News Gems

Watergate's Legacy is on its way

2010-12-30T06:31:00.003-06:00

After a long gestation, my book Watergate's Legacy and the Press: The Investigative Impulse will be arriving in bookstores on January 30.

The book explores the ups and downs of investigative reporting before, during and after the scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign the presidency. It shows how Watergate changed journalism and what lies ahead for investigative reporting in the digital age.

You can order it directly from the Northwestern University Press or from Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and other favorite booksellers.

It's already won some rave reviews:

“Jon Marshall has written a very readable, deeply researched and wisely analyzed assessment of American investigative reporting before and after Watergate. Based on my decades of practicing, editing, writing about and now teaching accountability journalism, I believe this book should be the benchmark authority for all future examinations of the subject. I know I will be going back to it again and again.”

Leonard Downie Jr., vice president at large and former executive editor of The Washington Post and Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

“This is a remarkably complete and coherent account of the seminal role that investigative journalism has played in American history.”

Daniel Schorr, National Public Radio

“Jon Marshall captures the power of investigative reporting to keep our democracy strong, just and honest – and, in unflinching terms, the consequences when it’s done wrong or not at all. This is an inspired and inspiring survey of the craft’s past to present that gives me hope for its future.”

Deborah Nelson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author of The War Behind Me,
past president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, and director of the Carnegie Seminar at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland

I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

News Gems Has Retired

2006-08-04T08:15:00.002-05:00

News Gems has retired, at least temporarily, while I work on other projects, including my book Watergate's Legacy and the Press: The Investigative Impulse.

Thank you all for the support you have given News Gems over the years.

Jon

An Unfriendly Truth

2006-08-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

I confess that I've never turned to ESPN before for high-powered investigative reporting, but "An Un-American Tragedy" by Mike Fish has converted me. Fish raises troubling questions about the friendly fire death of Army ranger and former NFL safety Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, how the Army acted afterward and whether his death was used for political purposes. To report this story, ESPN.com reviewed Army documents and interviewed some of Tillman's relatives, his fellow Rangers, Army officials and medical and military experts. In addition to Fish's sharply written story, the Web package includes an interactive map of the Afghan valley where Tillman died, profiles of the other Rangers shot that day, a timeline, great photos and links to transcripts of the investigation. My gratitude to the Poynter Institute's Al Tompkins for pointing out this excellent story.

Red Ink

2006-08-01T17:44:00.000-05:00

The Boston Globe is concluding its terrific and terrifying "Debtor's Hell" series today. Reporters Michael Rezendes, Beth Healy, Francie Latour and Heather Allen along with photographer Michele McDonald show how millions of Americans are suffering at the hands of debt collectors, the courts and law enforcement agents. According to the Globe team, "almost unnoticed by policy-makers, many millions of Americans have slid, or been pushed, into a debtor's hell where bank accounts are drained, wages are attached, property confiscated, and threats of jail are an everyday occurrence." The stories do a strong job of explaining how the system works against consumers. The writers offer powerful examples such as the woman whose car was swiped by debt collectors even though her debts had been erased. Walter V. Robinson edited the series.

For another strong series on the same problem, check out the "Merchants of Debt" by The Buffalo News business reporter Fred O. Williams, which was spotted by News Gems reader Brian Summers. Williams gives numerous examples of the system's abuses, including one man who was threatened by three different collection agencies at once for the same $14,000 credit card bill.

Forward and Reverse Evolution

2006-07-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

Gina Kolata, ace health writer for The New York Times, has a fascinating story on Sunday's front page that reports how people in the industrialized world today are bigger, healthier and smarter than our ancestors a century ago. In "So Big and Healthy Nowadays, Grandpa Wouldn't Know You," Kolata synthesizes the latest studies to explain "what may be one of the most striking shifts in human existence -- a change from small, relatively weak and sickly people to humans who are so big and robust that their ancestors seem almost unrecognizable." Using wonderful examples from real families, she makes the maze of scientific data easily understandable and interesting to science-challenged readers like me.

For another well-written and important science story, check out "A Primeval Tide of Toxins" by Kenneth R. Weiss in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. Weiss vividly describes how pollution is altering the chemistry of the oceans, allowing primitive "slime" to spread and threatening more advanced forms of ocean life such as marine mammals, fish and coral. As a result, he writes, the oceans are experiencing a kind of evolution in reverse. This story is the start of what promises to be an exciting "Altered Oceans" series by Weiss, writer Usha Lee McFarling and photographer Rick Loomis.

30 Years Later

2006-07-30T16:49:00.000-05:00

"The Big Thompson Flood" in the Loveland, Colo., Daily Reporter-Herald recounts the devastating legacy of a 1976 flood north of Denver. Reporter Kate Martin evocatively describes in Saturday's first installment how a wall of water 19 feet high swept through the Big Thompson Canyon, killing at least 139 people and wiping out homes, businesses and an entire highway. On Sunday Alicia Beard tells how the community pulled together to rebuild the canyon. Monday's last chapter by Pamela Dickman looks to the future and whether the community is adequately prepared for another flood. The Web package also includes original coverage from 1976. This is an impressive effort by a small paper to serve its readers with thorough coverage of an event that forever changed their community.

Eye on Washington

2006-07-27T17:07:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post has been doing some great investigative work lately. Last week in "HHS Secretary's Fund Gave Little to Charity," staff writer Jonathan Weisman revealed that Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and his family have taken more than $1 million in tax write-offs since 2000 by creating a foundation that loans more money to business interests connected to Leavitt than it gives to charity.

Two days earlier Gilbert M. Gaul, Sarah Cohen and Dan Morgan shined in "Aid to Ranchers Was Diverted for Big Profits." They reported that taxpayers have shelled out at least $400 million in an emergency powdered milk program intended for drought-stricken ranchers that instead has created millions of dollars in profits and sent milk to states with no drought, Mexico and other countries.

And "It Looked Weird and Felt Wrong" by Thomas E. Ricks in Monday's Post took a hard look at the Army's 4th Infantry Division, whose tough tactics in Iraq may have backfired by alienating large parts of the population.

A Sailor's Story

2006-07-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been running a powerful narrative this week by Mark Johnson. "An American Hero's Fall From Grace" tells the story of Mark Samples, who in 1987 helped save the lives of 180 shipmates on the USS Stark and earned a bronze medal. Johnson describes how Samples unraveled emotionally after coming home and ended up robbing a credit union 14 years later. Johnson's eye for detail and lively writing fueled by strong verbs makes this story a page turner.

Keep Rockin'

2006-07-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

Legendary critic Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times offers a fun and fascinating retrospective of his 37 years covering the pop music scene in Saturday's "Backstage Pass." Hilburn gives us the lowdown on his encounters with stars such as John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Bono and Elvis. I appreciate that he also praises the songs of younger stars such as Kanye West and Jack White of the White Stripes. Hilburn is a master at using snippets of dialogue to capture people's personalities, as he does during this description of a scene with Michael Jackson:

"Popcorn was ordered from his personal chef, then he pulled a video from one of the huge trunks he took on tour. Slipping it into the VCR, he settled on a couch and said, 'Let's watch cartoons.' Jackson was 26."

Bee Season

2006-07-24T21:20:00.000-05:00

News Gems readers have pointed me to a couple of outstanding series in the Sacramento Bee. "A Mother's Journey" by reporter Cynthia Hubert and photographer Renée C. Byer follows single mom Cyndie French as she struggles to care for her son Derek after he is diagnosed with cancer. Hubert's rich details and crisp sentences make her writing compelling, and Byer's photos grabbed my heart. I'm impressed with the trust they must have earned in order to spend so much time with French and her family during their medical and personal odyssey. Dan Nguyen of the Bee deserves credit for letting me know about his colleagues' great work.

The Bee launched another remarkable series in November describing the plight of migrant workers, known as pineros, who toil under a U.S. government program that takes care of our forests. "The Pineros: Men of the Pines" by reporter Tom Knudson and photographer Hector Amezcua exposes these guest workers' dangerous jobs, miserable conditions and low pay. To learn about the pineros, Amezcua and Knudson read 5,000 pages of records obtained using the Freedom of Information Act and conducted more than 150 interviews across the U.S., Mexico and Guatemala. The interactive Web package includes photos by Amezcua, snapshots of guest workers who have died on the job, video interviews with pineros, and links to documents that reveal government indifference to working conditions.

This series has already won a bunch of awards, and the Bee continues to update it as legislation dealing with the forestry program moves through Congress. Thanks to loyal friend Alysia Tate, publisher of The Chicago Reporter, for suggesting this series to me.

Human Cargo

2006-07-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

Dennis Wagner of The Arizona Republic had a strong story Sunday on how the Phoenix area has become the hub of a $2 billion-a-year human smuggling network. "Human Trafficking's Profits Spur Horrors" details how thousands of illegal immigrants are brutally kept hostage in Phoenix drophouses until their families pay ransom. Wagner's story does a terrific job explaining why this vast human smuggling network has developed and describing its impact on people. Wagner's package includes a nifty sidebar, "Lady in Charge," which profiles Julieta Franco-Beltran, the woman at the center of one of the smuggling rings. I like how Wagner uses Franco-Beltran's tale to reveal how human smuggling operations work on a daily basis.

