examinerAs soon as I published the article “What happened to Examiner.com?“, the comments, emails and phone calls began pouring in. Upset authors are wondering where their content went to and how they can get it back.

NOTE: If you are looking for a new place to put it please visit our page: Write for a news site like Examiner.com!

How do I get my articles back from Examiner.com?

People are asking: Where are my articles? Where did my content go? What if I do not have backup copies? I want my work back! I want to recover my work!

I personally made a backup of most of the entire site. At the moment I am not sure who owns all of this abandoned content. Maybe if it remains unclaimed I will begin reusing it. But I do not have a great place to put it all. Who knows, but I did make a mirror of around 500,000 pages of content. 🙂

The best option to recover your old content is via the Wayback Machine, aka the Web Archive: https://archive.org/web/. Simply visit the site and punch in Exmainer.com and you can browse the site. If you go this route, it could be very time consuming, especially if you have hundreds or even thousands of articles submitted.

Len
74 Comments
  1. I wrote for Examiner since almost the beginning — starting there in 2009. I have not been that active in the last couple of years, but I continued to visit and also get emails from them. I did NOT receive the email you have posted that explained that they are closing! I am really upset that I had no chance to get all my content. The content written by Examiners was indeed owned by the individual who wrote it.

    • Doh! Hey it looks like you’re local to me. Howdy neighbor. 🙂

      Email me a link to one of your previous articles and I’ll see what I can dig up.

      • I am basically in the same situation as the guy above. Can you possibly help me with the same thing in finding my articles?

        • Sure, just send me an email via the contact form on this website.

          Thanks

          • Hello,
            I’m basically in the same boat as the other two guys above. Can you please help me findustry my articles as well?

      • #metoo
        I wrote from 2011 to 2015 and had no idea they were shutting down.
        I published about 400, how can I get it all back?

    • I also did not get any email stating they were closing eXaminer.com either. I spent a lot of time on field trips with many children and published their stories online . Recently I thought about writing and I need to back up with reference on my previous articles from examiner.com, which I do not have .

      Please advise on how I can retrieve Hillsborough county public schools examiner articles ?

      Thank you

    • I wrote over 400 articles for Examiner.com starting in 2009 right up to when they shut down their server. I hate that my entire body of work is gone. I thought I had downloaded about 25 or so articles but when I try to open the files they’re just gibberish.

      Examiner.com was poorly run. The pay formula was a joke. Examiner kept changing the pay formula so people got paid less and less as time went on. There was zero editorial direction or control. Anybody could publish anything they want. Consequently many articles contained grammar and factual errors and some simply made no sense at all. Some authors used obscene language responding to readers who commented on their articles. I complained about that but no one did anything about it. It was a mess.

      My biggest regret is that if I wanted to write for another site I can’t post a link to show anyone my body of work.

  2. I need your help also, Len. I tried really hard and poured my heart out in the articles that I wrote for examiner and I did not even accept pay because I thought it would affect my disability benefits. I learn by seeing the previous articles that I wrote. I need them to grow as a writer. Please help me to get the 14 or so that I wrote back.

  3. Thank you, Len, for archiving some of these articles. I was able to print some of mine along with a list from 2011-2014. I appreciate your efforts.

    I should have listened to my dad and printed from the site each time I posted.

    Wishing you the best in your endeavors,

    Carol Hamilton
    Ex-Examiner
    http://www.examiner.com/christian-living-in-pittsburgh/carol-hamilton
    cmh@carolhamilton.us

  4. Hi,
    I am also trying to find my examiner articles. I was the Albany Biker Culture Examiner from 2000-2015. My name is Lisa Petrocelli. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

  5. Hi Len:
    I was the historic destinations examiner for Tucson, Arizona. I was an Examiner from January or February of 2010 until July 2016 when I went to submit an article and it was gone. I would love to get my content back. I was unaware of the closing until I went to publish. Obviously, by that point, I wasn’t publishing as much. My valuable lesson in this is to keep my content backed up! I wouldn’t have thought that they would hide the content but that seems to be what happened. Any assistance would be appreciated. I’ve tried going out to that site you suggested and don’t seem to be finding anything there. Thank you.

