How to Use The Capital Source Online

About The Capital Source Online

The Capital Source is a directory of more than 7,000 key contacts in government, media and politics. It is an indispensable reference The Washington Post calls "the ultimate Washington Rolodex."

The Capital Source online will give you access to an expanded database of constantly updated records that can be searched by a variety of criteria (including name, title, location, and field). Our online records include certain key Hill staff not included in the print edition, and our mailing list functionality includes all Hill staff.

How to Use The Capital Source Online

There are four basic ways to collect records from The Capital Source online:

Browse and Search are accessible directly from the main Capital Source landing page on Nationaljournal.com. Mailing lists are accessible from within the actual database as link on the right-hand side.

From the database landing page, you can either search for contacts by specific terms or browse our directory. You can always return to this landing page by clicking the "Search or Browse" link at the top of the right-hand navigation.

BROWSE

Browsing allows you to view Capital Source entries in context. Users can quickly scan categories in order to see how listings relate to each other, such as seeing all entries within an Office or Company.

Listings are organized under five main Sections: Government (Executive and Judicial branches, and local government), Congress, Corporate, Media, and Useful Numbers (restaurants, hotels, medical services, etc). These Sections each have Sub-sections within them.

  • To browse The Capital Source records, click on one of the Sections listed on the left-hand side of the database landing page.
  • Clicking a Section will prompt Sub-sections to appear. Clicking on the Sub-section will pull up listings within that Sub-section. For example, clicking the Congress Section will open a drop-down list of the Congress Sub-sections, such as U.S. Senate and U.S. House.
  • Clicking the U.S. House Sub-section will refine the listing even further to list the Member Offices of Representatives. Clicking a listing will open the listing in a new window (this window will be referred to as an entry)
  • Entries for Offices, Organizations, Companies, or Agencies, will have a list of Key People. Each of these names is a hyperlink to that individual’s entry. Clicking a name will open his or her entry in a new window.
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SEARCH
  • To search the Capital Source records, enter the search criteria in the fields on the right side of the landing frame and click search at the bottom of the page.
  • After a moment, search results will be displayed in a hierarchical fashion from the section headings of Government, Congress, Corporate, Media, and Useful Numbers.
  • Your search terms will be highlighted. In Search mode, you can access listings for specific individuals directly, without going through their office or employer. Underlined entries are hyperlinks; clicking them will open the entry in a new window.
  • Clicking on Wayne Williams, for example, will open a separate window with his entry.
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USING ENTRIES

When using entries:

  • Certain organizations, offices, corporations, etc will have a list of key people at the bottom of their office or organizational entry. These entries are hyperlinked to the individual’s entry. Below, President George Bush and the other listings below him are Key People in the Executive Office of the President. Each underlined name would open that person’s entry in a separate window.
  • Certain entries will also have additional resources listed on the right hand-side; these are links to additional National Journal Group resources, such as the Policy Council or the Almanac of American Politics. Resources are not available for all entries, and are listed only when applicable. Below is an example of both. Almanac entries are accessible only to subscribers of the Almanac of American Politics.
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  • All entries can also be downloaded into your e-mail contacts list via vCard. Click the "Download vCard" under the e-mail information for the entry and follow the instructions on your screen to download that contact’s information.

PURCHASING A MAILING LIST

For pulling highly refined listings, customized to your needs—such as all Republican Chiefs of Staff from the Senate or all Legislative Assistants who cover agriculture—that are up to date, it is advisable to purchase a mailing list. The cost for downloading a mailing list is .25 cents per record. To access the mailing list functionality, click the first link on the right-hand side of the Capital Source database landing page, then follow these simple steps:

  • Step 1: Choose the database of listings you want to pull from by clicking either The Capital Source database or the extended Capital Source database, which includes full listings of all Hill Staff
  • Step 2: Next, you will have to select the Sections and/or Sub-sections from the Capital Source that you want to include. Clicking the box next to a Section will automatically select all Sub-sections within that Section. For a more limited selection, or to refine your choices, click "View Sections" to the right of the Section headers for a drop down of sub-sections. Select the sub-sections you wish to exclude in your mailing list.
  • You can also directly view Sub-sections by clicking "View Sections" without clicking a Section. This way, you can select certain Sub-sections you want to include, rather than de-selecting Sub-sections from the automatic selection.
  • Clicking the box next to the section headers automatically selects all sub-sections within that category, whether sub-sections are hidden or viewed.
  • In order to see how many listings you have selected, look at the "Current Count" in the upper right hand corner above the buttons on the page. This is a current count of how many contacts are included within the criteria defined by your selections. It will automatically update whenever you revise your selection criteria.
  • Once you are ready to further refine your selection or to purchase a list, click the "Proceed" button on the upper right hand corner of the window. You can also click "Back" to move back a step if you feel that you made a mistake or want to start over.
  • Step 3: Here you can further refine your search by applying optional filters to your selection. Filters vary by subsection (e.g. filtering out Congressional contacts associated with one political party is possible; filtering out Corporate contacts by party affiliation is not). To skip applying filters, you can immediately click "Proceed" in the upper right hand corner to proceed to the purchase page.
  • If you do want to apply filters, you can see below you can see an example of how filters can apply to your selections. You will see your sections broken out by sub-section, with a listing of applicable filters next to the sub-sections. Clicking the desired filters (or in some cases filling out the key words) will refine your search further. For example, below you can check specific staff positions or party affiliation to refine your search.
  • When you have selected the desired filters, click "Update" in the upper right hand corner. In the upper right-hand corner you will see the number of contacts updated as you choose filters. You can also see the breakdown of sections.
  • When finished, click "Proceed." At this point, you are ready to purchase your mailing list.
  • Step 4: Put in the payment information and click "Purchase".  You will receive an e-mail confirmation of your purchase.
  • Step 5: The download of your mailing list will start automatically.
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