Guides
How to build an explanatory package without repeating one article nine times
Explanatory news package workflow for defining the audience, assigning components, checking evidence, coordinating visuals, editing, publishing, and updating.
Guides
Background Briefing Guide for Newsrooms
A background briefing guide for newsrooms: frame reader questions, set scope, organize context, label evidence, track updates, and review for clarity.
Rules
9 attribution problems that quietly distort expert quotes
Attribution and expert reporting problems with fixes for title inflation, source laundering, missing conflicts, quote drift, false balance, and vague officials.
Maintenance
Expert source checklist: what to confirm before quoting anyone
Attribution and expert-source checklist for checking authority, evidence, document status, field, methods, interests, quotation context, anonymity, and updates.
Reviews
Source materials, ranked: from press releases to sworn testimony
Source materials ranked from weakest to strongest, from press releases and statements up to sworn testimony, with what each can prove on its own.
Guides
How to check an expert's funding before quoting their opinion
How to check an expert's funding with CMS Open Payments, NIH RePORTER, NSF Award Search, SEC EDGAR, patent and nonprofit records, and lobbying disclosures.
Guides
Institutional claims guide: matching expertise to the actual claim
Institutional claims and attribution guide covering source roles, documents, spokesperson authority, expert fit, conflicts, evidence, quotations, and corrections.
Features
Case study: a fictional border closure and safe-passage claim
A fictional border closure shows how a desk separates an order from observed passage, tests a safe-corridor claim, and keeps movement totals in their own units.
Rules
Crisis reporting problems: why rumors and totals mislead
Crisis reporting problems, from recycled video and duplicate totals to stale evacuation orders and false precision, plus the fixes newsrooms can apply.
Reviews
Watches vs warnings vs orders, with emergency alerts compared plainly
Emergency information types compared across forecasts, watches, warnings, orders, observations, incident reports, damage estimates, and casualty records.
Guides
How to read an emergency alert as a reporter
How to read an emergency alert as a reporter: verify the issuing authority, message type, boundaries, timing, protective action, routes, and updates.
Features
Case study: a fictional planetary data announcement
Fictional planetary data case showing how a news desk handles mission status, preliminary measurements, calibration, archive release, outside review, and correction.
Features
Why do payroll numbers revise so much after the first report?
Payroll numbers revise so much after the first report because initial estimates rely on incomplete survey responses and late-arriving employer filings.
Rules
9 economic reporting problems that turn a forecast into a promise
Economic reporting problems explained with fixes for mixed periods, seasonal adjustment, inflation, annualized rates, forecasts, revisions, and market narratives.
Maintenance
Business economic claim checklist: verify the math
The business economic claim checklist checks U.S. data, company filings, arithmetic tie-outs, forecasts, revisions, and market claims.
Guides
Canadian Dental Care Plan Eligibility: Proof of Coverage You Must Show
Canadian Dental Care Plan eligibility proof of coverage: what applicants provide, the four rules, and the proof you show in a review and at the dentist.
Reviews
Economic indicators compared, from jobs numbers to market prices
Economic indicators compared across output, income, prices, jobs, unemployment, wages, retail sales, and markets, with reporting uses and limits.
Guides
City Emergency Declaration Powers: Duration and Oversight
City emergency declaration powers vary by state. See how Texas, California, and New York let mayors and councils declare, extend, and end local orders.
Guides
How Carbon Prices From Cap and Trade Can Reach Gasoline Prices
Explains how allowance and credit prices can translate into cents per gallon, why pass-through varies, and how several state programs cover transportation fuel.
Guides
How Provincial Dental Coverage Affects Canadian Dental Care Plan Eligibility
Provincial dental programs can disqualify you under Canadian Dental Care Plan eligibility by province rules, so the same income can give different answers.
Guides
How Washington's State Carbon Market Sets Your Fuel Price
Washington's state carbon market fuel price effects come from quarterly allowance auctions and a clean fuel credit market, with no published per-gallon rate.
Guides
How to read an economic release before writing a headline
How to read an economic release: check its measure, period, adjustments, components, revisions, technical notes, and comparisons before writing a headline.
Features
Early health alert reporting: a fictional case study
A fictional case study in early health alert reporting: separating reports, confirmed cases, investigation status, public advice, uncertainty, and updates.
Rules
Science and health reporting problems: practical fixes
Science and health reporting problems include overstated claims, missing comparisons, and hidden uncertainty; practical fixes show how reporters can check each.
Maintenance
Health claim checklist: relative risk and the headline warning
Health and science claim checklist for checking evidence, risk numbers, study populations, conflicts, uncertainty, practical advice, headlines, and updates.
Guides
How to File an Access to Information Request in Canada: Timelines, Fees, and Appeals
Access to information request Canada fees start at $5 and run to $25 per hour after search time, with provinces setting their own timelines and appeal routes.
