The presentation by Steve Andrews was very good. Not only did he give a clear presentation of his stories, he had the actual footage to enhance the presentation, and he managed to link them to Public Records.
Andrews talked about several stories he worked on. He showed how based on tips, he was able to uncover cracks in a local reservoir, sinkholes along the Crosstown Expressway, questionable attendance practices by firefighters, and gross negligence in an assisted living home.
While the slant of the presentation was angled towards broadcast, Andrews had some very good pointers for all journalism students. While for most of the semester we’ve been hearing about how agencies will try to stall you or put you off when making a public records request. Andrews pointed out the opposite side of that coin, where an agency will happily inundate you with mountains of paperwork. It takes patience, and a clear eye, (and also perhaps someone with a little expertise in the field to translate the jargon), to find the relevant information, but the payoff can be big.
But, sometimes you encounter a force bigger and stronger. While Andrews managed to uncover rather incriminating evidence that firefighters were taking extended leaves of absence and still collecting paychecks (at taxpayers’ expense), he ran into obstacles when the Fire Chief wouldn’t take action against them. Or when the subject of another WFLA investigation about his gambiling debts committed suicide.
Investigative reporting is tough work. You need a good “nose” to decide what leads to pursue, and nothing is worse than putting a lot of time and effort into an investigation only to come up empty handed. But the work is ultimately rewarding, when you get to see the difference you make in the community.
Meet you further up the road,
Brentin.