For another compelling look at human trafficking, check out "Sold in the U.S.A." by Kimbriell Kelly of the Chicago Reporter. Kelly shares the story of Ricardo Veisaga, who was tricked by an employment agency into working as a near slave at a Chinese restaurant in Indiana. Kelly reveals that the victims of human trafficking are not just those smuggled from abroad but often are people such as Veisaga, who already live in our cities and towns.

Exploring China

2006-07-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

Two recent stories helped me understand the rapid changes and growing tensions China is experiencing. "Bridging Two Worlds" by Alwyn Scott of the Seattle Times tells us about Susie Cheng, a young woman who is part of the largest and fastest migration in human history -- the journey of an estimated 150 million young Chinese from rural areas to cities in the past 15 years. Scott does a nice job of showing us the impoverished hamlet of mud huts where Cheng grew up compared with the cosmopolitan city where she now works for a Seattle-based company.

"China's One-Child Problem" by Mark Magnier of the Los Angeles Times explores the controversy surrounding China's one-child campaign. Magnier movingly tells the stories of people who are challenging the Chinese government's autocratic approach. I admire Scott and Magnier for their ability to reveal the lives of ordinary Chinese citizens.

Cargo Crashes

2006-07-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Cargo planes in the United States have a fatal crash nearly once a month, a rate higher than the government officially admits, the Miami Herald reported after a nine-month investigation. "Deadly Express" by reporter Ronnie Greene, photographer Candace Barbot, audio editor Rhonda Sibilia and online producer Stephanie Rosenblatt describes an industry where pilots work long hours, corners are cut and government oversight is loose. To produce this excellent package, the Herald team pored through National Transportation Safety Board data, filed FOIA requests to examine FAA files, reviewed industry memos and interviewed people around the country. Thanks to Al Tompkins for the recommendation.

Sweet Home Alabama

2006-07-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

When NBA star Ben Wallace signed with the Chicago Bulls, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune traveled to Wallace's tiny hometown of White Hall, Ala., to find out more about him. The resulting "Big Ben's Humble Beginnings" is a beautiful portrait of an ambitious young man, the devoted matriarch who encouraged him and an impoverished town that can't decide whether to worship or resent its most famous son. Johnson's writing is full of great descriptions of White Hall and its people.

Booze Escape

2006-07-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

Too many local teens are getting off easy after being caught drinking and driving, Lisa Hammersly Munn and Ted Mellnik of The Charlotte Observer discovered. Their "Mecklenburg Judges Giving Breaks for Underage Drinking" reveals a system that lets Mecklenburg County judges give young offenders what's called "a prayer for judgment continued," or PJC for short, allowing them to escape losing their driver's licenses and higher insurance premiums in return for education and treatment. These PJCs are only supposed to go to drivers with virtually clean records, but Munn and Mellnik revealed that 45 percent of those getting PJCs had prior arrests or convictions. This is a great example of court reporting that looks for patterns behind the daily rush of cases.
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/14846336.htm

Becoming an American

2006-07-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

Cindy Lange-Kubick of the Lincoln Journal Star has written a compelling story about Brissa Placek, an 18-year-old girl from Acapulco whose adoptive family struggles to keep her in Nebraska. "A Home for Brissa" unfolds like a novel as Lange-Kubick's simple sentences follow the Placek family's frustrating efforts to climb through the tangled web of immigration laws. Photographer Jill Peitzmeier's pictures help capture the Placeks' daily drama. Thank you Brian Summers for the tip.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Return of the Taliban

2006-07-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

Jim Sciutto of ABC's "World News Tonight" is doing important reporting from the mountains, valleys and fields of Afghanistan. His "The 'Other' War" series of reports describes how the Taliban are returning better armed and organized than when they were driven from power five years ago. Sciutto travels with U.S. troops as they combat the revitalized Taliban, who are borrowing tactics such as roadside bombs and suicide attacks from the Iraqi insurgents. In one of his reports, Sciutto explores the increasing growth of opium in the Afghan countryside. Kudos to Sciutto and his crew for reminding us about this continuing war that much of the media have been ignoring.

Cop Capers

2006-07-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

For nearly a year, Lewis Kamb, Eric Nalder and Paul Shukovsky of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer have been investigating misconduct in the King County Sheriff's Office. "Conduct Unbecoming" uses payroll, pension and other public records to expose how deputies convicted of misconduct still receive taxpayer money and how citizens who make misconduct accusations get charged instead of thanked. Lamb, Nalder and Shukovsky use example after example of how the sheriff's office doesn't police itself. In one story, "Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Keeping Bad Cops on the Job," Kamb tells about a cop convicted of murder who gets a $3,100 tax-free pension check while serving life in prison and the deputy who doubled his salary after being accused of beating his girlfriend.
Thank you Brian Summers for the tip.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/conductunbecoming/

Tow to Nowhere

2006-07-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

Patrick Lakamp of The Buffalo News used public records to reveal that Buffalo residents are being charged towing fees even when their cars aren't towed. For his "Towing-Fee Abuse" special report Sunday, Lakamp did a computer analysis of more than 38,000 parking tickets to discover that a police officer was assessing $40 towing charges on 80 percent of the parking tickets he wrote for illegally parked cars. Lakamp then went out in the neighborhoods to learn that none of these 242 ticketed cars was actually towed, although many drivers paid the fines because they didn't want the hassle of appealing them or didn't realize they could. "Towing-Fee Abuse" is already getting results. In today's follow-up story, Lakamp and Brian Meyer report that the Erie County district attorney and Buffalo police are launching investigations into the phantom towing.
buffalonews.com/editorial/20060709/1054007.asp

Dry Times

2006-07-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

I admire columnists like Mike Littwin of the Rocky Mountain News who leave their desks far behind in search of stories. Littwin's "For Dry Cowpunchers, a Standing Eight Count" is a searing look at the drought that has struck southeastern Colorado. Littwin's taut, rhythmical sentences describe a desperate place and the anxious ranchers who are watching a way of life disappear. His quotes pack a wallop as well. The accompanying video by Sonya Doctorian and photos by Todd Heisler help convey the ranchers' rough times.

Descent into Darkness

2006-07-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

I saw two impressive stories today about different aspects of mental illness. "On Dec. 5, 2004, I Killed my Daughter" is a first-person account by Valeria Godines of The Orange County Register describing her descent into the torment of a bipolar disorder. Her story is chilling and brave and beautifully written. Here is how Godines describes what her mental illness felt like:
"What happened to me was like turbulent weather inside my head. Black became three shades darker; red became blood. I could smell flowers in the next room. I felt primal fear, cornered, as if something ominous were after me."
The package with Godines' story includes a sidebar with important facts about mental illness and advice on how to get help.

In "Uncovered," Encarnacion Pyle of The Columbus Dispatch dissects how health insurance in Ohio and some other states usually pays less for severe mental illness than it does for other diseases. Pyle uses powerful anecdotes mixed with strong analysis to show how families struggle as a result of this disparity.

Park Pressure

2006-07-07T13:40:00.000-05:00

I missed the impressive "Development Inches Toward National Parks" by Frank Bass of the Associated Press when it first came out in June but saw it highlighted this week on the Investigative Reporters and Editors Web site. Bass shows how nearby population growth, security concerns, soaring popularity, environmental changes and new construction are putting tremendous pressure on U.S. national parks. Bass weaves together hard data, analysis, interviews and vivid descriptions to describe how vulnerable our beloved parks have become. His lead uses strong verbs to set the scene:
"The ice-covered mountaintops are shrouded by fog. A stream gushes against the rocks on a headlong rush to the lake. High above the deserted visitors' parking lot, an elk stares at a lone hiker."

The Big Vote

2006-07-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

While Mexico's elections grabbed the headlines, Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times ventured to Goma in the usually ignored country of Congo to cover the most expensive election in African history. Her "Congo Nears Historic Election, Praying for Peace" vividly portrays what the ballot means to a war-ravaged country that last held free elections in 1965 and has only 300 miles of paved roads. I'm impressed with how Polgreen uses verbs to show us a place few of us will ever visit. For example, she describes a reverend's drawing of Congo's history this way:

"In the picture, vultures ferry diamonds, gold and cobalt out of Congo and carry machine guns and tanks in. Greedy bureaucrats gobble stacks of tax dollars, and soldiers clobber civilians."

Photographer Lynsey Addario's beautiful slide show gives us a close-up view of what the election means to Congo's people.

Making the Grade

2006-07-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

During this past school year, Laurel Rosenhall of The Sacramento Bee tracked the impact of the California High School Exit Exam on students and teachers. The last story in that series, "Put to the Test," looks at what happened at Hiram Johnson High School, a Sacramento school that has struggled to meet the demands of the new testing regimen. I like how Rosenhall shows the benefits and pitfalls of the high-stakes test through the lives of students as they approach graduation night.

