Contents of this page:

• GOVERNMENT REFERENCE SITES
• SOME GOVERNMENT-WATCHER SITES
• MILITARY SITES of interest
• OLYMPICS
• STARS AND STRIPES

FedWorld Information Network:

• A search engine that locates government resources and databases.

White House and Daily Briefings:

• This could be one of the most valuable sites of the government. It provides the latest economic and social reports, daily briefings to the White House press corps, and other issues of immediate importance. Worth checking regularly by almost any journalist.
• The new administration, of course, does things differently so one may have to search about for valuable press briefings, and many Washington correspondents disdain these formal briefings as a mild form of "news management."

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Congress.org:

• Not formally a government agency, but rather one that keeps track of the details of the U.S. Congress.

Internal Revenue Service:

• A bit of a mess to navigate, but 2001 is the year for the IRS Web site to go big time.
• All tax returns are being accepted via electronic filing.  There's no requirement even to file separate W-2 and other forms; a good tax software such as TurboTax handles all the forms and calculations..
• The benfits of electronic filing are multiple, not the least of which is a proposal to allow electronic filers a deadline later than April 15.

General Accounting Office:

• This is the government's watchdog agency. Its reports often make news. It is spearheading attempts to cop with the widely feared Year 2000 problem in government computer systems. A host of reports address that issue, but there's many more of interest.

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U.S. Government Printing Office:

• A place to get at the world's largest publisher. Databases and information galore can be tracked from this site.
• It also includes a search engine that gathers information from other federal agencies' web pages.
• Search around this site for fascinating information.

Fedstats:

• Compiles statistics of interest to general citizens from over 100 different federal agencies.
• Contains links to each agency on which it is reporting as well as a detailed schedule of when the major statistics of the U.S. government will be released to the public.

Uncle Sam's Best Statistics:  Site not responding; last checked 25March2005

• A guide to some of the government's most number-conscious agencies that also includes a link to the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
• The site's index may be its best page.

U.S. Census Bureau:

• One of the best government sources of valuable information for journalists. Demographics and economic indicators galore are available at this site.
• The whole thing isn't here, but The Statistical Abstract of the United States is teased and offered here.
• A news service of the bureau is its Factfinder America, providing most of the information anyone could ask for as a background for civic journalism.

National Archives and Records Administration:

• In the past several years, NARA has posted hundreds of thousands archived documents to its Web site, all of them heavily indexed and searchable.
• This is only a drop in the bucket of what's housed at the archives, but what's posted should save lots of researchers a trip to D.C. or College Park, Md., though such a trip would be well worth the time.

Security and Exchange Commission:

• Anything one needs to know about a corporation or business can probably be found in the SEC archives. A valuable source for those who love to dig.

CIA's World Factbook:

• Journalists always look for capsule information on places in the news. This valuable site provides index, maps and a capsule of current history for all the nations of the world and some trouble spots, e.g., "West Bank."

U.S. Information Agency:

• Lots of information on current issues overseas confronting the United States.

U.S. State Department's Missions Online:

• Links to all the places the U.S. government maintains embassies and consulates.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC):

• A valuable daily digest of FCC proceedings is posted here.

Federal Trade Commission:

• Among other things, the FTC looks over consumer complaints and rights.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

• Got an invention to patent or a product to protect? Applications for such things are downloadable at this site.

U.S. Copyright Office:

• This is part of the Library of Congress and could be an important site for writers seeking to protect their "intellectual property."
• The Copyright Website is not a government site, but it's well worth a visit for anyone interested in discussion of copyright.

U.S. Department of Agriculture:

• One of those treasures of government statistics. For specific agricultural statistics, go to:

U.S. Postal Service:

• Type in the city and state and the server delivers a nine-digit zip code. No big deal, but could be handy. This is just one of the links on this page.
• A new feature of the USPS site is its stamp collector's pages.

U.S. Naval Observatory:

• The Time Service Department in Washington can answer practically any question about how time is measured around the world.
• One might easily come away from this site convinced that humankind simply doesn't know truly how to define time.

U.S. Naval Institute:

• The institute links to most things nautical associated with the U.S. Navy and its academy. Its home page takes browsers to naval history, books, etc.

U.S. Government: House of Representatives:

• There are many entrees into Web sites representing the United States government. Most agencies of government have web pages; they run the gamut from spectacular to sporadic. The House of Representatives provides lots of information and lots of links. Browsers can use it as a jumping off spot to get to many other government resources.

Aviation Safety Information:   Site not responding; last checked 23March2005

• A government-maintained set of databases designed to let the public keep abreast of investigations of aircraft accidents and incidents.

Government Information Library:
(Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, U. of Florida):

• A handy set of links for anyone planning an FOI request or anyone researching FOI.

Congressional BioGuide:

• Capsule informational biographies of members of Congress.
• Not extensive, but a quick reference to basic information on Senators and Representatives.

Write your Senator or Representative:

• This clever link on the U.S. House site allows you to find the address of your senator or representative. It has a link that locates what House district you're in.

