RSS
for Journalists
Mark Gould
mark.j.gould@gmail.com
June 2009

What is RSS?
Stands for Real Simple Syndication or
Rich Site Summary.
Simple Web page with a file type
that can be subscribed to and read by a
newsreader.

Ways RSS is used

Getting started
Decide on an aggregator
Web-based applications
Desktop based
Browsers

Finding feeds
Locate RSS icon

Finding feeds
Some sites offer multiple feeds.
Click the feed and copy the URL
Paste the URL into your RSS reader

RSS uses
Filter local and national news sites by
topic.
Aggregate blogs with information on
topics that you cover. Find new sources.
Track search terms on Twitter to see what
people are saying related to your beat.
Find new sources.
Download niche-specific podcasts. Stay
informed.

More RSS tools
Yahoo Pipes takes RSS feeds from
multiple sites and allows you to filter by
term, date, etc.
Dapper creates RSS feeds from sites
that do not already have them.
Technorati ranks blogs by popularity.

Works cited
Graphic by Jason Rhode
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrhode/37567
1790/kr
Graphic by RSS Advisory Board
www.rssboard.org/images/rss-icon-
collection.gif