https://github.com/jamditis/claude-skills-journalism
Claude Code skills for journalism, media, and academia - verification, FOIA, data journalism, academic writing, and more
https://github.com/jamditis/claude-skills-journalism
Last synced: 4 months ago
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Claude Code skills for journalism, media, and academia - verification, FOIA, data journalism, academic writing, and more
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/jamditis/claude-skills-journalism
- Owner: jamditis
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-12-25T23:04:14.000Z (7 months ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2026-01-29T21:31:26.000Z (6 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-30T09:52:43.909Z (6 months ago)
- Language: JavaScript
- Homepage: https://jamditis.github.io/claude-skills-journalism/
- Size: 313 KB
- Stars: 10
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 1
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: newsletter-publishing/SKILL.md
- License: LICENSE
- Security: security-checklist/SKILL.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-academic-skills - claude-skills-journalism - by [Joe Amditis](https://github.com/jamditis) · `MIT` · `net` `hooks`.<br>A journalism pack whose academic core is its research-toolkit: legal paywall-bypass via Unpaywall, web archiving, change-monitoring. (Suites, Systems & Meta / Discipline-Specific Packs)
- awesome-skills-zh - **jamditis/claude-skills-journalism** - skills-journalism) | 面向新闻、媒体与学术的 Skills：事实核查、FOIA 信息公开、数据新闻、学术写作等。 | (📦 开源 Skills 库 (Open Source Skills) / 架构演进：代码优先 (Code-First))
- awesome-claude-skills - jamditis/claude-skills-journalism
README
# Claude skills for journalism, media, and academia
A curated collection of Claude Code skills designed for journalists, researchers, academics, media professionals, and communications practitioners.
**Docs site:** [jamditis.github.io/claude-skills-journalism](https://jamditis.github.io/claude-skills-journalism/) — interactive skill browser, setup guides, and full documentation.
## Guides
Setup and workflow guides, separate from the skills themselves:
| Guide | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [Persistent sessions](https://jamditis.github.io/claude-skills-journalism/persistent-sessions/) | Keep Claude Code sessions alive through disconnects using tmux — setup, key bindings, activity notifications, and scheduler coexistence |
## What are Claude skills?
Skills are modular instruction sets that extend Claude's capabilities for specialized tasks. Each skill contains domain-specific knowledge, workflows, templates, and best practices that Claude loads automatically when relevant to your work.
## Installation
**Prerequisite:** You need [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview) installed. Run `claude --version` in your terminal to check.
### Plugins (recommended)
Plugins give you slash commands you can run directly inside Claude Code. Run these two commands in your terminal:
```
claude plugin marketplace add https://github.com/jamditis/claude-skills-journalism
claude plugin install pdf-playground@claude-skills-journalism
```
Then restart Claude Code (close and reopen). See the [PDF Playground README](./pdf-playground/) for detailed setup instructions and troubleshooting.
**Available plugins:**
| Plugin | Description | Commands |
|--------|-------------|----------|
| [pdf-playground](./pdf-playground/) | Create branded proposals, reports, one-pagers, newsletters, slides, and event materials with an interactive control panel for live design editing (colors, fonts, spacing, sections) and a guided wizard for proposals | `/pdf-playground:proposal`, `/pdf-playground:report`, `/pdf-playground:onepager`, `/pdf-playground:newsletter`, `/pdf-playground:slides`, `/pdf-playground:event`, `/pdf-playground:preview` |
### Skills (manual installation)
Skills load automatically when relevant to your work. To install them, clone this repo into your Claude skills directory:
```
git clone https://github.com/jamditis/claude-skills-journalism.git ~/.claude/skills/journalism-skills
```
Or copy individual skills:
```
cp -r source-verification ~/.claude/skills/
```
### For Claude.ai users
Skills can be added via the Claude.ai interface under Settings > Skills.
