Journalists need new tools to work online. In the last year, I've used more that I can count, most of them free, to find and tell better stories on the Web.

Back in October, I started building an online database of such tools as a personal project, just a way to keep track of everything I was using. It has since grown into something I think others will find useful, so I'm releasing it into the wild.

Tools for News

The site is in public beta for now. Eventually, I hope to move it to its own domain.

Anyone can browse this site and subscribe to an RSS feed of the latest tools. Registering allows you to add new tools, add links to existing tools and bookmark tools, which will be saved on your contributor page.

Try it out. Find bugs. Send feedback.

Production notes:

The core of the site was built in about two days using Django. I started building it after seeing other bloggers posting lists of tools they use, or that others should use. I wanted a better way to find and organize all of this.

I leaned heavily on reusable Django apps, taking to heart what James Bennett often says: The ability to create focused, reusable applications is Django's true killer feature. It is. I used three of his apps for this site and four on another, not counting pieces of code inspired by what Bennett and others have given away.

For inspiration, I looked at Django Snippets (built by Bennett, who used it as an example project in his excellent book) and Django Friendly, a site that rates hosting providers for, well, Django friendliness.

Credit also goes to Ryan Sholin, Zac Echola and Rick Martin letting me bounce ideas off them. Thanks guys.

Before: Local is what local covers | After: Blueprint CSS. Yes.