THE BOOKSHELF

A sample of books that have been published in Canada and the United States within the last five years that journalists using CAR and investigative techniques may find useful:

The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook, 4th Edition By Brant Houston, Len Bruzzese and Steve Weinberg.

According to the IRE, this newest edition “has been updated to include examples of local investigative reporting and features easy-to-find Internet address lists to help students and professionals in computer-assisted investigations.”

Numbers in the Newsroom: Using Math and Statistics in News By Sarah Cohen.

This book by Sarah Cohen, the Washington Post reporter who won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for stories on a failing child welfare system, is a good resource for journalists because, at some point in time,we all have to work with numbers. It also contains the 10 Most- Wanted List: Mistakes in the News from Simple Math to Lapses in Judgment. Lotteries, Lightning Strikes and Longevity. (http://www.ire.org/store/books/math.html)

The Last Amigo: Karlheinz Schreiber and the Anatomy of a Scandal By Stevie Cameron and Harvey Cashore.

The book is an account of the dealings of Karlheinz Schreiber, the German dealmaker who cozied up to federal politicians in Canada. However, as the dust jacket points out, the book is also about: “…how corporations win government contracts, how money is successfully hidden in foreign banks and distributed through coded accounts, how an international political agenda is promoted and financed.”

Page 1: The Best of the National Newspaper Awards By Nick Russell and Kathy English.

The book, published by the Canadian Newspaper Association, is a collection of the most compelling Canadian news stories over the past 50 years. In her review (vol. 7, No. 1, spring 2000) Media magazine’s book editor, Gillian Steward, wrote: “Some of the prize-winning stories have a numbing familiarity….There’s the 1977 story…about a child who died a gruesome death at the hands of her mother even though Ontario child welfare authorities had had plenty of warning….Despite numerous inquiries and reforms this kind of story is still front-page news.”

The Internet Handbook for Writers, Researchers, and Journalists By Mary McGuire, Linda Stilborne, Melinda McAdams and Laurel Hyatt.

This Canadian resource book is described as follows: “This indispensable guide helps novice and experienced computer users take full advantage of Internet and World Wide Web capabilities. Fully revised and updated, the 2002/2003 edition provides a basic introduction to the Internet and describes specialized resources and tools for writers, researchers, journalists, and students.”

The Missing News: Filters and Blind Spots in Canada’s Press By Robert A. Hackett & Richard Gruneau with Donald Gutstein, Timothy A. Gibson and NewsWatch Canada

. Frequently, media outlets are criticized for missing or under-reporting big stories, either out of ignorance or poor news judgment. The Missing News tracks stories that fall into the missing or under-reported category, including the tax breaks some of the country’s wealthiest citizens received in 1993; and the extent to which the tobacco industry was allegedly complicit in a scandal that saw crooks evade the rising taxes by smuggling cheap cigarettes into Canada.

TRUST US,WE’RE EXPERTS:How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future By Sheldon Rampton and John Staubr

This is the only book on the list that isn’t written by journalists. But for those interested in computer-assisted and investigative journalism, it’s an instructive read that provides insights into some of the very companies we investigate. Rampton and Stauber work for the U.S.-based Center for Media and Democracy, an organization that tracks its country’s vast public relations industry and the companies it represents, including the firms that sell their products in Canada. The book tracks the evolution of spin and cover-up in disasters such as the Bhopal disaster in 1984, and the attempts of Union Carbide’s PR brass to deny that corporate negligence had anything to do with the poison gas leak that killed and maimed thousands of workers.

The Creative Guide to Research: How to Find What You Need Online or Offline By Robin Rowland Rowland

CBC journalist and author of three other books, says The Creative Guide will help journalists deal with the world of research that “is changing at warp speed.” He maintains that although these changes can render a lot of information irrelevant, “the principles of good research are the same as they were fifty years ago, whether one is doing research on the Internet or in the dusty files of a government archive. The rise of the Internet, with its everexpanding sites, presents new challenges to the researcher. How do researchers find the information they want on the Net, and how did they separate the noise from the good data?”

Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide (Second Edition) By Brant Houston University of Missouri-Columbia Price: $30 (U.S.) for members, $35 (U.S.) for non-members.

This how-to, spiral-bound paperback is described as “probably the most widely used text on CAR, with clear, step-by-step instructions by Brant Houston, executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors and a professor at the University of Missouri.” The book focuses on spreadsheets, databases and acquiring government data. It also explains why journalists need to use this kind of reporting.

When Nerds and Words Collide: Reflections on the Development of Computer Assisted Reporting Edited by Nora Paul

. This book is described as a:“52-page collection of 23 essays by many of the leading practitioners and educators in computer-assisted reporting. These personal stories raise good questions about how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go, in integrating database work with the daily flow of journalism.” Portions of the updated 4th edition are available online at the Poynter Institute 100 Computer-Assisted Investigations By IRE The IRE describes the book this way: “A look at how journalists are doing computer investigations large and small, on stories ranging from such diverse topics as premature babies and police chases to pet names.This detailed look at how reporters did their stories, what software they used, what problems they encountered, etc., is guaranteed to inspire and instruct.”

Precision Journalism By Philip Meyer.

This is an updated version of Meyer’s 1973 book, without which we wouldn’t have most of the others on this list. As Meyer wrote, “If you are a journalist, or thinking of becoming one,you may have already noticed this: They are raising the ante on what it takes to be a journalist.”

Investigative Environmental Reporting: A Handbook By Mary Landers.

The IRE description goes as follows: “Mary Landers’ handbook is for journalists wanting to dig deeper into environmental stories, this practical guide reprints exemplary stories and shows how they were done.”

How to Investigate Your Friends and Enemies By Louis J. Rose

IRE description: This practical book guides you step-by-step in finding and using a variety of public records.

Computer-assisted investigative reporting: Development and Methodology By Margaret H. DeFleur Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 248 pp. Best Newspaper Writing 2002 By Keith Woods, $14.95 (U.S.)

The description from the Poynter Institute goes as follows: “Best Newspaper Writing 2002 includes interviews with the winners about their craft by editor Keith Woods and Poynter colleagues Roy Peter Clark, Aly Colón, Karen Dunlap, Kenny Irby, Pam Johnson and Chip Scanlan; the work of 16 finalists who share the lessons they learned; study questions useful to students, teachers, and working journalists; a bibliography; and an interactive CD-ROM.(http://www.poynter.org/shop/ product_view.asp?id=479)

Custodians of Conscience: Investigative Journalism and Public Virtue By James S. Ettema and Theodore L. Glasser Columbia University Press, 233 pp.

MUCKRAKING! THE JOURNALISM THAT CHANGED AMERICA Edited by Judith and William Serrin The New Press, 392 pp.

STORIES THAT CHANGED AMERICA: MUCKRAKERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY By Carl Jensen, Ph.D. Seven Stories Press, 272 pp.

SLANTING THE STORY: THE FORCES THAT SHAPE THE NEWS By Trudy Lieberman The New Press, 208 pp.

DRIVE-BY JOURNALISM: THE ASSAULT ON YOUR NEED TO KNOW By Arthur E. Rowse Common Courage Press, 300 pp.

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst By David Nasaw Houghton Mifflin, 688 pp.

PULITZER: A Life By Denis Brian John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 438 pp.

Super Searchers in the News: The Online Secrets of Journalists and News Researchers, Edited by Paula Hane and Reva Basch, 2000

THE NEWS ABOUT THE NEWS: American Journalism in Peril By Leonard Downie Jr.and Robert G.Kaiser Knopf