## Skills overview
### Core journalism skills
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [source-verification](./source-verification/) | SIFT method, digital verification, reverse image search, social media account analysis, building verification trails |
| [foia-requests](./foia-requests/) | Public records request drafting, tracking systems, appeals process, state-specific guidance |
| [data-journalism](./data-journalism/) | Data acquisition, cleaning, analysis, visualization, and storytelling for newsrooms |
| [newsroom-style](./newsroom-style/) | AP Style enforcement, attribution rules, headline formatting, number conventions |
| [interview-prep](./interview-prep/) | Pre-interview research, question frameworks, recording consent, attribution guidelines |
| [interview-transcription](./interview-transcription/) | Recording workflows, transcription, quote management, source databases |
| [story-pitch](./story-pitch/) | Pitch templates for daily news, features, investigations, op-eds, and freelance queries |
| [fact-check-workflow](./fact-check-workflow/) | Claim extraction, evidence gathering, rating scales, correction protocols |
| [editorial-workflow](./editorial-workflow/) | Story assignment tracking, deadline management, editorial calendars, handoff protocols |
| [crisis-communications](./crisis-communications/) | Breaking news protocol, rapid verification, crisis response, misinformation countering |
| [social-media-intelligence](./social-media-intelligence/) | Social monitoring, narrative tracking, account analysis, coordination detection, OSINT |
### Communications and publishing
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [newsletter-publishing](./newsletter-publishing/) | Email newsletter creation, subscriber management, deliverability, A/B testing |
### Design and production
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [pdf-design](./pdf-design/) | Professional PDF reports and proposals with brand system, budget tables, and multi-page layouts. For the full interactive experience, use [pdf-playground](./pdf-playground/) instead |
| [visual-explainer](./visual-explainer/) | Turn complex data into styled HTML pages — architecture diagrams, data tables, flowcharts, timelines, source maps, and dashboards with dark/light theme support |
### Writing quality
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [ai-writing-detox](./ai-writing-detox/) | Eliminate AI-generated patterns that erode reader trust. Banned words, phrases, and structures with alternatives |
### Project documentation
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [project-memory](./project-memory/) | Generate CLAUDE.md files that capture project-specific knowledge. Includes templates for editorial tools, events, publications, research, pipelines, and archives |
| [project-retrospective](./project-retrospective/) | Generate LESSONS.md files that document what worked and what didn't. Templates for investigations, events, publications, and tools |
| [template-selector](./template-selector/) | Decision tree for choosing the right project documentation template |
### Academic and research
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [academic-writing](./academic-writing/) | Research design, literature reviews, IMRaD structure, peer review responses, grant proposals |
| [digital-archive](./digital-archive/) | Building archives with AI enrichment, entity extraction, knowledge graphs |
| [web-archiving](./web-archiving/) | Wayback Machine, Archive.today, legal evidence preservation, multi-archive redundancy |
| [content-access](./content-access/) | Unpaywall, CORE, Semantic Scholar APIs, library databases, ethical access patterns |
| [page-monitoring](./page-monitoring/) | Change detection, RSS generation, webhook alerts, automatic archiving on changes |
### Development (for building tools)
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [test-first-bugs](./test-first-bugs/) | Test-driven bug fixing: write failing test first, then fix with subagents |
| [vibe-coding](./vibe-coding/) | AI-assisted software development methodology based on YC best practices |
| [electron-dev](./electron-dev/) | Electron + React desktop application development patterns |
| [python-pipeline](./python-pipeline/) | Data processing pipelines with modular architecture |
| [web-scraping](./web-scraping/) | Content extraction with anti-bot handling and poison pill detection |
| [zero-build-frontend](./zero-build-frontend/) | Static web apps without build tools, CDN-loaded frameworks |
| [mobile-debugging](./mobile-debugging/) | Eruda, vConsole, remote debugging, iOS debugging, console capture |
| [accessibility-compliance](./accessibility-compliance/) | WCAG compliance, alt text, accessible charts, keyboard navigation |
| [web-ui-best-practices](./web-ui-best-practices/) | Signs of taste in web UI — 100ms interactions, skeleton loading, minimal color, command palette, honest cancellation, optical alignment |
| [one-way-door](./one-way-door/) | Flag irreversible architectural decisions (data models, infra, auth, APIs) before committing |
### Security (ship without getting sued)
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [security-checklist](./security-checklist/) | Pre-deployment security audit covering auth, input validation, secrets, and compliance |
| [secure-auth](./secure-auth/) | Production-ready authentication patterns (sessions, JWTs, OAuth, MFA) |
| [api-hardening](./api-hardening/) | Rate limiting, input validation, CORS, API key management |
### AI and creative tools
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [nano-banana-image-gen](./nano-banana-image-gen/) | Gemini image generation model selection (NB1/NB2/Pro), visual grounding, cost optimization, prompt recipes |
| [animated-sprite-gen](./animated-sprite-gen/) | Anchor-frame workflow for consistent AI-generated sprite sheets, strip normalization, pose handling |
### Reference
| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| [free-apis-catalog](./free-apis-catalog/) | 1000+ free public APIs by category (finance, news, weather, sports, ML, entertainment) with evaluation criteria and project ideas |
## Hooks
Hooks are automated checks that run at specific points in your workflow. All hooks are **non-blocking warnings**—they provide guidance but don't prevent actions.
