'Use your brain', journalism professor tells freelancers

The key to successful online reporting is using the brain rather than a search engine, according to journalism lecturer Steve McIlwaine.

Speaking at the fourth Australian Freelance Journalists Convention in Sydney last week, Mr McIlwaine - professor of journalism studies at Queensland University - said: "Most freelance journalists don't gain the maximum potential from the web, and being a freelancer you need all the help you can get.

"You need to use your brain in conjunction with the brain of the computer. Too many people think they know enough about using the internet, but they are missing out on huge swathes of useful information and spending too much time wasting time.

"There are about 3.5 thousand search engines out there, and of these Google is probably the best - but even that won't get you what you want most of the time. If you are looking for information on immigration, and you type that word into the search engine, you'll get back thousands of entries which could be about anything which may include the word 'immigration'. Going through all of them would be a complete waste of time.

"The best way to find out about immigration would be to go to the relevant government department's website, and use its own search facility. Web journalism is no different to traditional journalism; you still need to ask yourself ‘who will have the information I need to find?' - it's all about choosing the right sources."

Mr McIlwaine said that experienced internet users rarely used search engines, but instead used their own list of reputable websites, online databases or newsgroups to find the information they needed.

For a free search facility of full-text articles in more than 300 reputable magazines and journals, you could try www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml.

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