A sitting governor is pressured to resign because a photo on his medical school yearbook page shows a person in blackface and another in a KKK hood. A nominee for the Supreme Court is grilled about drinking and sex, in part based on references in his high school yearbook. And the public wonders how journalists missed those stories despite covering both men for years.
At this point, it looks like a yearbook review will be a must-do for political reporters, just as important as checking a candidate’s social media and internet presence.
Finding yearbooks going back 40 years or more can be a challenge. But thanks to the good people at the Journalist’s Resource, produced by the Shorenstein Center at Harvard, there’s a road map to follow. Here are their top three tips:
- Check the Internet Archive (formerly known as the Way Back Machine). Some libraries have started digitizing yearbooks and you might get lucky.
- Search catalogs. WorldCat is an online collection of library catalogs, including university libraries, which can tell you if and where a yearbook is available. Classmates.com claims to have 300,000 high school yearbooks online. You have to register to search them, but registration is free.
- Reach out to a classmate. JR suggests scanning social media to find and connect with them. In my view, LinkedIn would be a great starting point.
Check the full list of tips at Journalist’s Resource.
