Tag Archives: WhatDoTheyKnow

How to use FOI to develop good journalism habits

Being curious: how often is this happening? How much has it increased?

Headlines:
Rising numbers of hospital patients so fed up they discharge themselves
Figures reveal how many lives firefighters have saved
Welsh parents owe thousands in school dinner debts — All these stories involve asking the question “how much” or “how many” about an issue or event

Headlines:
How the cost of paying up is sending bailiffs' diaries wild
Council use of bailiffs to chase debts jumps 16% in two years
Acid attack hospital admissions have almost doubled
Student Loans Company overcharges 78,000 graduates
Schools converting to academies cost councils £30m — All these stories involve asking the question “how much” or “how many” about an issue or event

Curiosity is the first quality I identified in my series on the 7 habits of successful journalists — and FOI is a great way to hone that.

One good way to get started with FOI is to identify an event or problem that you’ve read about, and get curious about it: how many times is that event happening? How much is that problem costing? These are perfect questions for FOI.

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How to find ‘feeds for leads’ as a journalist

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Listening. Image by Rob Franksdad

When a journalist gets their first job, or switches role to a new area or specialism, they need to quickly work out where to find useful leads. This often involves the use of feeds, email alerts, and social networks. In this post I’m going to explain a range of search techniques for finding useful sources across a range of platforms. Continue reading →