Top 5 Must-Have Tools for Professional Journalists

Remember the time when the only tools a journalist needed were a pencil and a notepad? 

Capturing a story is challenging. Newshounds have to take into consideration multiple moving pieces before they can publish an article. Luckily, it’s not 1940 anymore, and today’s journalists have a slew of apps, tools, and sites that make the job easier. 

Whether you need a tool to help with brainstorming, security, organization, research, or visuals, here are five journalism tools you won’t want to be without.

1. Pocket

The Pocket App makes saving articles, videos, and content from other publications, web pages, and apps simple. Think of it as your personal reading list. If you don’t have time to read an article as soon as you come across it or watch a video clip, save it for later. Pocket is available on iOS and Android devices, plus the base app is free!

2. Trustwire

Part of being a journalist is sharing and receiving sensitive information online. Cyber threats are at an all-time high. Share documents securely with Trustwire. Trustwire allows a reporter or source to send and collect information safely, even in high-risk environments. All files shared via Trustwire are encrypted, meaning only the file owner and the rightful recipient will be able to see it.

3. Representation Matters

As a journalist, visuals are likely a huge part of your day job. You may be familiar with other stock image libraries like Pixabay, Shutterstock, or Pexels. While those are all great tools to source images, Representation Matters is an all-inclusive stock image library. They focus on diverse and inclusive photos with themes, including body positivity, disabilities, LGBT, and more.

4. Echosec

Echosec is a free online app that allows users to generate location-based social media data from the most popular social networks. If you work at a local level, this tool can help fill your pages or create website copy as you get info from events as they unfold in real-time. For example, Echosec allows users to concentrate on an area on a map where it will then provide you with a list of Tweets (or other social media posts) that have been made from that area. The free version offers Twitter data, but if you invest in the premium version, you get results from other platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

5. Hemingway

Part of being a great journalist is captivating an audience with words. The Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear. This tool highlights common errors, complex sentences, and lengthy or hard-to-understand sentences in your typing. The text is color-coded to make things as simple as possible. If a sentence is highlighted in yellow, it’s too long, and if it has a red highlight, it’s too hard to read. Journalists can appeal to a broader audience with high-quality, user-friendly text. This online app is free, but a paid premium version is also available.

Digital Security Habits Journalists Should Adapt

Cyber-crimes are a bigger threat now than ever before. Technology evolves quickly, and journalists, especially, should incorporate additional vigilance when it comes to keeping their information safe from online predators. Investigative journalism may serve the public with secretive breaking news stories, but it comes with a price. Journalists are often the target of online attacks orchestrated by a government after reporting misconduct. Whether it be aimed at smearing a journalist's reputation, discrediting their work, or taking over an account, a journalist's career is constantly at risk. How can you run your journalism business securely? Follow these digital security precautions below to ensure your business is protected.

Use End-to-End Encryption Technology:

Encryption technology allows journalists to protect their work from the eye of the government. Unfortunately, state surveillance and monitoring put journalists at severe risks of online attacks. Encryption will enable businesses and consumers to conduct business securely. From lawyers sending financial documents to a doctor divulging personal health information, end-to-end encryption is used to ensure this sensitive data is only in the hands of the rightful owners.  

Always Stay Up to Date: Are Backdoors Coming Soon to Encryption Apps?

A backdoor allows unauthorized access to a computer system or encrypted data that bypasses the system's standard security measures. More government officials are pushing to introduce backdoors in all popular messaging apps that offer end-to-end encryption. What does this mean when it comes to running your business securely? These backdoors would allow the government to access any private conversations between businesses, consumers, citizens, and sources. As of now, this isn't in effect, so to best keep your intimate conversations private, always communicate on an encrypted software.

Operate Your Journalism Business Securely with Trustwire:

Exposing human rights violations, shedding light onto oppressive regimes, and reporting on a government's flaws is no easy feat. The groundwork is tough, and journalists regularly put their jobs and, in more extreme cases, their lives on the line to find a story. Trustwire provides end-to-end encryption technology for free. Use Trustwire to send and receive data from any computer around the world. Using the strongest available encryption technology on the market, your sensitive information will be kept secure from cybercriminals. Only you and whomever you wish to receive the content will have access to it. When it comes to digital security, journalists must be at the top of their game. Let Trustwire help you successfully, safely, and effectively run your business.   

Tips for Journalists to Protect Online Communications:

• Never leave your devices unattended.
• Use passwords to protect all of your online activity.
• Use an antivirus AND an anti-malware.
• Regularly update your operating system.
• Delete your digital tracks - cookies, browsing history, and always log out of social media sites.
• Only use encrypted messaging apps, like Trustwire.
• Install a VPN to encrypt your Internet connections.
• Activate your firewall.
• Segment your digital activities. Use several email addresses like a personal one, a professional one, and one for shopping online.

