Built for the people who decide what gets covered
AssignmentEditor.com is being rebuilt as a practical, maintained research desk for reporters, producers, editors and researchers.
History
AssignmentEditor.com was created in July 1999 by Jim Lichtenstein, then managing editor at CBS/WBBM-TV in Chicago. The original idea was direct: give newsroom staff one place to begin finding stories and researching assignments on the web.
Newsrooms adopted the site as a working homepage. Over time, many directories became outdated and the domain accumulated unrelated material. The current rebuild preserves useful legacy URLs and restores the original newsroom purpose.
What the rebuilt site does
Curates
Keeps a focused set of research guides instead of an unreviewed link dump.
Verifies
Describes how to test claims, provenance, dates and source identity.
Maintains
Shows review dates and removes or annotates links that no longer serve the stated purpose.
Discloses
Explains limitations, corrections and the distinction between a source and independent verification.
Last reviewed September 23, 2026. Links are selected for editorial usefulness; verify source ownership, date and context before publication.