For another bittersweet look at graduation, check out "Adam's Way" by Mary Rogers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Rogers profiles Adam Murray, a teen who refuses to give up on his troubled mother.

Transplant Troubles

2006-07-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

I'm glad the Los Angeles Times is continuing its investigations into the nation's medical transplant system. "20% of U.S. Transplant Centers Are Found to Be Substandard" by Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein reveals that 48 out of 236 federally funded heart, lung and liver transplant programs keep operating despite failing to meet minimum standards or not performing enough operations to ensure competency. According to the analysis by Weber and Ornstein, 71 more people died between 2002 and 2004 because of the failings.

On a lighter note, "The Coin of This Realm Is Gargantuan" by Richard C. Paddock of the Times tells us about the unusual currency on the island of Yap. The tale may sound like something out of Dr. Seuss, but Paddock does a nice job of putting the story in the context of a people bravely trying to hold on to their culture.

Backtrack

2006-06-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

On May 12 I lauded USA Today for a story saying that the National Security Administration has worked with the leading phone companies to compile records of millions of domestic phone calls. Today USA Today ran "A Note to our Readers" saying that it can no longer confirm that
BellSouth and Verizon provided those records. I expect this saga still has a few more chapters, but it's important to acknowledge that I may have been too quick to praise the initial story.
www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060630/wherenote.art.htm

Can Cheaters Prosper?

2006-06-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer has done a great job investigating what really goes on with standardized testing in the schools. In "Education Tests: Who's Minding the Scores?" Kellie Patrick and Larry Eichel take a local cheating scandal and give it national perspective. They reveal that only about half the states responding to an Inquirer survey actually statistically analyze standardized test results to make sure there is no organized cheating. Patrick and Eichel give us examples of cheating scandals around the country and explain how the No Child Left Behind Act doesn't require states to take a more active role to catch testing shenanigans.
My thanks to loyal reader Brian Summers for the tip.

Bank Battles

2006-06-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

Dan Fitzpatrick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers a wonderful example of explanatory business reporting with this week's "BankTown USA" series. Fitzpatrick shows how Charlotte, N.C., passed by Pittsburgh to become the second city of U.S. banking. I like how Fitzpatrick describes the people, laws and business strategies that helped Charlotte rise and how he dissects the consequences for Pittsburgh. I don't usually find stories about banking easy to understand or fun to read, but Fitzpatrick's writing kept me engaged.
www.post-gazette.com/pg/06176/701039-28.stm

Toxic Trap

2006-06-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

Some strong stories are appearing this week in alternative newspapers.

"Containment Policy" by Gilbert Garcia of the San Antonio Current looks at a low-income neighborhood that is struggling with the toxic legacy of a shuttered Air Force base. Garcia does a nice job of humanizing this story while thoroughly investigating the scientific and policy issues.

"Still On the Waterfront" by Tom Robbins in The Village Voice details the long battle to rid New Jersey's docks of mob influence. The story is full of intriguing history and great descriptions like this one:
Today, Hanley could still pass for one of the hardworking grunts Kazan recruited off the docks as extras for the movie. He is a hefty six-footer with a broad, weather-ravaged face that has spent years looking into the sun and whipped by 45-mile-per-hour winds out on the uncovered piers.

Finally, "Rough Love" by Joanne Green of the Miami New Times exposes disturbing allegations against Tranquility Bay, a Jamaican boarding school for troubled teens that appears to be anything but tranquil. Green does a good job of putting the controversy about Tranquility Bay in the context of the more than 1,000 so-called "tough-love" programs for teens operated by U.S. businesses.

Lone Star Justice

2006-06-27T12:36:00.000-05:00

Maurice Possley and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune continue their groundbreaking investigations into the death penalty with a three-part series that ended today. "Did One Man Die for Another's Crime?" looks at the 1983 murder of gas station clerk Wanda Lopez and concludes that the state of Texas may have killed the wrong man for the crime. Carlos De Luna was executed by lethal injection after being convicted of the murder even though another man, Carlos Hernandez, bragged about the killing. Mills and Possley use court transcripts and dozens of interviews with those connected with the crime and trial to cast significant doubt on the verdict.

For contrast, today's Tribune also boasts a sweet profile of James Culver, the last farmer in the Chicago area to work his fields using draft horses. "A Life's Labor Firmly Rooted in Soil" by Jason George is a nice look at a vanishing way of life. I like how George puts Culver's story in the greater context of the region's growth.

Get the Lead Out

2006-06-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

Sharon Coolidge of The Cincinnati Enquirer tells us in Sunday's paper that in the last five years 570 Cincinnati children have suffered from lead poisoning while city government does little to make landlords clean up their act. "Lead's Dangerous Legacy" reveals that less than 1 percent of the hundreds of property owners who have ignored city orders to remove lead paint are taken to court. The result is that hundreds of children are being poisoned by lead, which can stunt their intellectual and physical growth, Coolidge writes. The excellent package also includes Coolidge's profile of a family who can't afford to escape its lead-filled home and Glenn Hartong's photos of children who have been poisoned by lead.

Baghdad Encounter

2006-06-24T16:25:00.000-05:00

Reporters Jacki Lyden and John McChesney and producer Emily Ochsenschlager had a brilliant story Friday on NPR's All Things Considered. "Anatomy of a Shooting: A Civilian's Death in Iraq" tells the story of Yasser Salihee, an Iraqi doctor who also translated for NPR and reported for Knight-Ridder newspapers. As he drove through the streets of Baghdad one morning last June, Salihee was shot by Army Sgt. Joe Romero of Lafayette, La. McChesney and Lyden deconstruct the shooting, telling what happened from the viewpoints of Romero's and of Salihee's family. Through the story of this one incident, Lyden and McChesney reveal the frustration and confusion of U.S. troops and the fear and anger of ordinary Iraqis. The Web package includes a link to the official Army report of the shooting, a map of the neighborhood, photos of Salihee and his wife and of his bullet-riddled car, and competing diagrams made by the Army and by Salihee's family.
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5506353

The Rapist Next Door

2006-06-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

The Kansas City Star continues its rich investigative tradition with "Predators in Hiding" by Tony Rizzo and Laura Bauer. The Star team went door-to-door to find out if registered sex offenders were living where they were registered. The two-part series discloses that about 30 percent of sex offenders in the Kansas City area were not living where they were supposed to be. Rizzo and Bauer report that the most dangerous of the sex criminals are the ones most likely to move away from where they are registered. The series reveals a registry system that is ill-equipped to keep track of these offenders and gives frightening examples of the consequences. Thanks to loyal reader Brian Summers for the tip.

Over the Border

2006-06-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

As the U.S. House prepares to debate immigration, it's worth looking at two excellent enterprise stories that shed light on the human side of the issue. "Migrating From Farm Hand to Orchard Owner" by Miguel Bustillo of the Los Angeles Times profiles Evaristo Silva, a former illegal immigrant who owns an apple orchard on the outskirts of Yakima, Wash. Now a U.S. citizen, Silva supports ending illegal immigration. I like how Bustillo's well-crafted story personalizes the complex issues swirling through the immigration debate.

Earlier this month, "Border Holds Perils for Kids" by Kevin G. Hall of Knight-Ridder Newspapers looked at how changes in U.S. policy affect the most vulnerable of migrants. Hall reports that stricter border enforcement means that fewer adult immigrants risk returning home to see their children and instead pay for their kids to be smuggled across the border to join them. As a result, more children are being caught by border patrol agents. Hall describes the scene after 12-year-old and 9-year-old cousins are caught:
"I want my mother," Jorge answered to every question from a reporter at a Mexican office that repatriates children apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. Shellshocked Vicente simply answered, "No se," Spanish for "I don't know," to everything he was asked.
Hall successfully weaves these personal examples into a broader story that takes a hard look at this trend.

Women in White Coats

2006-06-20T11:38:00.000-05:00

Seven Days, a weekly paper in northern Vermont, is featuring an interesting trend story by Mary Hegarty Nowlan that looks at how the growing number of female doctors are altering health care in the U.S. "Medicine Women" describes how about half of all medical school students are now women and the ripple effect this change is having on how doctors practice. Nowlan cites research saying that female doctors are boosting the number of family and general practitioners, are more likely to spend time communicating with patients and are less likely to be sued. I like how Nowlan clearly and thoroughly examines the national trend while also showing its impact on her Vermont readers.
sevendaysvt.com/features/2006/medicine-women.html

Security-Industrial Complex

2006-06-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

Dwight Eisenhower warned us 45 years ago about the dangers of the military-industrial complex. In "Homeland Security Inc.," Eric Lipton of The New York Times shows just how prescient Ike was. The two-part series reports that at least 90 former officials hired after the 2001 terrorist attacks to work in the Department of Homeland Security or the White House Office of Homeland Security now work for companies that sell security products. In Sunday's first part, Lipton describes how these former government workers help their firms win lucrative contracts to sell their wares to the agencies they once helped direct. In today's second part, Lipton shows how many of these former government officials testify before Congress or appear in the media as think tank and academic experts while keeping close financial ties to security companies. Both stories are filled with strong examples.

