Twenty-five years ago when I was a special assistant to Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, one of my daily tasks was to help him figure out the news. Why were certain Watergate stories on page one or leading the evening … Read more
This issue on Watchdog Journalism originated with a call by Murrey Marder, the retired Washington Post Diplomatic Correspondent, for a return to more aggressive, but responsible, reporting. The package begins with two articles on the media's handling of the accusations that President Clinton had an improper sexual relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky. Excerpts from a seminar by Seymour Hersh, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, follow. Then we offer position papers on the status of watchdog journalism in four areas—the economic sector, state and local government, national security and nonprofit organizations. Read more
I start with a point from Richard Parker’s discussion of needed improvements in journalism education and apply it more broadly. Parker argues that "fundamental democratic political concerns" should provide the context in which business and economics are taught to journalism … Read more
Some years ago The New York Times editorial page expressed the complacent notion that "great publications magnify the voice of any single writer." The statement is misleading. The instruments of the media multiply or amplify a voice, serving much the … Read more
Once upon a time I thought, along with Richard Parker, that "watchdog" journalism equaled "muckraking," which would lead to "making America better." Indeed, when Richard recruited me to help him with Motherjones magazine in the mid-’70’s, it was because we … Read more
Richard Parker’s paper is an insightful, scholarly and valuable overview. But his analysis of contemporary watchdog economics journalism and his recommendations trouble this long-time reporter. Consider these quotes: “It seems malign” to insist “that we suffer from too little information … Read more
The first paper on four areas of watchdog journalism concerns the economic sector. As these cartoons show, some issues that disturb the country have not changed in the last century—fear of inflation, immigration and taxes. Read more
Seymour M. Hersh has won more than a dozen major journalism prizes as an investigative reporter, including the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his disclosure of the My Lai massacre in … Read more