The American Press Institute Acquires JournalistsToolbox.com

Posted on February 14, 2003

The American Press Institute has acquired The Journalist's Toolbox, a website for journalists that focuses on using the Internet as a reporting tool. JournalistsToolbox.com, which offers links to thousands of resources and information on research and reporting techniques for journalists, will be incorporated with other online information and training services produced by API for news professionals.

Mike Reilley, a former Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune reporter and editor, founded the site in 1996 as part of an online resource page for a news-writing course he taught at Northwestern University. Reilly will continue to edit and update the Toolbox for API.

The Journalist's Toolbox will be part of a growing publishing initiative at API overseen by The Media Center, an API unit focused on Internet publishing and media convergence knowledge, techniques and strategies. In addition to presenting an annual series of seminars, study tours and master classes, The Media Center publishes NewsFuture, a web and email journal for senior staffers and executives in the news publishing industry, and oversees digital publishing initiatives for API. The Media Center is a partner of Cyberjournalist.net, a website for journalists that focuses on the Internet, media convergence and new technologies.

The Journalist's Toolbox is organized by beats and topics such as Federal Government, State/Local Government, Public Records, Crime Databases, 9/11 Resources, Business, Sports, Entertainment, Medical/Health, Daily News Sites, Phone/E-mail Directories, Search Tools, Public Safety Issues, Education and School Violence. It also offers industry resources in areas such as job-hunting tips, links to job databases, reporting techniques, tips for copy editing, writing, ethics, design, photojournalism and broadcasting, and advice for teaching online research.

"This is a win-win situation for both The Journalist's Toolbox and The Media Center," said Reilley, the Toolbox's editor. "The Media Center's vast resources will help us expand the site even further while continuing to offer great resources to the media."

Founded in 1946, the American Press Institute is an independent, not-for-profit 501c(3) educational center with headquarters in Reston, Virginia. The Institute offers about three dozen weeklong residential seminars annually for professionals in all newspaper departments. The Media Center at API, founded in 1997 with funding from the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, is a separate unit of the Institute focused on Internet publishing, technology and media convergence.