Dad Discovery

2006-06-18T03:42:00.000-05:00

For Father's Day, Dallas Morning News photographer Louis DeLuca gives us a different look at becoming a dad. Through photos and audio, DeLuca tells his own story of rediscovering the joys of fatherhood after meeting Fu Yang, a Chinese boy flown to a Dallas hospital to correct a congenital facial deformity. Assigned to take pictures of Fu Yang, DeLuca found himself entranced by the bubbly boy. That night DeLuca and his wife, who already had three older children, decided to adopt Fu Yang. DeLuca's pictures in "Becoming Fu Yang's Dad" tell the rest of the story.

Bang for the Buck

2006-06-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

How efficient is your local government? The Kansas City Star tries to answer that question with one of the most helpful uses of data crunching that I've seen. "Our Tax Dollars at Work: Who's Doing the Best Job?" by Michael Mansur and Rick Montgomery analyzes which towns in the Kansas City metro area offer the most in services in proportion to the tax money they receive. Mansur and Montgomery use the data to show which towns are most efficient at fighting crime, putting out fires, fixing streets, picking up garbage and providing other municipal services. In addition to giving us an interesting and fun way to use data, the series is crisply and clearly written. Thanks to the folks at Investigative Reporters and Editors for recommending this story.
www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/14741455.htm

Behind the Kitchen Door

2006-06-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Despite its financial turmoil, I'm still seeing some exciting journalism coming out of the Tribune Co. newspapers. In today's Los Angeles Times, John M. Glionna has a fascinating story about the immigrants who toil in the nation's 41,350 Chinese restaurants. "A Wok with Jesus" profiles Esther Lou, an evangelist minister for these 1 million "stir-fry cooks, dumpling-makers and dishwashers" who often labor 12 hours a day every day of the week in difficult conditions. The story contains an interesting mix of reporting on religious, immigration and labor issues.

In case you missed it last week, the Times ran an explosive series, "Juice vs. Justice," that investigates the close financial ties between some Nevada judges and the lawyers and defendants who come before them in the courtroom. The stories by Michael J. Goodman and William C. Rempel are chock full of details such as the judge who repeatedly ruled in favor of a casino whose stock he owned and lawyers holding a big fundraiser for a judge who was about to hear some of their cases.

Not to be out done by its West Coast sister, the Chicago Tribune has revealed over the past month how 22 vacant lots owned by churches, a school and a homeless shelter were fraudulently sold without their consent. Until the Tribune started reporting on the fraud, the owners didn't even know their lots had been sold. Today the Tribune's Robert Becker and Ray Gibson reported how the alleged mastermind of the scheme has been arrested and charged with theft and organizing an ongoing financial crime.

Sunken Money

2006-06-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tracking how money in a government budget is actually spent is tough enough to do. Tracking how that money is spent when it's not even listed as a line item in the budget takes a Herculean reporting effort. That's what John Monk of The State in Columbia, South Carolina, accomplishes with his story "How Senator Steers Sub Under Radar." Monk traces how a powerful state senator, Glenn McConnell, has managed behind the scenes to get $97 million committed toward preserving and promoting the Hunley, an old Confederate submarine, without much in the way of public debate. I admire the tenacious digging Monk did to piece together how taxpayer dollars (in addition to some private money) is going toward a project that doesn't necessarily have broad public support. Thanks to Brian Summers for suggesting this story.
www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/14577313.htm

Behind Locked Doors

2006-06-12T20:56:00.000-05:00

The last two days the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has run a terrific series on extensive neglect and abuse against some of our most vulnerable citizens. "Broken Promises, Broken Lives" by Carolyn Tuft and Joe Mahr documents how mentally ill and retarded people have suffered 21 deaths and 665 injuries since 2000 in government supervised centers in Missouri. I like how Tuft and Mahr don't pull any punches with their lead in Sunday's paper: "Mentally retarded and mentally ill people in Missouri have been sexually assaulted, beaten, injured and left to die by abusive and neglectful caregivers in a system that for years has failed at every level to safeguard them." They go on to give example after example of the kind of mistreatment that has led, they say, to 2,287 confirmed abuse and neglect cases. Today's chapter in the series details how prosecutors and police often don't pursue investigations of these crimes. This second chapter is also full of powerful examples.

China Syndromes

2006-06-11T21:30:00.000-05:00

I saw a couple of strong stories on the environment in the Sunday papers. In "Aging Nuclear Plants Pushed to the Limit," Mike Hughlett and Robert Manor of the Chicago Tribune look at the implications of the nuclear industry's drive "to run reactors harder, longer and faster than ever before." What impressed me most are the specific examples Hughlett and Manor give from aging nuclear power plants such as vibrations causing gaping cracks and steel fragments ending up stuck in steam pipes. With the federal government looking to nuclear power as a possible fix for the energy crisis, this is indeed an important story.

Equally important is "Pollution From Chinese Coal Casts a Global Shadow" by Keith Bradsher and David Barboza of The New York Times. Bradsher and Barboza describe how Chinese coal-burning power plants are exporting "a dangerous brew of soot, toxic chemicals and climate-changing gases." Chinese coal pollution has traveled as far as California, Oregon and Washington, they report. Unless a change is made, in 25 years global-warming gases from China's coal use will exceed those of the rest of the industrialized world combined, Bradsher and Barboza warn, causing a potential environmental catastrophe. This story has a wealth of detail and analysis and is clearly written considering the complexity of the subject.

Globe Trotters

2006-06-08T13:25:00.000-05:00

I can't resist recognizing the work of some of our own Medill News Service graduate students who worked with the Center For Public Integrity and American Public Media to produce "Power Trips: Congress Hits the Road." The main story, "Congress Travels the World, Private Sponsors Foot the Bill," by Chris Kirkham and Freeman Klopott details how corporate and nonprofit groups have spent nearly $50 million between Jan. 1, 2000, and June 30 of last year to send congressmen and their staffs on 23,000 trips throughout the world. To create the package of more than two dozen stories, reporters from Medill, the Center for Public Integrity and American Public Media created a database using Senate and House records. Most of the major U.S. media have since followed up on the story, but the Medill students and their colleagues had it first. www.medillnewsdc.com/power_trips/

Back to New Orleans

2006-06-07T21:20:00.000-05:00

I'm glad some journalists are still reporting hard about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Pete Souza, for example, presented a great photo essay in Sunday's Chicago Tribune showing what has happened to New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. His images of cars washed up under houses, a smashed electric piano, and twisted street signs and telephone lines underscore how devastated much of the city remains. One of Souza's photos shows graffiti on the side of a house that simply says "Baghdad," reminding us that the Lower 9th still resembles a war zone.
These photos took about a minute to load on to my screen, but they're worth the wait.

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer has also continued to do an outstanding job covering Katrina. One of my favorites is "Poets on Hurricane Katrina," reported by Jeffrey Brown, which shows us a weekly poetry night in the French Quarter where verse gives shape to the anger and grief unleashed by the storm.

Pain Killer

2006-06-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

A spark of curiosity while looking through rows of numbers in a vital statistics report led to a great series by Scott Finn and Tara Tuckwiller running this week in The Charleston Gazette. After more than six months of digging through data and talking with medical examiners, epidemiologists and other experts, Finn and Tuckwiller found that methadone poisoning deaths around the country have more than tripled in recent years. The culprit, they concluded, was improper warnings when methadone is prescribed as a painkiller. Even when patients take the usual adult dosage approved by the FDA, they often die, Finn and Tuckwiller report. This is a well-written, well-researched story that shows what can happen when reporters follow the numbers.
www.wvgazette.com/section/Series/The+Killer+Cure

Car Trouble

2006-06-05T18:34:00.000-05:00

I'm seeing the level of investigative reporting on the business beat moving up a few notches in the post-Enron journalism world. A case in point is "A Look at the Books" by Jennifer Dixon in Sunday's Detroit Free Press. Dixon used SEC records and court papers to show how General Motors used improper accounting practices to inflate its income in four of the last six years, giving investors an inaccurate view of its true financial health. Dixon does a nice job of talking to outside experts to put GM's actions in perspective. She and her Free Press editors deserve credit for not being afraid to challenge the big boy in town.
freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606040599

Air Sickness

2006-06-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

I like how Saturday is the big day for Canadian newspapers. That way we can find great investigative scoops on both weekend days if we're willing to do a little border hopping. The Hamilton Spectator make that cross-border journey worthwhile today with "Dangerous Skies," an investigation into airline safety. Reporters Fred Vallance-Jones, Robert Cribb and Tamsin Mcmahon write that planes in Canada got dangerously close to each other more than 800 times between 2001 and 2005, or about once every other day. Vallance-Jones, Cribb and Mcmahon look in great detail at the conditions that are putting planes within seconds of crashing. The Spectator team, along with the Toronto Star and The Record of Waterloo Region, worked for four years to uncover the data that made this important story possible. Thanks to my colleague Mary Nesbitt for pointing it out to me.