Federal Internet Guide from The Washington Post:

• A comprehensive guide to all things federal.
• Navigate to its "All Sites -- A-Z" page for an index of what's available.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):

• The press releases related to recalls and other consumer product investigations are here.
• A fairly complete archive that details recalls several years back.

Better Business Bureau:

• Not so much a government watcher as a business watcher doing what the government often can't do. There's a bureau in just about every state to handle consumer complaints and affairs. To locate the closest office, visit this site.

Government by Sterby: ***Very comprehensive listing

• Ira Sterbakov has put together a set of links that should get anyone to the agency he or she is seeking.

Roll Call:

• A good site for keeping track of Congress with excellent search engines. Voting records, contributors, and the usual contact information are among the gleanings from this site.
• From here one can access every Congressional representatives' home web page and compare it with Roll Call's more objective analyses.

The Hill:

• A good read of commentary and opinion about the Congress and other branches of government. I'm initially suspicious of its balance. Among its columnists is former Clinton staffer Dick Morris.
• One of its best features is a collection of commentary from other sources labeled "Punditspeak."

EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center):

• I put this with the government sites, although it is not a government agency.
• EPIC provides a way of tracking the government's policies and procedures on privacy. Currently one of the best places to probe privacy on the Internet.
• This site also addresses what can be accomplished with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Congressional Accountability Project:

• Keeping tabs on Congress is the task of this site. Many such sites will probably crop up in election years, but this one seems to have non-partisan staying power. It includes an archive of articles by Ralph Nader.

KnowX.com:

• This site links to key public document information databases. It claims to be the "courthouse on the Web."

CQ (Congressional Quarterly):

• Since 1945 Congressional Quarterly has been tracking Congressional votes. Now it's a much bigger and profitable operation with lots to sell on its site. Several of its offerings, however -- Vote Watch, Rate Your Rep, Campaigns and Elections -- are free and make this a worthwhile site, especially in an election year.

N.Y. Times Guide to the Supreme Court:   Site no longer being updated.

• Linda Greenhouse, the Times' beat reporter covering the High Court, answers questions, and the newspaper archives many of its dispatches from the court and about the court.

Federal Web Locator:*****One of the most valuable sites on the WWW

• This site, sponsored by Villanova University Law School and the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law, is probably the single best site on the Web for locating information about the federal government ("Federal Government information at your fingertips").
• I've listed it elsewhere as a search engine, but it's worth repeating so it doesn't get overlooked.

U.S. Department of Defense:

• An excellent, though clearly promotional, site kept pretty much up to date with Defense Department briefings and lots of links. Includes a government sponsored site called BosniaLINK that spreads the good news of what the U.N. peace-keeping forces are doing in Bosnia.
• For information about the nation's military forces, this is a good starting point.

Key links to military sites:

• This chart takes one to the major U.S. military sites. Navigate from here to get to more specific material.

U.S. NavyOnLine:

• Links to all the web sites operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Navy.

All Hands:

• The magazine of the U.S. Navy publishes each January its "Owners and Operators Manual," a compendium of ships, missiles, ranks and ratings, pay scales, insignia and badges, etc., along with several interesting pages on projected weapons of the 21st century.
• An invaluable site for military journalists.

U.S. Army homepage:

• A search engine allows one to find any site related to the U.S. Army. This site also provides some Pentagon news briefs related to Army activities. Keep in mind this is official PR being provided as "news."

U.S. Marine Corps:

• This link will get one to the Marines' home page, and from there to other links.

U.S. Air Force:

• From this site, one can link to alphabetical and geographical indices of USAF web sties.

U.S. Coast Guard:

• The Coast Guard is operated under the Department of the Treasury rather than under the Department of Defense -- as are the other armed forces -- and thus are often considered below the other branches in status. This site, therefore, can provide a good education in what the Coast Guard stands for and does. It also contains a link to all USCG installations.

The Writing 69th:

http://www.channel1.com/users/jimham

• A fascinating site devoted to the eight military and civilian journalists trained to accompany the 69th Air Force in its bombing runs over Nazi Germany. Among the writers: Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, Gladwin Hill, Robert Post and Homer Bigart.

Links for Military Journalists:  ***Sorry, No longer at this URL (4/19/01)

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/5049/links.html

• A site that seeks to aid journalists and writers around the world who are serving with the U.S. military.
• For the record, there are many such writers, trained in public relations (or what the military terms "public affairs"), who deal with the media daily and who serve with some of the nation's top newspapers when their military careers are concluded.

U.S. Air Force personnel page:

• Intended for Air Force Personnel and questions thereto appertaining.

Defense Manpower Data Center (SITES):

• The Defense Manpower Data Center maintains this site, called SITES (Standard Installation Topic Exchange Service). Military people who don't mind wading through acronyms (and preposition-ending sentences) will find questions such as "Where do you want to PCS to?" (For civilians, that's Permanent Change of Station). A search engine then let's one designate a military location that is outlined and described at the locale's web site. Not all stations are up to muster on their statistics, but the list of available descriptions is undoubtedly growing. Civilian journalists will find this an encyclopedia of U.S. installations around the globe.

Armed Forces.com:

• A launch pad for most web sites related to the armed forces, including federal government employees.

