Online habit.(routine checking of the Internet can lead to big results in news stories)

Internet searches aren't just for special stories; routine checking can lead to big results

No time? No money? They're not excuses. A quick, free Internet visit, even on deadline, can produce enterprise stories and enhance routine ones, speakers stressed at the National Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference.

The four-day conference in Boston drew more than 400 television and print journalists from the United States and abroad. They were told that computer assistance is not an option but a reporting necessity, that spreadsheets are as basic reporting tools as faxes and cell phones, that every reporter can and must mine the Web for information.

As more and more private and governmental agencies get Web sites, even the most computer-phobic reporter will find printed material harder to …