Guides
Canadian Dental Care Plan Eligibility: Who Qualifies
Canadian Dental Care Plan eligibility requires family net income under $90,000 and no private dental coverage, with co-payments based on income.
Rules
FEC Filing Deadlines Explained: Who Reports, When, and What to Check
FEC filing deadlines set the calendar for campaign finance disclosure. This guide explains who reports, when reports are due, and what to check.
Guides
Federal vs Provincial Bill in Canada: Jurisdiction, Process, and Where to Watch
Federal vs provincial bill Canada: how sections 91 and 92 shape first reading, committee, royal assent, and where to watch each lawmaking process.
Guides
PACER Docket Search: Fees, Exemptions, and How to Avoid Overpaying
PACER docket search fees are $0.10 a page, capped at $3 per document; quarters at $30 or less are waived, and courts can grant exemptions on request.
Guides
How to Read a City Council Agenda: A Quick Framework
Learn how to read a city council agenda by checking consent items, staff backup, meeting minutes, and your city's public-comment procedures.
Reviews
Trials vs models vs preprints, scientific evidence types compared
Scientific evidence types compared across trials, observational studies, models, laboratory work, reviews, preprints, and surveillance reports.
Guides
Search Canadian Court Dockets Online: Where to Look
How to search Canadian court dockets online: the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and every province and territory, plus what registry searches and copies cost.
Rules
What Can a State Public Health Order Actually Do? Scope, Expiration, Enforcement
State public health order powers vary by state and can quarantine, close businesses, or require vaccination. Check expiration dates, enforcement, and current status.
Guides
How to Track a Federal Bill in Congress: Status, Committee, and Floor Timeline
Track a federal bill through Congress.gov: status codes, committee referral, markup, and floor scheduling, with the real wait times at each stage.
Guides
How BLS employment data is built, from the household survey to the payroll count
BLS employment data comes from two surveys, the household Current Population Survey and the payroll Current Employment Statistics count, so the numbers can diverge.
Features
7 ways California water rights shape drought reporting on farms
California water rights drought rules shape farm reporting: curtailment orders, senior versus junior claims, and groundwater basin rules decide who farms dry.
Guides
Chicago inspector general audits: How the process works
Chicago inspector general audits move from complaint screening and scope memos through fieldwork, agency responses, publication, and follow-up.
Guides
U.S. privacy rules vs Canadian law, a guide for cross-border newsrooms
U.S. privacy law is sectoral and state-by-state, while Canada runs one federal statute plus Quebec's stricter rules on consent and transfers.
Features
How ERCOT grid rules Texas set wholesale power prices
ERCOT grid rules Texas shape power prices through scarcity pricing, operating reserves, and an offer cap the PUC writes, as Winter Storm Uri showed.
Guides
How FOIA requests work at the federal level and what agencies can withhold
A federal FOIA request goes to the component that holds the record, not the agency. Nine exemptions, three fee categories, and one appeal clock follow.
Rules
What the FTC checks in business claims and where advertisers get it wrong
FTC business claims must be truthful, non-deceptive and backed by evidence before they run, and the agency polices them under FTC Act Section 5.
Guides
How to read a study before reporting its findings
How to read a study: check the question, design, participants, comparisons, outcomes, estimates, limits, and publication status before reporting findings.
Guides
Reading a New York City council bill before the vote happens
A New York City council bill moves from Legistar docket to committee referral, hearing testimony, land use review, and a possible mayoral veto override.
Guides
SEC filings explained for readers who only see the headline number
SEC filings explained: how to read a 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and a proxy statement, find risk factors, and interpret insider Form 4 filings on EDGAR.
Features
Washington's Climate Commitment Act: carbon auctions and the math per gallon of fuel
How Washington's Climate Commitment Act survived the 2024 repeal vote, how allowance auctions set a carbon price, and the math per gallon of fuel.
Features
Trump's immunity ruling: a court docket desk case
Trump's immunity ruling anchors this court docket desk case, explaining the charges, the Supreme Court's remand, and the later dismissal.
Rules
Policy reporting problems: 8 errors and how to fix them
Policy reporting problems and fixes, from proposals called law and muddled dates to funding, contracts, comment counts, outputs, indicators, and causation.
Rules
Court reporting problems: claims, rulings, and appeals
Court reporting problems arise when filings are mistaken for findings. Learn to distinguish allegations, motions, opinions, orders, appeals, and case status.
Rules
Statistics reporting problems: nine traps in the numbers
Statistics reporting problems in the news, from hidden denominators and sampling error to chart scales and data revisions, with a repair sequence for each.
Rules
Is a missing public record proof that nothing happened?
Public records reporting problems and fixes for wrong versions, poor searches, missing context, redaction guesses, data errors, and unsupported conclusions.
Guides
Build a news timeline: the Dobbs opinion
Build a news timeline using the Dobbs opinion as a case study: separate the leaked draft's date, its public release, and the Court's final ruling.
