Journalism

The Journalist’s Toolbox is edited by University of Illinois-Chicago journalism senior lecturer Mike Reilley, who founded the site in 1996.

The site has been updated daily since the start of the pandemic and contains thousands of free (and some fee-based) resources organized by beats and topics within more than 160 searchable pages.

Who we serve and what we do: As newsrooms and resources shrink, the Toolbox plays an important role in providing journalists, students, professors and people in many professions with reliable resources for reporting, editing, verifying and visualizing information for complex stories. The site was originally used by news librarians deep-researching in-depth stories. But as newsroom libraries closed, more reporters and editors began using the Toolbox.

Today, the Toolbox is a free resource for start-up newsrooms, legacy and local media, freelancers, entrepreneurs, educators, student media and people in many other industries. Reporters new to a beat use the pages, organized much like a newsroom, to familiarize themselves with coverage and sourcing. Toolbox content has a Creative Commons license, and educators are encouraged to share Toolbox resources, videos, newsletters, etc. in class and in course materials.