Profiles in Courageous Reporting

2006-06-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

The deaths of CBS cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan and the injuries to correspondent Kimberly Dozier remind us once again how much we owe the journalists who are brave enough to continue reporting from Iraq. I continue to be astounded by the quality of the reporting that's being done in the face of terrible odds. An example is "A Town Awoke to Slaughter" by Megan K. Stack and Raheem Salman in Thursday's Los Angeles Times. Stack, Salman and an Iraqi reporter whose name the Times is protecting for security reasons share first-hand accounts of what happened in Haditha, where survivors say Marines, enraged by the death of one of their own, gunned down women, children and a man in a wheelchair. I admire the Times reporters for not relying on leaks from the official investigation but instead getting information from Haditha itself.

Last month the Times carried another gem from Iraq, this time by Bruce Wallace. "In Iraq, Soccer Field Is No Longer a Refuge" describes what happens when violence strikes one place ordinary Iraqis had felt safe. Wallace does a nice job of showing how sports had survived as maybe the only part of Iraqi society immune from sectarian bloodshed.

California Crooks

2006-05-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

A couple of crime stories from the Golden State have impressed me recently. In "Risking a Life Term to Protect a Child," Sean Webby of the San Jose Mercury News tells the story of Matthew Ryan Hahn, a convicted burglar who stole a safe only to find inside evidence of a much more horrible crime. Webby describes Hahn's agonizing decision of whether to turn the evidence over to police and risk getting caught himself, or to keep quiet and preserve his own freedom. Webby's taut writing -- notice his potent action verbs -- make this a compelling read.

A bit further north, Phillip Reese of the Sacramento Bee uses mapping and data base software combined with old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting to identify the Sacramento neighborhoods where crime is rising the fastest. I like how "Watchdog Report: Bearing the Brunt of Violent Crime" humanizes what could have been a dry statistical story by using specific examples from residents' lives.

Horse Sense

2006-05-30T21:22:00.000-05:00

How do you mend a broken-down horse? Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer shows us with "The Man Whose Job Is Saving Barbaro." Jensen profiles Dean Richardson, a renowned veterinarian who got the call to perform life-saving surgery on Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who broke three bones during the Preakness Stakes. Jensen mixes high drama with intriguing information about what it takes to save a horse. My favorite part of the story is how Jensen portrays Richardson's humility and humor, as shown by this quote about the early-morning flight he took back to Philadelphia to perform the surgery:
"I got the back-row seat, next to the toilet," Richardson said. "If you want a real news story, [the flight] was on time."

Troop Tributes

2006-05-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

On Memorial Day I want to highlight some stories that do an especially thoughtful and sensitive job of saluting our troops and showing the pain and grief they suffer.

Last month Jim Sheeler of the Rocky Mountain News wrote an inspiring profile of David Rozelle, who lost his right foot to a land mine on the border between Iraq and Kuwait. Sheeler's "Amputee in it for Long Run" describes how Rozelle runs marathons, even with a prosthetic leg. Sheeler is a master at capturing vivid details:
"His hat is stitched with the name of the Army running team he created - a team composed mostly of amputees:
'Missing (Parts) In Action,' the hat reads.
Alongside is the team's motto: 'Some Assembly Required.'"

In "Iconic Marine Is at Home but Not at Ease," David Zucchino of the Los Angeles Times profiles Blake Miller, who became a Marine Corps icon when a photographer shot a picture of him with a Marlboro in his mouth after an all-night firefight. A year later, Blake is back in his Kentucky home, fighting the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder. Zucchino does an excellent job of using quotes to let his sources tell the story in their own words. Check out this passage where Zucchino describes how Blake's wife reacted when she first saw the photo:
When Jessica saw the photo on the front page of the local paper, she had not heard from Blake in a week."I was glad to know he was alive, but I couldn't stop crying," she said. "The scared look on his face, his eyes — it tore me up."

And in "Tears, Tributes, and a Simple Memorial," Jenna Russell and Deborah Turcotte of The Boston Globe describe the work of the Maine Troop Greeters, a volunteer group that has welcomed more than 300,000 troops to the Bangor, Maine, airport as they travel to and from Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to welcoming the military personnel with cookies and hugs, the Maine Troop Greeters keep a plastic binder that lists all the American troops who have died in these wars. Russell and Turcotte show how this simple binder, now filled with more than 300 pages, 10 names to a page, has become a memorial for the returning troops, a way for them to check to see if their friends and loved ones have survived their tours of duty.

Beslan

2006-05-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

C.J. Chivers offers a stirring narrative in June's Esquire of what really happened when Chechen rebels seized 1,100 hostages, most of them children, in the Russian town of Beslan two Septembers ago. Chivers, who originally covered the terrorist attack for the New York Times, recreates the drama in "The School" through the eyes of some of the hostages. His skilled reporting reveals the kind of vivid details that make us feel like we're really there. The result is narrative writing at its best. You can read the first section of Chivers' story on the Esquire Web site, but you'll have to go to your local library or newsstand to read the whole thing.
Happy Memorial Day everyone. And thanks again to B.J. Summers for his help.

Ted and Bobby

2006-05-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

"In life, if you're lucky, you come across one or two great friends," sports writer Kalani Simpson of the Honolulu Star Bulletin writes. The two friends he tells about in his "Sidelines" column are baseball Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr. It's a story that's been shared before, most notably by David Halberstam in his book "The Teammates." But Simpson describes it exceptionally well through his use of simple, vivid words and rhythmical sentences.
starbulletin.com/2006/05/14/sports/simpson.html

Windy City Mob

2006-05-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Sun-Times is running a remarkable three-part series this week about the mob's ties to Chicago City Hall. Reporters Tim Novak, Robert C. Herguth, Art Golab and Steve Warmbir report that dozens of descendants of Bruno Roti Sr., who they describe as being close to Al Capone, have gained lucrative city contracts and hold many city jobs, including alderman. According to the Sun-Times reporters, many of these relatives have been involved in programs noted for bribery, theft and other scandals. This is a good example of highly detailed investigative reporting colorfully told.
www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-familyhistory22.html

Her Own Story

2006-05-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I noted the stories being written by San Francisco Chronicle copy editor Alicia Parlette, who discovered last year that she had a cancerous tumor spreading from her right hip. Through many difficult times she has continued writing "Alicia's Story," and it's worth reading if you haven't already (she's turning the first seven chapters into a book). Notice how Parlette compresses her most moving material into short, powerful sentences.
Our prayers are with you Alicia -- please keep writing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/special/pages/2006/alicia/chapter17/page1.DTL

Sisters

2006-05-22T13:14:00.000-05:00

The Minneapolis Star Tribune and reporter Maura Lerner have done a masterful job of following the fate of Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, the once-conjoined twins from Fargo who are recovering from separation surgery. This is a great example of how to use online multi-media resources to best tell a story. In addition to Lerner's beautiful three-part narrative of the girls' path to surgery, the STrib's Web site includes regular updates, a slideshow by photographer Joey McLeister accompanied by the voices of the girls' parents, information on where people can send donations, and links to Web sites about the girls created by their parents and by the Mayo Clinic, where the surgery was done. An audio interview of Lerner on how she reported the story is especially interesting. Thanks to faithful reader Brian Summers for the suggestion.
www.startribune.com/girls

Following the Money

2006-05-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

In the wake of the Randy Cunningham and Jack Abramoff scandals, the New York Times and Washington Post continued to dig deep last week into congressional sleaze. Eric Lipton of the Times shows how the Department of Homeland Security has failed to create a tamperproof ID card for transportation workers while Rep. Harold Rogers has forced money earmarked for the card to firms in his Kentucky district. Lipton's "In Kentucky Hills, a Homeland Security Bonanza" reveals that one of these groups has taken Rogers on six trips to Hawaii, and another one employs his son.
In "West Virginia Democrat is Scrutinized," the Post's Jeffrey H. Birnbaum describes how Rep. Alan B. Mollohan grew rich as he helped funnel millions of dollars to nonprofit groups he had close dealings with in his impoverished West Virginia district. Thanks to Lipton and Birnbaum for investigating how our tax dollars are really spent.