To learn more about how Trustwire can be a useful tool against ransomware attacks and other cybercrimes.

How Trustwire and VPN are Tools in Protecting Human Rights

While most people champion the cause of human rights, those who defend human rights are increasingly under threat. Common methods of communication for investigative journalists, human rights lawyers, and activists are being targeted.

Sensitive communications, as well as other identifying information is being compromised and endangering the lives of people fighting the abuses of oppressive regimes. But, there are a few ways activists can preserve their privacy, and therefore, their safety. Let’s take a look at how VPN and Trustwire are tools in protecting human rights.

The Issue

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 94 journalists were killed in 2018. In 2017, the number was 82. Afghanistan and Mexico top the list of the most dangerous place to be a journalist, but even the United States lost 5 journalists last year.

In the Phillipines, 34 lawyers have been killed since they elected Duterte in 2016. According to the New York Times, spyware allowed those responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi track his location. Apparently, this type of surveillance is not uncommon. To those who challenge the legitimacy of some government’s actions, electronic communications can be a threat to their survival.

[Related: 3 Secure Communications Tips for Journalists]

How VPN and Trustwire Are Tools in Protecting Human Rights

While a government with seemingly inexhaustible resources may seem like an insurmountable

challenge, there are simple things that can be done. For one thing, a VPN service can preserve the privacy of individuals online.

Look for a VPN that combines both a privacy and security focus. In this way, a VPN, or virtual private network, can be a tool in protecting human rights.

Take into account the jurisdiction of your VPN to understand if that government will be tracking your data. Still, a VPN can ensure the privacy of those who may be subject to surveillance.

Similarly, Trustwire uses encryption that is as strong as the encryption the US government uses. Beyond this, there are no backdoors in the encryption technology used by Trustwire—so Trustwire can’t access your data even if we wanted to.

Trustwire allows journalists, activists, and other human rights defenders to communicate and share files without risking them being intercepted. What’s more, Trustwire does not track your usage, access, location, or the websites you’ve visited before accessing Trustwire.

No information given to Trustwire will ever be sold or analyzed. We are committed to the absolute privacy of our users.

3 Secure Communications Tips for Journalists

In a contentious political climate, it becomes increasingly more important for journalists to secure their online communications.

Sources often provide valuable information, and if they are exposed as sources can face personal or career backlash.

In some cases, as with former Senate aide James Wolfe, the source can face criminal charges. Here are three secure communications tips to help journalists.

Tip 1 – Eliminate Metadata of Photos and Documents

First, sending and receiving files securely is the best secure communication tip for journalists. Then, before journalists use documents and photos sent by sources, these files need to have their metadata removed.

A few great tools for this include: Exiftool for documents and mogrify for photos.

Keep in mind that any tracking pixels from Data Leak Protection software needs to be removed in addition to removing the metadata. For PDF files, which are notorious for phishing scams, we recommend PDF-redact-tools.

Tip 2 – Reduce Instant Messaging Issues

While encrypted instant messaging apps may seem secure, they also leave a trail of metadata. So, while the content of the messages may be encrypted, communications between journalists and sources can still be evident.

Messages can be exchanged along with files via web-based Trustwire.

Tip 3 – Document Exchange Security

First, journalists should receive sensitive documents on a secure file sharing platform, such as Trustwire.

This ensures that documents cannot be accessed at any point in transit, nor can they be accessed from storage on Trustwire.

Furthermore, encryption is rock solid, and the platform can be accessed from anywhere. Trustwire does not track usage, IP addresses, or location info, and doesn’t have access to its users’ files or data.

Other options for secure document transfer exist, but sources may not be willing or able to use the technology, rendering it useless.

Then, the file needs to have its metadata scrubbed as well. Use exiftool <filename> on each document. This may involve converting a Word file to a PDF and then using the pdf-redact-tools to be absolutely sure of sanitation.

Secure Communications Tips for Journalists Takeaways

Journalists have an obligation to protect their sources from unwarranted backlash. Beyond that, these secure communications tips can enable journalists to demonstrate a record of integrity.

Removing metadata from images and files can protect sources. More importantly, providing sources with a secure means of transferring sensitive files and exchanging messages is crucial to maintaining privacy.

Trustwire simplifies the former by allowing you to exchange and store files from sources in a secure location.

We provide powerful encryption technology with none of the hassle. Simply sign up for Trustwire and begin sharing files securely.

Trustwire allows you to use end-to-end encryption to send files, and you can send secure messages along with your file. Trustwire will never access your documents or analyze your data for any purpose at all.

Take the guess work out of file sharing, and sign up with Trustwire today.