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September 2006 - Posts

Thursday, September 28, 2006 3:13 PM

Ill Punishment

Reporter Michele Gillen of WFOR-TV CBS4 News in Miami took a penetrating look last week at conditions for mentally ill inmates, many of them charged with minor crimes, at the Miami-Dade County pre-trial detention center. Her "Forgotten Floor" investigation
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:17 PM

Taste Test

Here's a story that really whetted my appetite. The Anchorage Daily News husband-and-wife team of reporter Stephanie Komarnitsky and photographer Stephen Nowers spent a week trying to eat only locally grown and raised food. They share their experiences
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:00 PM

Doing Time, Doing Drugs

An investigation by Lou Michel and Susan Schulman of the Buffalo News has found that New York prisons are saturated with drugs. Their "Jailhouse Highs" report reveals drug use so rampant that some inmates stay wasted nearly their whole time behind bars,
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, September 25, 2006 5:37 PM

The View from the Border

What would a barrier along the 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico really mean? The Arizona Daily Star decided to find out by sending a six-person team to travel the entire length of the border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Along
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Sunday, September 24, 2006 7:23 PM

The Cost of War

Two important stories have appeared recently about the impact of the war in Iraq. "Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat" by Mark Mazzetti in Sunday's New York Times reveals that U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the Iraq war has
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 21, 2006 1:48 PM

Hold the Pepperoni

Can blogs be used effectively to distribute serious investigative reporting? David E. Kaplan of U.S. News & World Report is giving it a shot with his Bad Guys blog. This month, for instance, he has been tracking the mob's lingering strength in the U.S.
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 11:57 PM

ER Adventures

I'm not sure if any newspaper on the continent makes as much commitment to deeply reported, long-form narratives as The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario, Canada. This week The Spectator is doing it again with "Emergency" by reporter Jon Wells and photographer
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:33 PM

Dodging Bullets

Jim Herron Zamora of the San Francisco Chronicle takes us from the gridiron to the mortuary with "Drill No. 1: Don't Get Killed." Zamora follows the championship Berkeley Cougars, a Pop Warner football team, as they learn about life and death. He describes
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, September 18, 2006 2:49 PM

Trucker Trouble

If you're like me, you've had some nerve-racking encounters with big rigs on the highway. Now Gregg Jones, Holly Becka, Jennifer LaFleur and Steve McGonigle of  The Dallas Morning News tell us we have good reasons to be scared. Their new series, "Road
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Sunday, September 17, 2006 12:39 PM

Insurance Dump

Despite the Tribune Company's efforts to slash newsroom jobs, the Los Angeles Times under Dean Baquet continues to produce excellent enterprise reporting. In Sunday's paper, "Sick but Insured? Think Again" by Lisa Girion looks at how health insurance
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 14, 2006 4:28 PM

Under the Sidewalk

The Philadelphia City Paper literally digs beneath the surface of the news with "The Ugly Underneath" by Amanda Gefter. Her story explores how the vast infrastructure of sewer, gas, electric and water lines below the city is highly vulnerable to accidents.
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 14, 2006 12:29 AM

Hospital Riches

The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., came up with a great investigative scoop by paying close attention to the biggest nonprofit institution in town. "Is Tax-Exempt LVH Sharing Enough of its Wealth?" by Tim Darragh and Ann Wlazelek dug deeply into the
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:56 PM

Guest Host

Give the Ottawa Citizen credit for boldness. It invited U.N. special envoy Stephen Lewis to guest edit "Time to Deliver," a special section on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The results are impressive. Lewis' package includes strong stories and photos, an essay
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, September 11, 2006 7:36 PM

Still Scary After All These Years

Sept. 11 anniversary stories are flooding our airwaves, newspapers and Web sites. It's been tough finding a new angle on this story, but Stephen Kurkjian, Kevin Cullen and Thomas Farragher of The Boston Globe managed to do so beautifully. Their story,
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Sunday, September 10, 2006 12:49 PM

Profiles in Courage

We heard great news this weekend that Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek, along with his driver and translator, are finally free after more than a month in a Sudanese jail. Salopek, a News Gems favorite who has won two Pulitzers, was on assignment
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 07, 2006 2:16 PM

Manna for Muckrakers

This is so cool. PBS just launched "AIR: America's Investigative Reports," which every week highlights a top story by investigative reporters around the country. The first show looked at a South Florida Sun-Sentinel exposé that examined 20 recent disasters
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 5:07 PM

A Hello to Arms

The Spokane Spokesman-Review's Web site is telling stories in creative ways through a multimedia blog featuring great videos, photos and audio. One compelling example is "Brothers in Arms" by photographer Brian Plonka and writer James Hagengruber, who
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 2:12 PM

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Three cheers to the Seattle Times for its ongoing fight to open up King County, Wash., court records. For the "Your Courts, Their Secrets" series, reporters Ken Armstrong, Steve Miletich and Justin Mayo discovered 420 civil cases that judges and court
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 12:55 AM

Puppy Love

The St. Petersburg Times has been doing an impressive job of using photos combined with audio to help tell its stories in ways that traditional text cannot do alone. Look for an example at "Kennel Trash," one of many projects featured on its multimedia
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments