The Craft of Research

The latest from the Mott Haven Herald:

Ann Marie Awad reported on a city council redistricting plan.   Nicholas Wells wrote about struggling food pantries.  And as a team, the two of them covered the police beat.

Brianne Barry had news on the death of one of New York’s finest.

Alex Eidman wrote about some Bronx comic heroes.

And Anna Teregulova found four Mott Haven schools are threatened with closure.

Speaking of Mott Haven, Shamanth Rao’s story about the neighborhood found a home in The Wall Street Journal India’s travel section.

Because I’m a dinosaur.

For the Mott Haven Herald, Irina Ivanova reported on Bronx public housing tenants who traveled to New Orleans for a housing advocacy conference.

Oh yeah, in 18 days, I will be there.  Who dat!!!!!

Also in the Herald, Jesse Metzger wrote about the dismissal of a lawsuit against a Bronx pol, and Shamanth Rao has news of a healthy eating initiative sponsored by McDonald’s.

• Lesson handout

Handout highlights:

1. Crime statistics at the local, state and national levels
2. Inmate statistics and lookup/locator tools (plus parole and probation stats)
3. Most wanted criminals
4. Sex offender registries
5. Criminal court information  
6. Gun violence timelines
7. Death penalty information
8. District Attorneys and lawyers

• Lesson handout

Points of emphasis for critical thinking:

1. People—whether witnesses to an incident or experts on a subject—should be one of your first thoughts as a source of information on ANYTHING.
2. That said, never trust any person—no matter who it is—as your sole source of information, even about him or her self…and sometimes ESPECIALLY about him or her self (e.g. people lying about their age).  Always verify!
3. Backgrounding people is crucial.  For example, you never want to write a friendly story about someone, only to be burned by not doing proper backgrounding.
4. Last but not least: there’s some information generated about people that won’t be available.  As an example, consider Presidential candidates.  What information about them is released only at their discretion?

The bonus: Accurint is an amazing resource that Barbara Gray has access to in the Research Center.