Pipl’s latest webinar, ‘An Investigative Journalist’s Tool Box: People-Data Research Techniques and Technologies’ was designed to help media professionals better understand current technological trends in investigative journalism. The webinar featured two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Margot Williams, who walked attendees through a wide array of her go-to research strategies. In this post, we’ll outline the most intriguing highlights of the presentation and tips and tricks from Margot.
Attendees of the webinar walked away with a deeper understanding of research tactics and received answers to some of their most burning questions, like:
- I need to verify a source’s identity- how do I find updated and accurate people data quickly?
- How do I uncover a witness’s mobile phone number?
- How do I find someone’s email address?
Didn’t get a chance to attend? Watch the presentation here
Margot’s Top 5 Backgrounding Tools
Today’s media experts rely on dozens of solutions to uncover the online and offline information needed to quickly verify a source or story; emails, addresses, phone numbers, social media usernames, known associates, the list is long.
The problem? Hours and days spent researching and consolidating information, and then trying to connect the dots on all the data gathered to the subject of interest, instead of spending time breaking more stories.
In the webinar, Margot shared some of her favorite and most reliable people data resources here:
- Pipl: For a profile of both online and offline data on an individual. Fills the gap by offering international coverage and social media information.
- TLO: For a public records database offering detailed reports on age, address history, family members, assets, criminal history, marriage records, etc.
- Pacer: For Federal Court Dockets & Documents.
- Enigma: For public data sources, from state and federal records, to SEC filings, to lists of frozen assets.
- ACRIS: For searching official NYC property records from 1966 to present.
Margot’s Tips for Public Records Research
In the webinar, Margot demonstrated how to leverage publicly available resources like public records sites in order to help color in the details on a subject of interest. These include:
- Federal Register & Congressional Record
- Records Retentions Policies
- Foreign Agents Registration Act
- Prisoner Locators
- Real Estate Records
- Agency Datasets
- Freedom of Information Act Releases & Official Reports
- Leaks
- Obituaries
Margot also highlighted a couple of the free public records finders she’s used in her research efforts:
The live webinar was full of invaluable wisdom and tips from Margot Williams. We’re excited to share that we’ve provided a way for you to watch the full presentation at your leisure. Check out the on-demand version of the presentation, here.
Special thanks to all who attended!
Ready to discover how Pipl can help you in your research endeavors? Reach out to one of our Media experts to schedule a short introductory discussion.
All Posts