When You're 64

2006-05-18T21:29:00.000-05:00

The path to the golden years of retirement looks bumpy, according to a PBS Frontline special that aired last night. "Can You Afford to Retire?" by Hedrick Smith explores how middle-class Americans face increasing threats to their pensions from corporate bankruptcies. Using United Airlines' bankruptcy as an example, Smith shows how workers who once thought they had secured their financial futures are now finding their pensions stripped away through the intricacies of bankruptcy law. In addition to the documentary, the Frontline package includes useful answers to frequently asked questions and profiles of retirees who saw their nest eggs disappear.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/

Love Story

2006-05-17T17:20:00.000-05:00

Lionel Kelly is black and Beatriz Chacon is Latina. But like the plot of a real-world "West Side Story," the two 14-year-olds fall in love in an atmosphere of violence, decaying education and racial tension. In "Young Love, Old Divisions," Erika Hayasaki of the Los Angeles Times shares the story of their courtship and reminds us just how precious high school students are. The descriptions in Hayasaki's writing are beautiful: "As any 14-year-old boy would, he first noticed how cute she was. Her smooth skin, pink as seashells. Black hair dyed the color of applesauce, curls sprayed stiff, twisted into a long ponytail." What a vivid image.
latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jeff13may13,0,6259192.story?page=1&track=tottext

Watching the Watchdog

2006-05-17T15:53:00.000-05:00

The New York Times and Chicago Tribune had stories today that raised questions about the USA Today article I highlighted last week that said the National Security Agency had collected Americans' phone records. At this point, it's hard to tell whether USA Today was barking up the wrong tree or truly following the scent of an important story. I'm looking forward to seeing more reporting that digs to the bottom of this.
nytimes.com/2006/05/17/washington/17phone.html?th&emc=th

His Brother's Rapper

2006-05-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

Abigail Tucker of the Baltimore Sun shared a moving story last Sunday about the choices made by two impoverished Baltimore brothers, Paul and Matt Talley. Together, Tucker wrote, they "dreamed about riding in a limousine to somewhere that wasn't a funeral." But while Matt turned to music to deal with the hurt of his parents' deaths, Paul turned to street gangs and was killed by the time he was 18. Tucker's "Rapping about a Lifetime of Pain," which is a lot more compelling than its headline makes it sound, describes how Matt crafted a rap about Paul's death that soon turned into a hit song in Baltimore. Kudos to Tucker for finding this story and writing it so well.
baltimoresun.com/features/bal-te.to.rap07may07,0,4363274.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Troop Troubles

2006-05-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

I'm seeing some good enterprise reporting lately that looks at problems facing U.S. troops. In today's Chicago Sun-Times, "Troops Do Double Duty in Gangs" by Frank Main explores how street gangs have infiltrated the military, robbing people, dealing drugs and spreading graffiti around Iraq and U.S. bases.
In Sunday's Hartford Courant, Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman explain why suicide rates among U.S. troops in Iraq is rising. They describe how fewer than 1 in 300 service members see a mental health professional before shipping out, and how some are kept on the front lines while on strong anti-depressants. Chedekel's and Kauffman's "Mentally Unfit, Forced To Fight" also details how some soldiers are sent back to Iraq despite suffering from post-traumatic stress.
And "An Army of One Wrong Recruit" by Michelle Roberts of The Oregonian tells how Army recruiters in Portland enlisted an 18-year-old autistic man despite his family's objections. Because of Roberts' reporting, the Army is investigating whether recruiters improperly concealed Jared's autism, which should have made him ineligible for service.
Thanks to Andrew Larson and Brian Summers for the tips.

Java Journey

2006-05-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Chris Kenning of the The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote the perfect story Sunday to read while sipping a cup of Joe. For "The Coffee Connection," Kenning traveled to the Guatemalan mountains to trace the journey of fair trade coffee from tiny beans grown on the trees of Mayan farmers such as Pascual Perechu to your neighborhood coffee shop. I like how Kenning explains the economics of the coffee industry through the stories of farmers and traders. The story comes with a nice Flash gallery of photos by Geoff Oliver Bugbee that show the trip from coffee tree to coffee cup.
courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060514/NEWS01/60513023

McWatchdog

2006-05-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

USA TODAY, once belittled by many of us as McPaper, has proved this week that it can excel in the glorious tradition of watchdog journalism. Leslie Cauley uncovered how the National Security Agency has secretly collected the phone records of tens of millions of Americans. I think Cauley's story and the New York Times' prior revelations of domestic wiretapping rank in importance with the best of Woodward's and Bernstein's Watergate work. The USA Today Web site has also done an excellent job of packaging the story with reactions, timelines and video.
usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm

Will She Keep Her Baby?

2006-05-11T23:22:00.000-05:00

Tania Cabral loves her baby daughter, A.J. She also loves crack. Last week reporter Edward Fitzpatrick and photographer John Freidah of the Providence Journal chronicled Cabral's journey through rehab and Rhode Island's Family Treatment Drug Court as she tries to leave her bouts of homelessness and drug abuse behind and regain custody of A.J. "A Mother's Addiction" is a long but gripping seven-part story with memorable characters and settings and a strong narrative. Kudos to the ProJo editors who gave Fitzpatrick and Freidah time and space to tell this story that reads like a novella.
www.projo.com/extra/2006/tania/

Huddling with God

2006-05-10T10:43:00.000-05:00

Tom Krattenmaker has an interesting story anchoring the home page of Salon this morning. "Going Long for Jesus" takes an in-depth look at how evangelical Christian chaplains are embedded with nearly 100 basketball, football and baseball teams to the dismay of some players and fans. Krattenmaker shows us the influence of these chaplains from post-game prayer circles on the 50-yard lines to players who thank God for helping them make the game-winning shot at the buzzer. This is an article with a strong point of view that raises fascinating questions about the mixture of religion and sports. You may have to click on an ad to read the story, but it's worth it.
salon.com/news/feature/2006/05/10/ministries/index.html

25 Years Later

2006-05-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

Two-and-a-half decades after AIDS first hit America, this week's Newsweek looks at how the epidemic increasingly harms blacks and women. "Battling a Black Epidemic" by Claudia Kalb and Andrew Murr is full of powerful examples and insightful analysis of why the disease is still spreading. The story comes with strong profiles, timelines and other sidebars. Ethan Hill's photo gallery of HIV-positive women, men and children is well worth the visit.
msnbc.msn.com/id/12665721/site/newsweek/

Turning in Mom

2006-05-08T14:18:00.000-05:00

The Arizona Republic had a fascinating story a couple of weeks ago as part of a special series it's doing on the impact of meth on children and families. "Painful Decision by Girl, 14, May Have Saved 2 Lives" by Dennis Wagner uses a lively narrative style to show what happens to a Phoenix girl who must decide whether to turn her meth-dealing mom into police. Wagner used police reports, a videotaped police interview and courts records to research the story, but what makes it stand out is his use of a second-person voice. Here's how he starts the story: "You are a 14-year-old girl with a black Lab and a little brother and a mom who cooks meth in the kitchen late at night." It's an unusual approach that makes an end run around the dilemma of whether to identify the girl. Do you think it works?
azcentral.com/specials/special49/articles/0421meth-daughter.html

When the Lights Went Out

2006-05-07T13:28:00.000-05:00

"Through Hell and High Water" by Jane O. Hansen of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reads like a novel. In today's first chapter she introduces us to four characters we can care deeply about: two seriously ill young men, Hunter Reeves and Preston Johnson, and their mothers, who grow close as they keep a close bedside watch over their sons. She shows us the setting: Charity Hospital for poor patients and Tulane University Hospital and Clinic for wealthier ones, across the street from each other in New Orleans. And she starts the plot racing as Hurricane Katrina bears down on the city and the two hospitals lose power. Hansen's narrative power and insightful reporting promise to give us a powerful story about heroism and despair as patients, their families, doctors and nurses struggle to survive through Katrina's wrath.
www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/

Take Me Out to the Ballgames

2006-05-05T11:09:00.000-05:00

I'm a sucker for stories about baseball, heroes and fathers and sons. This story by Don Teague of NBC Nightly News has it all. It shows the journey of a man with Lou Gehrig's disease who is living his dream while he can.
video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=5269b5f1-dee1-4b8e-bc6f-12c472d842ce&f=00&fg=copy

Sick System

2006-05-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber of the Los Angeles Times have come up with a couple of excellent stories this week investigating troubles in northern California with HMO giant Kaiser Permanente. In yesterday's story, Weber and Ornstein detail how Kaiser forced 1,500 patients awaiting kidney transplants to transfer to a new, untested transplant center run by Kaiser itself rather than use successful established programs. As a result, patients ended up on one of the longest waiting lists in the country and their odds of getting a new kidney dropped. Today's story shows how the snafus with the start-up of Kaiser's new transplant program resulted in 25 patients not getting a chance to receive nearly perfectly matched new kidneys.
Ornstein and Weber used statistical analyses, confidential documents and dozens of interviews to report these stories of a big company endangering the lives of ill people.
latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kaiser3may03,0,7877009.story?track=tottext
latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kaiser4may04,0,335770.story?page=1&track=tottext

Failing our Tots

2006-05-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

Kathleen Carroll and Jean Rimbach of The Record in New Jersey followed the money trail to reveal how rampant corruption is harming low-income preschool children. "Lessons in Waste" describes how the owners of New Jersey preschools that get public money to help poor children have siphoned millions of dollars to pay for Caribbean time shares, luxury cars, fancy meals and wedding gifts while teachers quit because their paychecks bounce and they don't get health insurance. This four-part series works well because of its memorable examples of waste and fraud that the state is failing to fix. Thanks to News Gems reader Brian Summers for the tip.

