's been a lengthy conversation taking place on Twitter today between myself, Steve Jackson (@ourman) and Jon Hickman regarding a tweet I posted inviting someone to submit an FOI request: "Anyone want to send their first Freedom of Information request? It's already written for you. Invite to @helpmeinvestig8 thrown in." The rest ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/when-is-a-freedom-of-information-request-frivolous/ That's the way Tom Scotney describes Help Me Investigate in a recent article where he talks about his experiences of the site for Journalism.co.uk. http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/an-investigative-team-thats-bigger-more-diverse-and-more-skilled-than-any-newsroom-could-ever-be/ I've used Widgetbox to create a simple little widget that you can use to show the latest investigations on your Facebook page or blog. This will help spread the word about various investigations. You can find the widget listed on Widgetbox here. Click on any of the boxes to the right ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/show-the-latest-investigations-on-your-blog-or-facebook-page/ The Investigate This! blog have written about Help Me Investigate before, so I thought I'd return the compliment and point out this useful resource for anyone interested in investigative journalism, whether in Canada or not. There you go. http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/canadian-investigative-journalism-resource/ This is from a conversation I'm part of which I cannot quote from by name, but I thought my response might be worth recording under 'FAQ': Q: "Journalism, especially investigative journalism, is labour-intensive and expensive. citizen journalists cannot expend the time required to uncover what centres of power are really up to. " A: ... http://onlinejournalismblog.com/helpmeinvestigate/blog/faq-investigative-journalism-is-labour-intensive-and-expensive/