Thursday, July 31, 2008

Who's left uncovering the news? Staff cutbacks by one corporate news conglomerate after another are creating a legion of "self-unemployed" journalists... Dennie Williams, long ago a colleague of mine at The Hartford Courant, points out the difference between covering breaking news on a staff paycheck and uncovering harder-to-break news with fewer reporters, fewer editors, and nobody answering the phone after 4 p.m. See his Editor & Publisher column on the plight of freelance journalists: An Investigative Reporter's Plea. "As an investigative reporter for over four decades for The Hartford Courant, I always thought the toughest of all tasks was getting answers from politicians, corporate heads and all varieties of scofflaws. Since November 2005, I have been an active freelance writer. After hundreds of emails to newspapers and news Internet sites soliciting investigative reporting ideas and stories, I now believe that today the news media is a tougher nut to crack than any investigative target. Why?" On a related note, Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, recently made a pitch for "can-do" optimism about alternative funding for investigative work in this PBS MediaShift interview by Mark Glaser, Digging Deeper: "I actually think it's one of the most exciting times in the history of journlism even though it sometimes feels like there's a piano coming down on our heads... I'm a doer, not a bemoaner, and I'm tired of bemoaning, I want to create." (more) What's a "doer" to do? Lewis is launching an Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University. Also see the "recent work" section of his home page, including Nieman Reports and Columbia Journalism Review articles on non-profit sources of funding journalism projects. In fact, while you're at the Nieman Reports site, check out the rest of that issue, particularly these two sections... Nonprofit approach: Seeking New Ways to Nurture the Capacity to Report By Charles Lewis Selling the Iraq War: Unearthing False Advertising By Charles Lewis Universities and Investigative Journalism By Charles Lewis New Sources of Funding, New Sources of Reporting By Gilbert Cranberg Going Online With Watchdog Journalism By Paul E. Steiger Watchdog Reporting: Exploring Its Myth By Florence Graves Understanding the Value of Investigative Reporting By Bill Buzenberg When a Few Dollars Make a Big Difference By John Hyde Fund for Investigative Journalism: Practices and Policies By John Hyde Seeking Support for Investigative Projects Compiled by Rachel Schaff Transparency Increases Credibility By Mark Schapiro Good Journalism Can Be Good Business By Daniel Brogan Digital transformation: Digital Journalism: Will It Work for Investigative Journalism? By Barry Sussman Revealing the Disinformation Industry By Barry Sussman Reporting With the Tools of Social Science By Stephen K. Doig Building a Toolbox for Precision Journalism By Stephen K. Doig Reporting Is Only Part of the Investigative Story By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele When Video Is King By Stuart Watson Are Reporters Doomed? By David Leigh All of a sudden, I think I've got a good start on the reading list for my Specialized Reporting class for this fall! 11:56:52 AM

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