  6. Hi Len –

    Any chance I can get the content for my tenure as the SF Travel Examiner. In particular, I’d be interested in getting the articles on Audium and the Sutro Baths.

    Thanks,
    Ed

  7. Hey there. I was the Jackson Christian Living Examiner (Mississippi) and St. Petersburg Christian Living Examiner (Florida). Is there any way you can help me? I wrote over 200 articles and I was able to retrieve some but not all…
    My links are (or were):
    1). http://www.examiner.com/christian-living-in-st-petersburg/tiffany-buckner-kameni
    2). http://www.examiner.com/christian-living-in-jackson/tiffany-buckner-kameni

  8. I didn’t know that they closed down. Mine was The Examiner of Idaho and I did two articles about Green Pet Products. Any way you can help?

  9. Hi Len,
    I wrote a half a dozen articles for Examiner.com in the summer and fall of 2010 under the heading of “Tampa Bay Stock Market” and the sub-heading of “Hudson, FL”. Here is the link I had:
    http://www.examiner.com/stock-market-in-tampa-bay/marc-macys

    Of course any assistance in recovery will be greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful day!

  10. Hi,
    Thank you for backing up the examiner site. I don’t know if you would have my articles. I found them on Wayback Machine, and figured they would sty there. But now it is redirecting to axs.com. examiner.com/catholic-in-hartford
    Can you please help me?

  11. Hi there! I ran across this page in a desperate attempt to find my first published article. I swear this is the only one I don’t have backed up somehow. If you are still able to help find these archives I would be more than appreciative.

    http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-60073-Atlanta-Relationship-Communication-Examiner~y2010m7d22-What-to-do-when-he-ignores-you

    This is the link to the article.
    Thank you so much 🙂

  12. Hello, and thank you for your amazing service. I wrote three articles for examiner.com and am so disappointed to see that I have no proof or documentation that they exist. If at all possible, could you assist in seeing if they were captured by wayback? That would be amazing and so helpful. I was the Brooklyn gentrification examiner and I see the actual link to the pages from some old FB posts but of course they go straight to the axs site : ( Thank you much for any help or insight.

    http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-43789-Brooklyn-Gentrification-Examiner~y2010m4d11-Gentrification-the-word-and-what-it-means-in-Brooklyn

    http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-43789-Brooklyn-Gentrification-Examiner~y2010m4d9-Ghost-homes-in-Brooklyn-abound

    http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-43789-Brooklyn-Gentrification-Examiner~y2010m4d13-The-changing-face-of-Bushwick

  13. I want to thank Len so much for finding my author page from Examiner. He was able to find one of my complete articles, too. The author page shows headlines and the first paragraph or so of each article which is priceless to me as a visible record of my 50+ pieces. I was out of the country when Examiner decided to shut down and I’m so grateful for his help.

    He is a pro and I appreciate his taking the time to help many Examiners when it seemed no one else could.

  14. Hey, I’m really upset that the site went down without warning. I was wanting to redo this article, but can’t find an imprint of it on the Wayback Machine. Let me know if you have it:

    http://www.examiner.com/article/sex-the-christian-perspective

    Thanks!
    Justin

    • Unfortunately, this one is missing. 🙁

      • I too didn’t back up my content for all the artices I wrote for examiner.com. How are you going about retrieving the content for the articles?It makes no sense; from what I see this is theft on a grand scale; they stole the copyrights to thousands of articles that are protected under copy right laws. There needs to be a class action lawsuit to recover the stolen articles.

        • Do you have a link to one of the articles?

          I’m not sure what Examiner’s TOS stated.. That is a good point..

  15. Where are the articles I wrote that once were in the public domain? Articles that once were on google search are no longer there? Google stole the articles anyone wrote that once appeaered there when examiner.com was active. This is theft plain and simple. You cant save articles that cant be backed up and or retrieved because once they appear on Google; or any content search engine they become the sole owner of the person who wrote the article. If not this is slavery because all those articles use to get royalities; we will never get the royalties for the articles we wrote; whoever stole those examiner.com articles now can repackage them and present them as original content.

