The Associated Press Guide to Internet Research and Reporting By Frank Bass Perseus Publishing 168 pages, $15 Reviewed by Joe Marren Those of us already making our way in the brave new media world won’t need this book. Or so we think, but I’ll get to that in a byte. For the rest of the world that doesn’t know a DOS from a Duh! this book is a godsend. It explains how to do a realistic Internet search (in other words, one that won’t return several gigamillion entries); gives tips on how to verify online “facts”; and even breaks things down to topical beats for stressed out reporters facing that ever-encroaching deadline as tempus fugits. The assumption that we’re all stumbling along trying to learn new media so we can hold intelligent conversations with grade school kids is an apt one. And it’s the strength of this book. No one needs to feel left out or have to sit in a corner with a 21st century dunce cap on their head. Bass, who has been director of computer-assisted reporting at the Associated Press since 1997, has written THE online guide of choice for novices. Trust the AP to do such a thing. After all, its stylebook has been the bible of copy editors ever since there was news fit to print. Now the AP’s newest guide helps modern journalists find info fast on deadline and lead them through the forests of information when not on deadline. And it doesn’t stop there. Reporters are notoriously math phobic — after all, if we weren’t we’d be rocket scientists — but Bass offers quick primers on spreadsheets, databases, mapping and stats. In short, it gives reporters enough confidence to attempt those computer-assisted reporting projects that are almost guaranteed to win them a Pulitzer Prize, or at least an Employee of the Month parking space in the always overflowing lot. So-called “experts” such as myself can learn much from the book if we accept the premise that attending a seminar or three doesn’t make us infallible. There is still much to learn, especially once we deflate our egos and accept that there is soooo much out there that we don’t even realize we don’t know. For us, Bass includes a chapter on listservs and newsgroups and a tutorial on Internet copyright, written by George Galt. For example: What protection does a copyright give? The answer is on page 147. The market for this book is vast and it can help even the Luddites in our midst. Joe Marren is an assistant professor at Buffalo State College. Contact him at marrenjj@buffalostate.edu. Or visit his Web site at www.joemarren.com.