Journalistic Resources

Welcome to the Dateline team. Not only do we want to ensure you enjoy the experience of contributing to our newspaper, but we also want to make sure you have the tools to be successful and to produce quality material while with us. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the resources below.</p

Journalist's Toolbox by the Society of Professional Journalists

The SPJ’s Journalist Toolbox compiles links to tools and websites to facilitate research and covers guidelines on a wide range of topics for young journalists like you.

Journalist's Toolbox - Presented by the Society of Professional Journalists

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Organizations for Students in Media

The organizations below empower college and university students like you in your journey to becoming a media professional. Workshops, discussions, and guidance by current or retired media professionals, scholarships, and networking opportunities are some of the benefits you can expect from joining these organizations.

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The Associated Press Stylebook

The Dateline stories follow the Associated Press Style, the gold standard for news writing. We want you to become equipped, so we have listed on our Write in the Associated Press Stylebook page the AP guidelines that we use the most in Dateline stories with examples.

For further guidelines and examples, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing in Media Law, or AP Stylebook for short, is the best resource available for students wanting to learn more about news writing.

The AP Stylebook is available as a print hard copy (updated biennially) and a searchable online format (updated regularly).

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Free Access to Newspapers

UHD students get free access to an array of local to major newspapers through the UHD Library.

Current Newspapers - News and Newspapers - Research Guides at University of Houston-Downtown

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Student Newspapers in Houston

Below is a non-exhaustive list of student newspapers representing the voices of students at various Houston universities.

• The Rice Thresher
• The Cougar - UH campus news, sports, opinion and more
• The Egalitarian – The student news site of Houston Community College

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Databases

Writing stories requires research. You are welcome to use these links to databases that will help you find information for your stories.

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Library

• Research Guides at University of Houston-Downtown

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Government

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Law Enforcement

• Houston Police Department

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Transit

• METRO | Public Transit Houston
• Houston Transportation and Emergency Management Center
• Texas Department of Transportation

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Weather

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Weather Service

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Education

• Texas Education Agency

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Economy

• U.S. Economy at a Glance | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Code of Ethics

To ensure you maintain journalistic integrity, please familiarize yourself with the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics (PDF).