TECHNOLOGY CORNER
SPJ Rainbow Sourcebook
Reporters should broaden their source lists beyond the white male ghetto, so that the same experts don't turn up in story after story. But it's not always easy to find qualified "other" voices on deadline, especially if you have never sought them out before. The Society of Professional Journalists has built a useful online sourcebook (http://spj.org/diversity_search.asp) that lists experts in more than sixty specialties, including consumer issues, national politics, health/medicine, and finance. You pick the topic(s) you want and then narrow the search by state, languages spoken, and what the site calls "minority voice" — such things as race, gender, and sexual orientation. The site now has some 850 experts who have been vetted by project researchers. The sourcebook is updated annually, but a search that is too narrow may still yield few if any sources. But journalists willing to share their contacts can submit nominations. The site can also tell you if the source has broadcast experience.
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