Sole Man

2006-05-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Big business in the basketball world not only surrounds NBA and college players these days; the push for lucrative endorsement deals has seeped down to the high school level. In "Got to be the Shoes," Dustin Dow of the Cincinnati Enquirer describes the frenzy around what shoes high school superstar O.J. Mayo wears. Reebok, Nike and Adidas compete furiously to have high school players wear their shoes and eventually ink multi-million-dollar endorsement contracts once they turn pro. Dow shows how the shoe choices that Mayo and other prep phenoms make can determine their opponents, schedules and even uniform colors. This is a nice example of enterprise reporting in the sports world.
news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060430/SPT0301/604300409

Fields of Dreams

2006-05-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

Norm Heikens and J.K. Wall of the Indianapolis Star capture the emotions and the economics of the age-old clash between rural and city life in their Sunday story "Green Acres." Wall and Heikens trace the agonizing decisions farmers such as David Doles near Greensburg, Indiana, must make whether to sell their beloved family land to make room for a factory. This is a nice example of how to humanize a business story. It's full of dollars and trends, but mostly it's about people trying to decide what matters most to them in life. The accompanying video by Mike Fender is also worth a look.
indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060430/BUSINESS/604300477

Abu Ghraib Uncensored

2006-04-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

I am late giving credit to Salon.com for its thorough coverage of the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq. Earlier this year Salon's Mark Benjamin acquired 270 photos and 19 video's from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command showing the extent of abuse at the prison. These photos and videos now appear on Salon.com along with nine essays by Benjamin and Michael Scherer describing and analyzing what happened and an overview story by Joan Walsh reporting on the Army's own investigation. Additional work on "The Abu Ghraib" files was done by Page Rockwell, Jeanne Carstensen, Mark Follman and Tracy Clark-Flory. The Salon team deserves praise for not letting this story fade away.
Warning: Many of the photos are highly disturbing.
salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/introduction/

View from the Other Side

2006-04-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

Sunday's St. Petersburg Times offered a perspective on immigration that I hadn't seen before. "A Cross They Can't Bear" by Mary Spicuzza describes what it's like for families in Mexico who have already lost loved ones trying to cross the border into the U.S. and now wonder if other relatives have survived the trip. Spicuzza shows us the life of Laura Teresa Gomez, who anxiously waits in her impoverished Oaxaca home to find out whether her husband has lived through the dangerous journey north. Kathleen Flynn's wonderful photos add more heart to the story.

Back to School

2006-04-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

For more than a month, Chicago Public Radio, along with partners WTTW Channel 11, the Chicago Reporter, the Chicago Public Library and Catalyst magazine, is shining a bright spotlight on education issues through its "Chicago Matters" series. For an example of the reporting depth that this series boasts, listen to Lisa Miller's story, "Pay to Play," on Chicago Public Radio about a public school which hasn't had recess in 25 years and the moms who are fighting to bring it back. Other topics in the series include schools that rely on large fundraisers to make ends meet, the plight of rural schools with small tax bases and a debate team that is out to conquer the odds.

X Factor

2006-04-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's not easy mixing hard science with compelling narrative, but Kara Platoni of the East Bay Express succeeds with "The Fragile Ones." Platoni explains Fragile X Syndrome through the story of 8-year-old Lucas Clark and his family. She manages to give us deep information about the genetic disorder while showing the daily struggles and small victories of a little boy and the people who care for him.
eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-04-19/news/feature.html

Predators on the Loose

2006-04-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

Julia Sommerfeld and Michael J. Berens of the Seattle Times are sharing a powerful investigative series this week on sexual misconduct by health-care professionals. "License to Harm" shows that the state of Washington does little to stop the doctors, nurses, counselors and other health-care workers who have sexually abused hundreds of patients. After legally challenging the state to open its files and then compiling data from 1995 to 2005, Sommerfeld and Berens found that lax regulations have allowed some of these predators to keep their licenses. They also reveal that to be a registered counselor in the state, you only need four hours of training. In addition to their excellent use of computer-assisted reporting, they did some good old-fashioned leg work to come up with the stories' compelling anecdotes.
seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/licensetoharm/

Currency Exchange

2006-04-22T16:23:00.000-05:00

The Los Angeles Times has been running a fascinating series, "The New Foreign Aid," about the estimated one billion people who get some financial help from family and friends working abroad. Richard Boudreaux, Carol J. Williams, Richard C. Paddock and Tracy Wilkinson give us interesting examples from Mexico, Haiti, the Philippines and Kenya of how cash from abroad props up local economies and influences lives for both good and bad. I like how the Times uses its far-flung foreign correspondents in a cooperative effort to analyze this worldwide trend.
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-remit22apr22,0,4836197.story?track=tottext

Hot Wheels

2006-04-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

A team of vocational students at West Philadelphia High School have built what could be America's fastest environmentally friendly sports car. In "Eco-Coupe Fires Dreams," Akweli Parker of The Philadelphia Inquirer chronicles how these students, many of them struggling to stay in school, hope to race their car to the top of the prestigious Tour de Sol competition next month. Parker's deep reporting and sharp writing make this story read like the start of an exciting Hollywood script.
philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/education/14354466.htm

When Nature Calls Your Pooch

2006-04-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun change of pace from the usual gloom and doom. In "Not-So-Sweet Smell of Success," Carolyn Y. Johnson of The Boston Globe tells us about a new suburban phenomenon: professional pooper scoopers. Johnson reports that the combination of increasing dog ownership and busy families has created a niche for companies such as DoodyCalls, Your Dogs Business and Doggy Doody Disposal to clean up pet poop from people's yards. Kudos to Johnson for spotting, or possibly stepping into, this trend and writing a fun, informative story about it.

Book Blues

2006-04-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Tribune had a couple of impressive stories in Sunday's paper. In "Aging Textbooks Fail Illinois Kids," Diane Rado and Ana Beatriz Cholo spells out how nearly 80 percent of school districts surveyed in Illinois use out-of-date textbooks. Cholo and Rado give excellent examples of how some students are using rubber bands and duct tape to hold together their decrepit books because state funding doesn't match the rising costs of textbooks.
chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-060415textbooks-story,1,530320.story?coll=chi-news-hed

In the same edition, "Stateway's Swan Song" by Tribune reporter Antonio Olivo paints a vivid portrait of the people living in the last remaining building of Stateway Gardens, an enormous public housing project that is meeting the wrecking ball.
Chris Walker's powerful photos also give us a strong sense of the residents' lives.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-stateway-flashhtml,1,5613482.htmlstory?coll=chi-news-hed

Not to be out done by their cross-town rivals, the staff of the Chicago Sun-Times put together incredibly comprehensive coverage of the guilty verdict for former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. The main story by Natasha Korecki, Abdon Pallasch, Mark J. Konkol and Steve Warmbir (full disclosure: Pallasch and Warmbir are friends of mine so I'm biased) and the dozen or so sidebars are great examples of how to cover the big story in town.
www.suntimes.com/output/ryan/cst-nws-ryan183.html

Holy Sights

2006-04-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette moved beyond the traditional coverage of Easter Sunday by running a fascinating package by photographer Martha Rial about Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other Biblical sites. "The Community of Arab Christians is Dwindling in the Holy Land" uses a mix of photographs, audio and short profiles to show how Christians in the Holy Land continue to worship while struggling to survive. I like how Rial is able to transcend politics to convey the drama of people's daily lives.
www.post-gazette.com/pg/06106/682096-82.stm

Tax Day Blues

2006-04-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

I'll probably spend much of Monday standing in line at the post office waiting to file the tax return that I procrastinated working on until the last minute. While doing so, I'll contemplate "Feeling Taxed? Not Big Business " by Betsy Hammond of The Oregonian. Hammond carefully dissects Oregon's tax policies to explain why the burden of paying for state government is falling increasingly on its residents while businesses pay a smaller share. I admire Hammond's willingness to wade into complicated issues to investigate an issue that has great significance for her readers.