### Writing quality hooks
| Hook | Event | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [ap-style-check](./hooks/ap-style-check.md) | PostToolUse | Flag common AP Style violations |
| [ai-slop-detector](./hooks/ai-slop-detector.md) | PostToolUse | Warn about AI-generated patterns |
| [accessibility-check](./hooks/accessibility-check.md) | PostToolUse | Check alt text, heading structure, link text |
### Verification hooks
| Hook | Event | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [source-attribution-check](./hooks/source-attribution-check.md) | PostToolUse | Flag unattributed quotes and claims |
| [verification-reminder](./hooks/verification-reminder.md) | PostToolUse | Prompt to verify facts before including |
| [data-methodology-check](./hooks/data-methodology-check.md) | PostToolUse | Ensure data stories include methodology |
### Editorial workflow hooks
| Hook | Event | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [source-diversity-check](./hooks/source-diversity-check.md) | PostToolUse | Note when sources may lack diversity |
| [legal-review-flag](./hooks/legal-review-flag.md) | PostToolUse | Flag potentially defamatory content |
| [pre-publish-checklist](./hooks/pre-publish-checklist.md) | Stop | Reminder checklist before completing tasks |
| [deadline-tracker](./hooks/deadline-tracker.md) | SessionStart | Surface upcoming deadlines |
### Preservation hooks
| Hook | Event | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [archive-reminder](./hooks/archive-reminder.md) | PostToolUse | Remind to archive URLs when citing sources |
### Development hooks
| Hook | Event | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [one-way-door-check](./hooks/one-way-door-check.md) | PreToolUse | Block creation of files representing irreversible architectural decisions |
| [bug-report-detector](./hooks/bug-report-detector.md) | UserPromptSubmit | Detect bug reports and remind to follow test-first workflow |
| [enforce-test-first](./hooks/enforce-test-first.md) | PreToolUse | Block source code edits until a test file has been written |
## Skill structure
Each skill follows the Claude Agent Skills standard:
```
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md # Main instructions (required)
├── examples/ # Example inputs/outputs (optional)
├── templates/ # Reusable templates (optional)
└── scripts/ # Helper scripts (optional)
```
### SKILL.md format
```yaml
---
name: skill-name
description: When to use this skill and what it does
---
# Skill title
Instructions and knowledge for Claude to use.
```
## Usage examples
### Source verification
When you ask Claude to verify a claim or check a source:
```
"Can you help me verify this viral tweet claiming [X]?"
"What steps should I take to verify this document?"
"Help me check if this image is authentic"
```
### Interview preparation
When preparing for interviews:
```
"Help me prepare questions for interviewing the mayor about the budget"
"What background research should I do before this interview?"
"Create a question framework for an investigative interview"
```
### Story pitching
When developing story ideas:
```
"Help me pitch this feature story idea"
"Draft a query letter for this freelance investigation"
"What's the angle for this daily news story?"
```
### Fact-checking
When verifying claims:
```
"Walk me through fact-checking this politician's statement"
"Help me document the evidence for this claim"
"What rating should this fact-check receive?"
```
### Project documentation
When setting up or closing projects:
```
"Generate a CLAUDE.md for this investigation project"
"Write a retrospective for the conference website we just finished"
"Which template should I use for this newsletter project?"
```
### Social media intelligence
When investigating online narratives:
```
"Help me analyze this account for authenticity"
"Track how this claim is spreading across platforms"
"Check for signs of coordinated behavior"
```
### Web archiving and monitoring
When preserving or tracking content:
```
"Archive this page to multiple services for redundancy"
"Set up monitoring for changes to this government page"
"Find academic papers related to this topic"
```
## Contributing
Contributions welcome! Please:
1. Fork the repository
2. Create a skill following the structure above
3. Include practical examples and templates
4. Submit a pull request
### Skill guidelines
- Focus on journalism, media, communications, or academic use cases
- Include actionable workflows, not just information
- Provide templates where applicable
- Cite sources for verification methods and standards
- Test with Claude Code before submitting
## Target audiences
- **Investigative journalists** - source verification, FOIA, data analysis
- **Newsroom developers** - scraping, data pipelines, visualization tools
- **Academic researchers** - writing, methodology, peer review
- **Graduate students** - thesis writing, literature reviews, proposals
- **Communications professionals** - content strategy, research methods
- **Fact-checkers** - verification workflows, evidence documentation
- **Digital archivists** - preservation, metadata, knowledge graphs
- **Editors** - workflow management, style enforcement, quality control
## Related resources
- [Anthropic official skills](https://github.com/anthropics/skills)
- [Claude Code documentation](https://docs.anthropic.com/claude-code)
- [Agent Skills Standard](http://agentskills.io)
- [NICAR (Investigative Reporters & Editors)](https://www.ire.org/nicar/)
- [First Draft News](https://firstdraftnews.org/)
- [Verification Handbook](https://verificationhandbook.com/)
- [AP Stylebook](https://www.apstylebook.com/)
- [Bellingcat OSINT guides](https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/)
## License
MIT License - See [LICENSE](./LICENSE) for details.
## Author
Joe Amditis ([@jamditis](https://github.com/jamditis))
---
*Built with Claude Code*