  16. Any article that once appeared on any content search engine like Google that is no longer there; was stolen. Google stole the articles people wrote for the Exminer.com that are no longer there. I wrote articles that appeared on Google and now they are no longer there? Where are they? Examiner.com didnt have to back up the articles; this is a red herring if they once appeared on Google they should still be there. Right?

    • Nope… The website is gone, so Google no longer has the site in their index. Google juts links to content on websites…

      • What Google did is illegal. Google is a criminal organization that steals intellectual copyright property that does not belong to them. What the Examiner and Google did is illegal. Period.

        • I agree! Several sites are now plagiarizing my work.

  17. Google is part of a crimnal cabal that took over our country a long time ago.

  18. If anyone has something to say to me; say it to my face like a man. Dont hide behind a computer screen cowards.

  19. Hi Len,

    I saved my favorite articles from Examiner.com on my laptop and backed them up onto my backup drive. However, someone sabotaged my laptop, and when the techs moved my files to another drive, they somehow missed those files. I tried to retrieve them from my backup, but all it saved were folders with the photos and other page elements, no articles.

    I’m trying to retrieve at least a couple of the articles. One was called something like “How to care for your wooden kitchen tools” and was written in January or February of 2016. The other was called “Must. Have. Chocolate,” and I don’t remember when it was written. If it helps, I was the raw food examiner for Dayton, OH.

    I do have one old link from a different article: http://www.examiner.com/article/carrot-cake-salad-1

  20. Len, I too was a contributor for examiner.com for around 4 years. I was the Los Angeles Hawaiian culture examiner as well as the Senior Health examiner. I don’t believe I have a link to any of my articles. I was not aware of the closing down of examiner.com, so I did not have a chance to download any of my content. If you could help, I sure would appreciate it, man.

  21. ATTN ALL FORMER EXAMINER.COM WRITERS: You may wanna Google the titles of the works you published on Examiner. I found several of my articles on sites like, Mode Nook, Zoom Dune and World News, without me being given any credit, making me look as if I am plagiarising them, when the articles were my original work. I am furious. How could Examiner let these sites reuse work without giving proper credit? Maybe this is why we didn’t get notified of Examiner’s discontinuation. I am looking into legal action. Please Google the titles of your works! Your works are being republished without you being given credit!!!! You are being plagiarised!!!!

    • Thanks for sharing this info, Kenya. What’s your email?

    • Your right Kenya! thanks for this tip! I found mine here with no credit given
      https://warptown.com/dwele-101/

      NOT COOL

    • Thanks for this tip, Kenya. I just found one of my articles on another website with no credit given to me. I emailed through the contact form letting them know they were using my content and that all I want to know is where did they find it as I’m trying to track down some missing articles. THEN, I went to http://www.archive.org and took the exact URL to my stolen article and entered it into Wayback Machine / Archive.org. It did a few seconds worth of thinking, informed me it had found the page and asked me if I wanted it saved. YES! So, even if that 3rd party website removes the article, it’s saved on Archive.org and shows their URL at the top but all my info at the bottom of the artice

  22. Hi Len,

    I’m trying to find the articles I wrote for Examiner.com. I covered classic rock in New York City. Here’s a link to one of my articles:

    http://web.archive.org/web/20160808161923/https://www.axs.com/the-avett-brothers-kick-up-some-dust-at-radio-city-music-hall-13600

    Can you help me locate some of them? I wrote about 100 articles.

    Thanks.

    • In this case you’re going to have to get the exact OLD URL and type it into Wayback Machine..

  23. Hi Len!
    I’m here to see the Wizard too!! I wrote for Examiner for 8 years and lost everything before I could add my latest into my portfolio. (EEK) I’d be super grateful if you can help me locate any of them.

    http://www.examiner.com/article/dwele-101
    http://www.examiner.com/article/interview-with-detroit-s-own-kem

    http://www.examiner.com/article/interview-with-monica-from-miss-thang-to-mrs-everything?no_cache=1450192189

    Thanks!