All about Vietnam:

• Writer and teacher Marilyn Knapp Litt has put together an extensive listing of books about the Vietnam War.

Military Network:

• An amazing guide to thousands of military related Web sites, including guides to e-mail troops overseas or becoming penpals to members of our armed forces.
• The site is edited by an ex-Navy person who remains loyal but critical of the military. An extremely worthwhile site.
• On of its best links is to the armed forces installation guide. (In using the installation guide, don't overlook the list of satellite installations!)

Serving Military Journalists Worldwide:

• The anxiety of leaving the military after an extended career may be eased somewhat by knowing there are people like Diane A. Reid out there maintaining sites with information exclusively for those re-entering civilian life and hoping to extend their journalism careers.

Enlisted.com:

• An "alternative" site that Yahoo! says contains "edgy opinion" about the military. Among the issues it has taken on is the Department of Defense's changing policy toward "free" housing for enlisted people on bases.

Military Spouse's Career Network:

• Voluntary, non-DOD-sanctioned advice for spouses of military personnel. Includes some valuable employment links.

News:

The best way to keep abreast of Olympic news, although the coverage is definitely biased toward U.S. teams, is to follow ESPN's Olympics page.

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Summer, 2004: Athens, Greece:

• Now that Athens is history, this site becomes a compilation of results. The U.S. basketball team treats bronze as a defeat, and the threat of terrorism hung over an otherwise gorgeous pageant.

Winter, 1998: Nagano, Japan:

• All results now. Nagano is history. This URL kicks one back to the IOC site.
• Another fine site for anyone interested in complete rundowns of the 1998 Games is at CNNSI.

International Olympic Committee:

• History, sponsors, even an online Olympic museum can be found at this site.

2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia:  ***URL no longer responding.

2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA:

European~Pacific Stars and Stripes:

European~Pacific Stars and Stripes:

• I'm a bit of an insider here, having worked with the Pacific newspaper from 1990 to August 2000, although the papers have changed much even since my tenure.  Please indulge the extended commentary.
• Most professionals at the papers blanch whenever it is called a "military newspaper."  The editorial staff is 99 percent civilian, but the military influence is pervasive, especially since the administration of the paper remains within the Department of Defense.  Nevertheless, the daily editorial decisions are made by civilians, right up to the publisher.  Be clear, however, that while civilians are responsible for the newspaper, most of the authority for the newspapers' business and editorial decisions ultimately rests in a select board heavily influenced by the Department of Defense.
• Posted stories represent unique reporting, and some of the best writing comes out of the Far East, Bosnia, Afghanistan and other world hot spots, despite being subtly influenced by U.S. military commands (all Stars and Stripes reporters carry government issued ID cards and are usually housed at US military installations).
• Stars and Stripes is administered through the American Forces Information Service, in Alexandria, Va., a sub-branch of the Department of Defense.  The Pacific Editions and European Editions were consolidated for production purposes to a central editorial office in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C.  A single executive editor was given responsibility for both newspapers, and eventually a civilian publisher replaced the traditional military publisher.  Authority for the newspaper ultimately resides, however, with the Department of Defense, particularly with the office of the Director of AFIS.  Interestingly, AFIS continues to operate its own publications and news services as a publicity arm of the DOD.
• Both Stars and Stripes papers continue in their current locations, but primarily as news gathering operations rather than production facilities.  Their reputation as the "G.I.'s hometown newspaper away from home" has apparently kept them from being publicly subsumed into the larger PR operations of AFIS.
• The newspaper still battles with military censorship issues.  In the summer of 2000, a story was spiked about the U.S. placing Patriot missiles in Israel after Pentagon spokespersons complained to the publisher.  The story was eventually published in U.S. daily newspapers.  Then executive editor David Offer quit Stripes in protest over the blatant disregarding of his editorial judgment.  At Offer's urging, the American Society of Newspaper Editors issued a sanction against the newspaper.

European Stars and Stripes

• The older and larger sister publication that often drops the word European in referring to itself; in fact, the newspaper's Web address has been simplified to Europe's address although the Web production is performed in Washington, D.C.
• Military personnel can access a daily mini-version of the newspaper called "Stripes Lite" that condenses each day's news.  Originally designed for personnel aboard ships at sea or in other remote outposts, this condensation remains accessible only to those accessing it from a .mil domain.

The Stars and Stripes (of the National Tribune): ***No longer publishing

• This link now goes to the new owners of the copyright, European and Pacific Stars and Stripes (see above).
• This was a privately published newspaper sold in the States every other week and aimed at veterans of all U.S. wars. It had no connection with the European~Pacific Stars and Stripes whatsoever, and little love was lost between the two operations.
• In 2000, the paper was sold and its new owners moved to change its image from a staid, conservative, dull fortnightly to an energetic and informative online presence in the veterans community; it happened to own the copyright to the publication name, Stars and Stripes.
• *****In 2002 the new owners declared bankruptcy and sold the copyright of the name to the government's newspapers, thus ending decades of confusion and legal squabbling over copyright infringement.  In the long run, the losers may be the readers of both papers.