"the
independent watchdog function that the Founding Fathers envisioned for
journalism — going so far as to call it crucial to a healthy democracy — is in
some cases at risk." FCC Report
From the Gannett
Blog;
Anonymous said...
Investigative
reporting might not be dead, but it is certainly on life support.
As an editor who has headed up investigations for years, it is trouble the lack of commitment most editors Gannett editors will give a project. Of late, it appears that the biggest questions coming out of the mouths of EE are: What do you have for me this weekend? How long will that take? What's Reporter Bob been doing for the last three weeks? Investigations take time and time is money in Gannett newsrooms these days. Recent cuts in staffing have put even more pressure on investigative reporting because overworked people don't like to see someone taking weeks or months on stories. The state of investigative reporting is also hampered by the fact Gannett publishers really don't want to piss anyone off in their communities. At my paper, any complaint to the publisher, typically brings a knee-jerk reaction and that reaction does not generally come down on the side or reporters and their editors. It's almost like we are being prosecuted, not the subject or the complainer. I don't hold much hope for investigative journalism in Gannett Information Centers.
As an editor who has headed up investigations for years, it is trouble the lack of commitment most editors Gannett editors will give a project. Of late, it appears that the biggest questions coming out of the mouths of EE are: What do you have for me this weekend? How long will that take? What's Reporter Bob been doing for the last three weeks? Investigations take time and time is money in Gannett newsrooms these days. Recent cuts in staffing have put even more pressure on investigative reporting because overworked people don't like to see someone taking weeks or months on stories. The state of investigative reporting is also hampered by the fact Gannett publishers really don't want to piss anyone off in their communities. At my paper, any complaint to the publisher, typically brings a knee-jerk reaction and that reaction does not generally come down on the side or reporters and their editors. It's almost like we are being prosecuted, not the subject or the complainer. I don't hold much hope for investigative journalism in Gannett Information Centers.
"A shortage of reporting manifests itself in invisible ways: stories not written, scandals not exposed, government waste not discovered, health dangers not identified in time, local elections involving candidates about whom we know little," FCC Report
www.NISSANWhistleblower.com
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