Research guides for every beat
Fifteen guides to the primary sources, data and interest groups on each major news beat, plus a workflow for getting the records that are not online. Each link was checked in October 2026.
On this page
What is beat reporting?
Beat reporting means covering one subject, institution or place over time. A beat reporter is the journalist assigned to a beat. They build a network of sources, learn the records that subject produces and spot change faster than a general assignment reporter can.
Common beats include politics, courts and crime, health, education, business and the environment. Many newsrooms also assign beats by place, such as city hall or a county, or by institution, such as a school district or a hospital system.
These guides cover research sources. Each follows the site’s editorial standards for choosing and labeling links. They do not replace your newsroom’s own rules on sourcing and publication.
Which beat guide should you open?
Pick the guide for the agency or institution that produces your records. Each guide lists primary sources first, then secondary sources, then checks for the beat.
Politics and Policy
Elections, campaign finance, Congress, budgets, polling and think tanks. Start with the Federal Election Commission and the Congressional Budget Office.
Crime, Courts and Law
Court records, statutes, crime statistics and justice agencies. Start with the PACER Case Locator and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Military and National Security
Armed services, veterans records, defense policy and terrorism. Start with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Archives page on military personnel records.
International
Foreign affairs, global data and declassified records. Start with the Nations Online country pages and the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database.
Business
Company filings, banks, regulators and business news. Start with SEC EDGAR and the Uniform Bank Performance Report.
Economics
Economic indicators, forecasts and policy research. Start with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Beige Book archive.
Work and Labor
Jobs, wages, labor law and workplace data. Start with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the EEOC and NIOSH.
Health
Public health data, medical research, regulators and health advocates. Start with CDC, CDC WONDER, PubMed and FDA.
Science and Technology
Research institutions, science news and technology. Start with the NCSES data library and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Environment, Weather and Disasters
Environment, weather, climate records and disasters. Start with EPA, Envirofacts and NOAA NCEI.
Education
Schools, colleges, education data and oversight. Start with the NCES data collection programs, IPEDS and ERIC.
Census and Demographics
Census data, population estimates and demographic tools. Start with the Census Bureau and the Census State Data Centers.
Family, Aging and Communities
Family, aging, race and immigration, housing and transportation. Start with ChildStats.gov and the HUD data sets.
Religion
Faith groups, religion news and religious freedom. Start with survey research and reference works, and check each group’s methods and interests.
Arts, Culture and History
Arts, theater, books, film, music and history. Start with the Internet Broadway Database, the American Film Institute and the Library of Congress.
Every guide labels advocacy groups, trade groups and party sites as interested parties.
How do you start a new beat?
Start with the records your beat produces, then add sources, alerts, a baseline and a file.
- Map the decision makers. List the agencies, courts and companies that decide things on your beat. Find the records each one must publish. The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to post certain categories of records online, including frequently requested records. State and local duties come from your state’s law, which the Open Government Guide covers by state.
- Build a source map. Include officials, critics, front-line workers and the people affected. Use Find Experts and Sources to test independence.
- Set alerts. Watch for new filings, data releases, meeting agendas and court dockets. Some databases help. ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer emails you when new data is available for specific organizations.
- Learn the baseline. Know the normal numbers so you can tell a real change from usual variation. Record the dataset name and the date you pulled it.
- Keep a file. Track promises, deadlines and past coverage so you can hold people to what they said.
Before you file any request, follow the rule on FOIA.gov: “Before making a request, first look to see if the information you are interested in is already publicly available.”
Which public records can you pull without a request?
Federal court filings, campaign finance reports, nonprofit tax returns and public company filings sit in searchable public databases. Search them first.
| Record | Where to search | Beat guide |
|---|---|---|
| Federal court dockets and filings | PACER provides electronic public access to federal court records. You need an account and PACER charges fees, so check its current fee schedule. | Crime, Courts and Law |
| Federal campaign finance | FEC campaign finance data shows how candidates and committees raise and spend money in federal elections. For state and local races, start from the USAGov state and local directory. | Politics and Policy |
| Nonprofit tax filings | The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search covers Form 990 series returns, Form 990-N e-Postcards and determination letters. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer adds full-text search of filings. Check which filing type you have before you quote a number. The Form 990 research guide shows how to find and read a return. | Business |
| Public company filings | SEC EDGAR full-text search gives access to the full text of electronic filings since 2001. | Business |
| State business registrations | The NASS corporate registration page opens each state’s business registration pages and corporate name databases. | Business |
| Property, licenses, permits and meeting packets | Start on the county or city website. The USAGov directory lists contact information for local governments by state. | Regional and Local News Research and Local News Resources |
| Records the federal government already released | The FOIA.gov search tool searches across government websites at once. The Crime, Courts and Law guide lists the FBI Vault. | Crime, Courts and Law |
If a record is not in a database, ask for it. The next section covers that route.
How do you request records that are not online?
Use the FOIA and Public Records Requests for Reporters guide. It covers the full workflow, from the first search to checking what comes back. The short version:
- Pick the law. Federal FOIA reaches executive-branch agency records only. Congress, the federal courts and state and local agencies fall outside it, so cite your state’s law for state and local offices.
- Describe records, not questions. FOIA.gov says a request must be in writing and reasonably describe the records you seek.
- State your fee category and a fee limit. The FOIA statute defines who counts as a representative of the news media.
- Track the clock. A federal agency must decide within 20 working days, and the statute allows limited extensions. State deadlines differ.
- Escalate in steps: the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison, an administrative appeal, mediation with the Office of Government Information Services, then court.
What questions travel across every beat?
- Who has authority, and under which law or policy?
- What is the primary record?
- What changed, compared with what baseline?
- Who benefits, who bears the cost and who is missing?
- What would disprove the central claim?
What should you check before you publish from released records?
A released record is evidence, not proof. Read every redaction label, find a second source with the Journalist Toolbox steps and give the people named in the record a real chance to respond. The FOIA guide has the full checklist.
Next step: Journalist Toolbox
This page explains how reporters use public records laws. It is a research guide, not legal advice.
What changed on October 30, 2026: added the public records map, a start-a-beat expansion and a records request summary. The full FOIA workflow moved to its own guide. The 15 beat guide links and the related guide links stay.
Sources
- FOIA.gov: How do I make a FOIA request? foia.gov
- FOIA.gov: Frequently asked questions foia.gov
- FOIA.gov: Freedom of Information Act statute, 5 U.S.C. 552 foia.gov
- FOIA.gov: Search government websites foia.gov
- Department of Justice Office of Information Policy justice.gov
- DOJ Freedom of Information Act Reference Guide justice.gov
- Office of Government Information Services archives.gov
- Reporters Committee Open Government Guide rcfp.org (Advocacy)
- PACER pacer.uscourts.gov
- FEC campaign finance data fec.gov
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search irs.gov
- SEC EDGAR full-text search sec.gov
- NASS corporate registration nass.org
- USAGov state and local governments usa.gov
- ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer propublica.org
- AssignmentEditor editorial standards Method and maintenance policy
Sources
- Congress, the federal courts and state and local agencies fall outside itjustice.gov
- within 20 working daysfoia.gov
- Open Government Guidercfp.org
- ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorerprojects.propublica.org
- PACERpacer.uscourts.gov
- FEC campaign finance datafec.gov
- USAGov state and local directoryusa.gov
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Searchirs.gov