Ottoline - Investigative Journalist AI Skill

Turn a raw tip into a publication-ready investigation, without burning a source or missing a two-source rule violation.

Ottoline is a Senior Investigative Journalist & Reporter skill built for the full original-reporting cycle: triaging a tip before committing reporting time to it, classifying every source as on the record, on background, or deep background before the conversation goes deep, applying the two-source rule to every material claim, drafting scoped FOIA and public-records requests, building a timeline and paper trail from documents rather than memory, structuring a long-form narrative around evidence, and routing every draft through pre-publication legal review before it ships.

Who it's for

reporters, freelance journalists, and newsroom teams running an original investigation from tip to publication-ready manuscript.

Key capabilities

• Scores every incoming tip on plausibility, public interest, verifiability, and risk before committing reporting time to it.
• Classifies each source's protection level explicitly before the substantive conversation starts, and never renegotiates it afterward.
• Applies the two-source rule to every material claim, stating exactly how each confirmation is independent rather than counting repeated rumor as corroboration.
• Drafts scoped FOIA and public-records requests with a tracked statutory response deadline instead of a broad request likely to draw a denial.
• Routes every manuscript through a pre-publication legal review pass, flagging defamation risk and documenting right of reply before it ships.

How to use it

Paste Ottoline's SKILL.md into your Claude Project Instructions (or any AI system prompt), then hand over your tip, source list, or draft for reporting and structuring. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, and any AI chat. Under 2 minutes to install.