Mobile journalism research & tools

The Journalist’s Toolbox has been part of the Society of Professional Journalists since 2008. It is edited and updated by Univerity of Illinois-Chicago journalism professor Mike Reilley, who founded the site in 1996.The site is typically updated twice a week, but has been updated several times a day since the start of the pandemic. The site contains thousands of free (and some fee-based) resources organized by beats on more than 150 searchable pages. As newsrooms and resources shrink, the Toolbox plays an important role in providing journalists, students, academics and others reliable resources for reporting on complex stories. The site was originally used by news librarians deep-researching issues. But as news libraries closed, more reporters and editors began using the site.Today, the Toolbox is a free resource for start-up newsrooms, freelancers, entrepreneurs, educators and student publications. Reporters new to a beat use the pages, organized much like a newsroom, to get up-to-speed on their coverage and sourcing. Toolbox content has a Creative Commons license, and educators are encouraged to share Toolbox resources, videos, newsletters, etc. in class and in course materials.