Watchdog, Attack Dog, or Lapdog?

Editors Without Backbone

By John Herbers• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

They Are Responsible for Letting Rumors Run Amuck In Coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky Story Read more

Spring 1998: Watchdog Introduction

Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Where Are the Stories Behind the Leaks?

By James S. Doyle• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Two Stories Seymour Hersh Never Wrote

By Seymour M. Hersh• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Spring 1998: The Economic Sector Introduction

Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Is Anything Really Wrong?

By Richard Parker• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Response: Demystify the Subject

By Paul Solman• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Response: What About Corporate Crime?

By Morton Mintz• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Response: Help Is Available

By Eileen Shanahan• Watchdog• March 15, 1998

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

Spring 1998: State & Local Governments Introduction

Local News• March 15, 1998

The second paper on watchdog journalism concerns state and local governments. As Washington has reduced its control of important functions, such as welfare, state and local governments have increased their powers, and, as a result, … Read more

For State and Local Government, The Key Is Sufficient Resources

By Joyce Purnick• Local News• March 15, 1998

My assignment: examine the state of “aggressive journalism” in state and local government—whether we do enough of it, whether we are hard-nosed enough, whether we do what we do well enough. Whether solid, watchdog journalism … Read more

Misappropriation of Public Resource

By Arthur Kent• Local News• March 15, 1998

Most of the seasoned journalists, that is, people who began in the 80’s or were studying in the 80’s.. .feel very uncomfortable about what’s happening. And they do not speak because they have mortgages, they need to feed families, they … Read more

TV Journalists Should Take Responsibility

By Frank Magid and Patricia Dean• Local News• March 15, 1998

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Comments from two participants of the November 6, 1997, forum of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, held in Chicago Read more

Response: Make Enterprise Reporting An Ongoing Part of Newspapers Mission

By Anthony Marro• Local News• March 15, 1998

Joyce Purnick is right about almost everything, which means that a lot of the rest of us—and maybe even Purnick herself—should be rethinking some of the things that we do. She’s right that none of us have enough resources. Every … Read more

Response: Eye Always on Bureaucracies

By David Burnham• Local News• March 15, 1998

The late Peter Kihss was one of the greatest American reporters of the 20th Century. Year after year, on a huge variety of subjects, he produced spot news and investigative articles of extraordinary quality—tough, smart, fair and meticulous. But Peter … Read more

Spring 1998: National Security Introduction

Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1998

Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney responds to questions front the media while taking part in a press conference held by U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials during Operation Desert Storm. Official U.S. Navy photo. The … Read more

On National Security, Five Ways to Respond to Restraints

By Daniel Schorr• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1998

My first reaction to the assignment of writing about the lingering effects of Cold War self-censorship is to redefine the subject. If self-censorship means restraint, self-imposed or accepted by an individual journalist, I would consider that this is today only … Read more

Response: an ‘Unbridgeable Divide’

By Philip Taubman• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1998

My departure point for any discussion of national security reporting is an evening in the early 1980’s, when I was a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Several days earlier, I had been handed a heavily classified memorandum to … Read more

Response: Narratives and Analysis

By Carla Anne Robbins• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1998

As I sit down to write this the United States is considering new military strikes against Iraq, Pope John Paul II is calling for freedom in Cuba, and the country is obsessed with the question of whether or not President … Read more

For America’s Nonprofit Sector, The Watchdog Seldom Barks

By George Rodrigue• Features• March 15, 1998

Democratic candidate Bill Yellowtail presented his views as Republican Rick Hill, left, and Natural Law Party candidate Jim Brooks, right, waited their turn in a debate in Great Falls, Montana, about a month … Read more

Types of Nonprofits

Features• March 15, 1998

Response: Document Activities

By David Hall• Features• March 15, 1998

When newspapers start believing what they are told, there is no surer way to cheat a reader. Good reporters never take a politician’s word, but verify claims instead. Reporters know that even the most civic-minded corporate CEO’s work for stockholders, … Read more

Response: Check on Creative Accounting

By John Crewdson• Features• March 15, 1998

Americans are the most generous people in the world, donating more to charity each year than the gross national products of many countries—some $120 billion, all told. As George Rodrigue argues convincingly, the media has done less than it could … Read more

Response: It’s Easier to Be Passive

By Paul Delaney• Features• March 15, 1998

When I was teaching journalism—communication, as most educators prefer nowadays—the authors of a widely used introductory textbook insisted that part of the media’s mission is the "transference of culture." Meaning, perpetuating the mores, habits, etc., good and bad, that bind … Read more

Response: Avoid Close Relations

By Janet Wilson• Features• March 15, 1998

The local head of a nationally recognized charity earns nearly $200,000 a year, travels the globe at the nonprofit’s expense and receives a new car of the model of his choice every other year from his board of directors. A … Read more

Not Black, Not White, It’s American History

By Orlando Bagwell• Features• March 15, 1998

Somewhere back there, someone decided that rather than jump off a slave ship and kill themselves, they saw a future. Rather than give up and die and not deal with the horrors of plantation life, … Read more