  24. Hi! I have been diving into archive.org. I’ve gotten a few hundred, but I wrote a few thousand at Examiner.com. One of my faves doesn’t seem to have been archived: http://www.examiner.com/restaurant-in-baltimore/the-premier-restaurant-of-the-balt-wash-area-world-inn-at-little-washington I’d love if you have my Inn at Little Washington articles, Patowmack Farms, Prime Rib, Ruth’s Chris, etc.

  25. http://www.examiner.com/martial-arts-in-national/

    The above url is where my articles were posted. My name is Nancy Robinson. Please send me the articles for my files and also please verify that they were not published elsewhere without my permission. Thank you.

    I look forward to your reply.

  26. Hi Len,
    I saw that you helped some people recover articles. I was wondering whether you might have this article in your archive. I appreciate you taking the time to help others find their missing articles. Any assistance you might provide would be deeply appreciated.

  27. Oops! Forgot the article name (doh). It’s http://www.examiner.com/article/erica-bailey-at-the-cincinnati-contemporary-arts-center. Thanks again.

  28. I’m trying to find the articles I wrote for Examiner (I think around 30 pieces). Here’s the link to one http://www.examiner.com/article/searching-for-spiritual-spaces…via@examinercom

    I don’t know what else to do.

    All the best,
    Randy

  29. Hello Len, I guess I’m the LAST person to find out about Examiner.com. Would you be able to assist me in locating the nine article I wrote for the site between November 2011 and July 2013?

    http://www.examiner.com/teen-parenting-in-chicago/patricia-mitchell

    I sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.

    Patricia

  30. Sorry, that should have been nine articles written between November 2011 and July 2012.

  31. Hi there. Can you possibly help me find my articles from examiner in 2010? I wrote 4 or 5 but mainly am interested in the Valentine’s day one.

    Thanks so much

    Cami Sheffield

  32. Hello,

    Would you be so kind to look for my article: http://www.examiner.com/jones-takes-it-to-the-nines/tulani-prince-brackett.

    Thank you in advance.

  33. Hi Ken,

    I have lost all of my articles I wrote for Examiner.com and am desperately trying to retrieve at least some of them. I had both a local and national column, both of which I’ve listed below.If I give you the titles and links can you help me? I’d be so grateful. I’m listing some links below. Thank you in advance.

    Lori HensheyReligious & Spiritual Mysteries Examiner

    http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-charleston

    I am particularly interested in a story I wrote about a guardian angel with the title “A Mother’s Day Miracle.”

  34. I’m trying to get a copy of my article from 10/9/2010 on examiner.com/st-louis, titled “Proposition C is about political pandering, not health care.”

    I would be eternally indebted for any help you could give.

  35. Hi Len –

    I am in the same boat as the folks up above. I wrote at least a dozen articles for the Examiner.com. I am working on getting some Freelance work, so I’m trying to find links to the articles that I wrote. I posted links on my Twitter account but I’m having trouble seeing the full link. Can you help?

  36. Hello I wrote for the examiner.com and I found some of the links on my computer
    My name is Michelle Jones and my number is (408) 830-4789 and my email is theskyereport3@gmail.com. I’d appreciate any help you can give to find the over 100 articles I wrote for the examiner.com.

  37. I’m hoping you can help. I had articles published like so many mentioned. I can’t remember dates or titles and am having a hard time using the search site. Any guidance? Kristin Hodnett, Stephenson VA

  38. I was the Jazz Music Examiner with Examiner.com from 2009 to 2014. I would like to know if I can archive some of my articles.

    Any help would greatly be appreciated.

    Oscar Brooks

  39. Thank you for preserving these articles. I also wrote for examiner.
    My column was the Detroit Paganism Examiner under the name of Mistress Belladonna and Kenya Davis.
    Is there any way you could help me get my articles back?

  40. Hi Len,

    My name is Clifford Bryan. I was the Michelle Obama Examiner. Please find what you can for me.

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