One goal of computer-assisted reporting is to help make the local global and the global local," according to Brant Houston, our fearless IRE/NICAR leader. How can Internet resources help do this on a timely, comprehensive, credible basis, ie: on deadline?!
Here is a listing of some resources with great compilations of international resources that can help bring a broader perspective to your reporting. Because, as we all know, we are no longer just citizens of our respective countries, we are members of a global village.
Often the best source is to find a good "scout" page, a page of links that is well organized and contains the key resources. Here are some good listings of International Links:
European Journalism Page http://www.demon.co.uk/eurojournalism/ They have a set of links relevant to breaking stories as well as links organized by government and politics, the media, and organizations.
The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources http://www.pitt.edu/~ian/ianres.html Well organized by types of resources, by source of the information, and by topics.
International statistics
CIA World Factbook http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm A great compilation of statistics and country profiles.
International Data Base http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html "Statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for all countries of the world." Check out the "population pyramid" feature for countries.
International Federation of Data Organizations: http://ssda.anu.edu.au/other/other_archive.html A page of links, by country, to national data archive collections.
International news
What are the big stories? Check out local media coverage of breaking news after finding them in one of these online news directories:
OneWorld www.oneworld.org "A community of over 150 leading global justice organizations" compiles news items from around the world, nicely searchable and focused on human rights issues.
ReliefWeb http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int:81 Keep up with coverage of international natural disasters and the current status of "complex emergencies" with this Web site from the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs.
International directories
Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/chiefs/chiefs-toc-view.html If you need the name of the Minister of Education in Niger, head for this page, brought to you by those friendly folks at the CIA. They provide links to listings of all the government officials, with the date it was updated clearly marked. Unfortunately, doesn't give any contact or e-mail information.
The Embassy Page http://www.embpage.org/index.html Fighting breaks out in Cyprus and you want the American Embassy's take? Go to their Web site (and find all countries' embassy sites with this listing).
International organizations
NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization http://www.nato.int It only has 16 members, but for those members, there is a handy chart linking you to the country's senate, head of state, military chief and other government Web sites that are available (http://www.nato.int/family/countries.htm). Check out, too, the Web archive with press releases, speeches, treaties and other documents, some dating back to 1949.
So you've got all this information and now all you have to do is pack. But you have no idea what the weather is going to be. Point your browser to http://www.worldclimate.com/ and find out if you should pack the raincoat.
Nora Paul can be reached at (813) 821-9494 or send e-mail to npaul@poynter.org