Reviews
Court documents compared: pleadings, rulings, and proof
Court documents compared: learn what complaints, indictments, motions, exhibits, orders, opinions, verdicts, and appeals establish—and what they do not.
Guides
Court reporting: separate the docket from the story
Court reporting guide: build a case identity box, read the docket, separate filings from court action, and read a ruling in five parts.
Maintenance
Court story checklist: sealing, redaction, and protected names
Court story checklist for privacy: what sealing and protective orders mean, which federal rules limit identifiers, and how to handle minors, victims and jurors.
Guides
Developing news stories need four information states
A guide to developing news stories: how to separate confirmed facts from reported claims, disputes, and open questions, with briefing steps and checks.
Maintenance
Developing story checklist: fairness, harm, and the final read
Developing story context checklist for facts, attribution, chronology, definitions, affected people, uncertainty, fairness, corrections, and updates.
Reviews
6 points worth checking on news briefing formats
News briefing formats checked against six points: main question, time frame, core evidence, typical order, update trigger, and main risk.
Reviews
Proposals vs decisions vs data releases, official records compared plainly
Official record types compared by purpose, authority, version, evidence, common misreading, update pattern, and the claims each document can support.
Maintenance
7 things a policy briefing checklist has to cover
Policy briefing checklist for authority, stage, dates, public input, funding, implementation, affected groups, enforcement, evidence, outcomes, and updates.
Reviews
Legislation vs regulation, comparing the policy tools reporters cite
Policy tools compared by authority, decision-maker, legal effect, funding role, public process, implementation record, common mistake, and reporting use.
Reviews
Point estimates vs margins vs averages, reading poll numbers right
Poll estimates compared across point results, sampling margins, credibility intervals, polling averages, forecasts, assumptions, and safe reporting language.
Guides
Public records reporting starts with finding the right custodian
Public records reporting guide covering record ownership, searches, requests, versions, exemptions, document context, verification, citations, and findings.
Maintenance
Public records request checklist: scope, exemptions, appeals
A public records request checklist: how to scope a request, read the exemption markings in the response letter, and choose between an appeal and mediation.
Guides
How to read a court docket and ruling
A step-by-step method to read a court docket and ruling: confirm the case, trace the entries, find the holding, check for stays, then state the status.
Guides
How to read a public opinion poll before reporting: sponsor, sample, wording, uncertainty
A step by step guide to reading a public opinion poll before reporting: sponsor, population, sample, wording, field dates, weighting, uncertainty, and comparison.
Maintenance
9 statistical claim checks before signing off
Statistical claim checklist for source, measure, sample, denominator, uncertainty, comparison, chart, causation, subgroup, revision, and headline checks.
Guides
Statistics and polls reporting: Explain uncertainty
Statistics and polls reporting can explain uncertainty without a lecture: label the figure, check methods and comparisons, and use plain language.
Guides
Trace policy implementation: enactment vs effective date
Trace policy implementation by separating the enactment date from effective, compliance, and enforcement dates, with the records and steps marking each clock.
Start here
Guides
Background Briefing Guide for Newsrooms
A background briefing guide for newsrooms: frame reader questions, set scope, organize context, label evidence, track updates, and review for clarity.
Guides
Institutional claims guide: matching expertise to the actual claim
Institutional claims and attribution guide covering source roles, documents, spokesperson authority, expert fit, conflicts, evidence, quotations, and corrections.
Guides
How BLS employment data is built, from the household survey to the payroll count
BLS employment data comes from two surveys, the household Current Population Survey and the payroll Current Employment Statistics count, so the numbers can diverge.
Features
7 ways California water rights shape drought reporting on farms
California water rights drought rules shape farm reporting: curtailment orders, senior versus junior claims, and groundwater basin rules decide who farms dry.
Guides
Chicago inspector general audits: How the process works
Chicago inspector general audits move from complaint screening and scope memos through fieldwork, agency responses, publication, and follow-up.
Guides
U.S. privacy rules vs Canadian law, a guide for cross-border newsrooms
U.S. privacy law is sectoral and state-by-state, while Canada runs one federal statute plus Quebec's stricter rules on consent and transfers.
Latest from Info News Blaze
Guides
How to build an explanatory package without repeating one article nine times
Explanatory news package workflow for defining the audience, assigning components, checking evidence, coordinating visuals, editing, publishing, and updating.
Guides
Background Briefing Guide for Newsrooms
A background briefing guide for newsrooms: frame reader questions, set scope, organize context, label evidence, track updates, and review for clarity.
Rules
9 attribution problems that quietly distort expert quotes
Attribution and expert reporting problems with fixes for title inflation, source laundering, missing conflicts, quote drift, false balance, and vague officials.
Maintenance
Expert source checklist: what to confirm before quoting anyone
Attribution and expert-source checklist for checking authority, evidence, document status, field, methods, interests, quotation context, anonymity, and updates.