Stopping the Tanks

2006-04-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

In 1989 a single man stood before a column of tanks, trying to stop the Chinese army's bloody repression of dissidents in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The image of his brave defiance against tyranny inspired people fighting for freedom across the globe. Filmmaker Antony Thomas went to China to find out what happened to this hero. His documentary "Tank Man," shown on PBS' Frontline this week, tells an extraordinary tale of one man's courage and impact on the world, of China's economic boom but enduring political repression since the 1989 uprising, and of the complicity of some American corporations in helping the Chinese government continue its brutal censorship of dissent.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/

Fishy Story

2006-04-12T22:31:00.000-05:00

I'll never look at my sashimi in quite the same way again. Monica Eng, Delroy Alexander and David Jackson of the Chicago Tribune revealed today that much of the sushi sold in the U.S. is supplied through businesses controlled by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his controversial Unification Church. "Sushi and Rev. Moon" details how the self-proclaimed messiah and his disciples, sometimes called "moonies," built a business empire that dominates sushi production from the boats that catch the fish through the distributors who ship it to the restaurants that sell it. This story comes with delicious graphics by Van Tsui and Phil Geib.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-story,1,6131847.htmlstory?coll=chi-news-hed

The Tribune gave us another winner last week. "This is no Pitcher, This is an Altruist" by Lucinda Hahn shares the story of Ryan Devlin, who gave up the chance to see his beloved White Sox play in the World Series last fall for something more important. Thanks to Matt Presser for pointing this story out to me.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-0604060379apr07,1,5224497.story

Secrets for Sale

2006-04-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

The Los Angeles Times has had a couple of great stories so far this week. While most newspapers have abandoned first-hand coverage of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Times' Paul Watson came up with an important scoop. In Tuesday's "U.S. Military Secrets for Sale at Afghan Bazaar," he details how he found merchants near the U.S. military base in Bagram selling stolen computer drives containing descriptions of U.S. defenses, classified American military assessments of enemy targets, and the names of suspected militants and corrupt Afghan officials.
latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-disks10apr10,0,7789909.story?track=tottext
In today's Times, Robert Lee Hotz takes a fascinating look at scientists who are trying to figure out how evolution can explain the great diversity in human brains. "Brain's Darwin Machine" tells a fun scientific detective story while sharing interesting insights into how our personalities develop. Hotz's story is part of an ongoing "Mapping the Mind" series that the Times has been running.
latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-neuron11apr11,0,7081426.story?track=tottext

Nest Eggs

2006-04-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

Newsday has been running a series this week by Tami Luhby and Randi F. Marshall that takes a hard look at the future of pensions. "The Pension Divide" analyzes data to compare what is happening to private pension plans versus those in the public sector. Luhby and Marshall (no relation to me) also look at the impact that generous government pension plans are having on taxes. To humanize the numbers, they share the stories of workers and retirees who are trying to make ends meet under both kinds of pension plans.
newsday.com/business/ny-bzpens0409,0,6337218.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

Calling All Hands

2006-04-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

In the last few days, deadly tornadoes and other severe storms have tested the mettle of newsrooms in several states. I am especially impressed with the coverage of the Nashville Tennessean. The paper and its Web site are providing powerful photos and stories such as this comprehensive update by Michael Cass and Bonna de la Cruz. Also of note is "Man Lost All that Counted: His Mom" by Anne Paine, Natalia Mielczarek and Lee Ann O'Neal. These reporters and others writing about the storms deserve credit for coming through during trying circumstances.
tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS01/604090395
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS01/604090405

Healing through the Lens

2006-04-09T10:23:00.000-05:00

Bonnie Rochman of the Raleigh News & Observer tells the remarkable story in today's paper of Debbie Horwitz, a 32-year-old woman who decided to let a photographer document her struggle to recover from a a double mastectomy. "Cancer Patient Lets Photos tell Story" describes how Horwitz worked with photographer Missy McLamb to share her experiences of loss and renewal with other cancer patients. Rochman uses a narrative style that is simple on the surface yet deep with details.
www.newsobserver.com/150/story/427030.html

Beyond the Great Debate

2006-04-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

I'm seeing some great coverage of the immigration issue that moves beyond the usual stereotypes and vitriol and presents the issue with nuance. "Immigration: Dollars and Sense" by Janie Har and Michelle Cole of The Oregonian looks at the impact Oregon's estimated 175,000 undocumented immigrants have on the state's economy. In addition to useful data and analysis, the story boasts strong examples.
Newsweek last week featured a wonderful photo gallery of immigrant communities around the country. What I like best about the "Not Born in the USA" pictures is that they show people in Idaho, Kansas and other states that are not usually thought of as immigrant havens.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032542/site/newsweek/
And "Help Wanted, but Stay Out" by Jim Ragsdale and Rick Linsk of the St. Paul Pioneer Press shows how employers keep welcoming illegal workers despite the laws designed to keep them out of the country. Ragsdale and Linsk start with a great anecdote about German Morales, an immigrant who repeatedly tried crossing the border until he made it safely to Minnesota, where he has worked for the past 10 years.
www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/14238133.htm

Let's talk

2006-04-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

The Virginian-Pilot is engaging in an interesting example of community journalism on its Web site. In response to a push to allow drilling for oil and gas off of Virginia's coast, the Pilot has created a forum, "Offshore 101," that lets community leaders and readers share their views on what impact the drilling would have. I like the mix of people featured on the forum: state legislators, Sierra Club activists, Department of Energy officials, businessmen and city council members. This kind of participatory discussion probably sheds more light on the issue than a straight news article would have. What do you think?
home.hamptonroads.com/blog/index.cfm?uid=41

Stealing

2006-04-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

In an nice example of computer-assisted reporting, Patrick Lakamp of The Buffalo News looked at whether the city's police are successful at nabbing burglars. In "To Catch a Thief (or Not)," he concludes that Buffalo's residents have little chance of getting their possessions back if they're swiped. Lakamp shows that the local cops made arrests or sought warrants in only 14 percent of the 1,774 home burglaries reported during the first seven months of 2005, lower than the rate for nearby towns. I like how Lakamp gives us examples from people's lives, reasons why the police have such a hard time catching the burglars, and interesting highlights of the data (for instance, modest homes are the most likely to be burglarized).
buffalonews.com/editorial/20060402/1033448.asp

Failing the Tests

2006-04-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer has featured strong stories the past two Sundays that dig deep beneath the surface of standardized testing. "In Reading, Dick Lags far behind Jane" by Kristen A. Graham and Dan Hardy looks at why boys are falling so far behind girls in most educational benchmarks. I like how Hardy and Graham evaluate the possible reasons for the gap and look at what different school are trying to do to combat the problem. "Principal Tells of Pressure to Cheat" by Melanie Burney, Frank Kummer and Dwight Ott shares a whistleblower's story of how he was threatened with losing his job if he didn't change student answer sheets. Thanks to Brian Summers for tipping me off to this story.

Heating Up

2006-04-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

If you missed it, definitely check out Time's special report in last week's issue, "Global Warming: Be Worried. Be Very Worried." It may be the most important story of the year. Journalists, of course, have been writing excellent articles about global warming for many years, but by putting together such a comprehensive package and by stating its conclusions so boldly, Time makes it an issue that politicians and business leaders can no longer try to ignore. Jeffrey Kluger's cover story connects the dots of climate change's devastation. An interview with NASA climate scientist James Hansen and sidebars by David Bjerklie on the havoc global warming is playing in the biological world, and by Adam Smith on a bank that is trying to be carbon neutral, add to the package's strength. But perhaps the story is told best by the powerful images captured in the issue's photo essay, "Ice, Wind and Fire."
time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1176980,00.html

Country Roads

2006-03-31T16:05:00.000-06:00

In "65 Minutes from Crash to Hospital," Jim Sloan and Steve Timko of the Reno Gazette-Journal investigate how long it takes Nevada's rural rescue crews to reach emergency victims. After doing a computer-assisted analysis of state accident reports and federal data, they found that Nevada has the worst response times in the nation, even compared with other Western states with long, empty stretches of highway. Sloan and Timko look at why the problem is getting worse and give strong examples of how it affects people in different counties.
My thanks to the good people at Investigative Reporters and Editors for highlighting this story on their Web site.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS07/603260365/1010&theme=RURALEMS

Having a Ball

2006-03-29T13:29:00.000-06:00

Robyn Dixon of the Los Angeles Times has crafted an inspirational story about a group of men who have turned their sorrow and pain into moments of joy. "Playing After a Big Loss" tells us how the members of the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club, who lost limbs during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war, returned to their love of playing soccer. Dixon uses her descriptive powers to show us how these men delight in playing the game despite the agony of being able to use only one leg.
latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-soccer24mar24,0,1834204.story?track=tottext

Hurray for the Home Teams

2006-03-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

Both of my hometown Chicago dailies published excellent investigative stories over the past week that have already made a difference. Cheryl L. Reed of the Chicago Sun-Times continued her forceful coverage of veterans issues with "Reservists Fight to Keep Jobs," which shows how many of the 542,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists who have been deployed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have struggled to find and keep jobs. Reed reported that in Illinois only 34 percent of unemployed vets who sought help from the Illinois Department of Employment Security found jobs last year, the lowest rate in the country. In response, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has ordered new initiatives to help the state's veterans with employment.
suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-vetjobs27.html#
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune's Ray Gibson uncovered that two jurors in the high-stakes trial of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan gave false answers on their jury questionnaires. Gibson revealed that both jurors had apparently concealed arrest records at the start of the six-month trial, something that the judge, prosecutors and defense attorney had failed to learn. The Tribune's stories prompted U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to dismiss the two jurors, putting the fate of the trial in doubt even though the jury has already started deliberating.
chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0603280148mar28,1,7884746.story?coll=chi-news-hed

He Knows Jack

2006-03-27T22:23:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post is continuing its groundbreaking coverage of the congressional lobbying scandals. "Former DeLay Aide Enriched By Nonprofit" by R. Jeffrey Smith reveals that Edwin A. Buckham, a former top advisor to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and his wife, Wendy, made more than $1 million over five years from the U.S. Family Network, a nonprofit group created by the Buckhams. The money mostly came from clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy and bribery. I'm glad the Post isn't resting on its well-deserved laurels and is continuing to investigate the Abramoff mess.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501166.html?referrer=email