Platform
Organize news sources, filings, and references by topic
Clip quotes, file by beat, share one desk link — revisit when the story returns.
ReferLyst helps reporters, historians, and researchers organize sources in topic sections — primary documents, court filings, data, prior coverage, and expert contacts. Save with Add Ref or the bookmarklet, annotate every Ref, and share one unlisted link with your newsroom or history club. Collaborators add without accounts.
Live demo
See Rivera & Kim · housing investigation
Articles, filings, data, and expert contacts filed by topic — three desk members adding sources from one shared unlisted link.
Open live demo/miami-housing-investigation
The problem
Sound familiar? These are the pain points people search for before they find a better way.
- Browser bookmarks are a flat list with no quotes or beat structure
- Sources live in Slack threads nobody can search three months later
- No shared filing system for a desk working one investigation
- Read-it-later apps don't organize by story or topic section
What you get
Topic sections
Sources, Filings, Data, Background, Experts — or your own beat taxonomy.
Bookmarklet clip-to-note
Highlight a quote on the page; save the URL and excerpt together.
Notes on every Ref
Outlet, date, follow-up tasks, and why the source matters.
Unlisted research Lysts
Working files stay off Discover until you choose to publish.
Desk collaboration
Editors and researchers add Refs from one shared link — no signup.
How it works
- 1
Create a story Lyst
Name it after your beat, investigation, or running folder.
- 2
Add beat sections
Match how your desk files — filings separate from background coverage.
- 3
Clip as you report
Paste URLs or bookmarklet-save with quotes and notes.
- 4
Share internally
Pin the unlisted link in your newsroom channel.
Built for
People also search for
Common questions and keywords — if you typed these into Google, you're in the right place.
- news source organizer software
- tool for journalists to organize sources
- research link organizer newsroom
Frequently asked questions
- Can the whole desk add sources?
- Yes. Turn on contributions — anyone with the link adds Refs without a ReferLyst account.
- Can I clip quotes from articles?
- Yes. Highlight text, use the bookmarklet — the URL and quote pre-fill your note.
- Will sources appear in public search?
- Unlisted Lysts stay private to people with the link.
Related solutions
See also: Use case — Organize news sources
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