Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
-based service that provides unauthorized
biographies
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
on business and financial
reporters
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
editors
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...
,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
s.
The Sunday New York Times described the service on October 5, 2014, comparing and contrasting the methods of NewsBios with the methods of professional journalists: “NewsBios employs techniques that journalists use: Doing web searches of people's backgrounds, reading their
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
posts to learn more about them and drawing conclusions. The difference is that journalists generally notify and seek
interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
s with the subjects of profiles, whereas NewsBios promises to ‘never contact the journalists directly.”
The ''
Columbia Journalism Review
The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...
'' noted that NewsBios "compiles dossiers on journalists, scouring
obituaries
An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...
, social media,
real-estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
records, and past stories, and claims to turn up worldview-shaping experiences. The rub is in a disclaimer: NewsBios doesn’t
verify
CONFIG.SYS is the primary configuration file for the DOS and OS/2 operating systems. It is a special ASCII text file that contains user-accessible setup or configuration directives evaluated by the operating system's DOS BIOS (typically residing ...
the information found online."
History
Among those journalists whose bios are sold most frequently are members of NewsBios's annual list of the ''100 Most Influential Business and Financial Journalists'', winners of its ''Business News Luminary Awards'' (NewsBios) and the ''30 Under 30'' list of successful young business journalists.
NewsBios aggregates and sifts information from more than 60 sources of public information and combines that
research
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
s. Among the core advantages of a NewsBio when compared with an authorized profile is the inclusion of biographical information that journalists do not wish the public to know.
This unauthorized information may include previous jobs that did not work out well, complaints pertaining to a journalist's reporting,
personal life
Personal life is the course or state of an individual's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity.
Apart from hunter-gatherers, most pre-modern peoples' time was limited by the need to ...
developments that may influence a reporter's news
judgment
Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...
and opinions writers and editors have expressed that reveal a
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...
.
In addition, because NewsBios has prepared more than 15,000 reporter dossiers over a period of two-and-a-half decades, NewsBios is able to put individual bios in perspective with professional standards in general.
NewsBios was founded in 1987 as FaxProfiles in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,newsletter that tracked the activities of key financial journalists. The newsletter was published from 1987 to 2002. TJFR stands for ''The Journalist & Financial Reporting''. Dean Rotbart, a former reporter and columnist with ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', is the founder and
executive editor
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...