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March 2007 - Posts

Friday, March 30, 2007 8:30 AM

Beneath the Surface

Steve Orr of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle investigates groundwater contamination in "Danger Below." Orr reveals that for 17 years state officials failed to tell some residents of Victor, N.Y., that their water was contaminated with industrial
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 29, 2007 8:30 AM

How Washington Really Works

Three cheers to The Washington Post for committing a huge amount of space and resources to a major investigative project. "Citizen K Street" by Robert G. Kaiser, the Post's associate editor, tells the story of Gerry Cassidy, who made more than $125 million
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 8:45 AM

Explosive Teaching

It's time for something uplifting, like a teacher who likes to make things explode. "Always a Blast with the Boom" by John M. Glionna of the Los Angeles Times profiles Preston Q. Boomer, whose high school chemistry and physics classes are never boring.
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 8:30 AM

Pass the Trash

Hundreds of Florida teachers have molested, physically attacked or harassed their students but been allowed to continue in the classroom, according to powerful stories last week in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "Broken Trust," by Chris Davis, Matthew
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Friday, March 23, 2007 5:59 PM

Food Fight

When my son's preschool banned peanut butter, I thought the idea was, well, nutty. But my wife educated me that exposure to nuts could kill a child we knew at the school. Suddenly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seemed less important, but still I wondered
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Friday, March 23, 2007 8:45 AM

Texas Hold 'Em and Hurt 'Em

The Dallas Morning News has been running a jaw-dropping investigative series on how officials of the Texas youth detention system have covered up widespread sexual abuse of young inmates by jail staff. The first story by Doug J. Swanson detailed
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 22, 2007 12:00 AM

Landlord Troubles

Meghan Hoyer and Matthew Jones of The Virginian-Pilot have just concluded a terrific series that details why so much housing in its community sits vacant and vandalized. Their "Cashing in on Blight" describes how local governments do a lousy job tracking
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 6:09 PM

Timeline

Today marks the third time this week I've featured different ways that the war in Iraq is being reported. The past two days I've looked at blogs and videos. This time I'm highlighting a timeline, put together by Vikki Valentine and Scott Stroud of NPR,
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, March 19, 2007 12:24 PM

Memories of the Loved Ones

Yesterday I talked about how soldier bloggers are adding their voices to the reporting of the fighting in Iraq. Today I'm highlighting how another form of citizen journalism, videos by friends and family members of troops killed during the conflict,
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Sunday, March 18, 2007 1:40 PM

The Soldier as Blogger

I'm seeing a lot of stories today about the 4th anniversary of the war in Iraq. My favorite so far is "The Blogs of War" by Chuck Haga of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Haga tells the story of Sgt. Dan Gazelka of Bemidji, Minn., one of many soldiers who
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Friday, March 16, 2007 12:10 AM

Fire Alarms

I've seen two great stories lately about problems that can make fires deadlier. John Tedesco, Karisa King and Kelly Guckian of the San Antonio Express-News revealed this week that their city has huge discrepencies in how long it takes fire trucks to get to
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 6:33 PM

Flying the Sexist Skies

KHOU TV in Houston deserves applause for continuing to champion enterprise reporting that goes beyond the basic information of daily news. For example, Mark Greenblatt revealed in "Is the Texas Air Guard Shooting Down Women's Careers?" that
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 12:17 PM

Sandwich Generation

Barbara Anderson of The Fresno Bee had a great story Sunday on a challenge confronting increasing numbers of people. Her "Handled with Care" highlights the struggles faced by the approximately 50 million Americans providing care for an older
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, March 12, 2007 11:48 PM

The Avalanche and the Killer

Yesterday I featured the work of the St. Petersburg Times' Lane DeGregory, who won the National Journalism Award for human interest writing. The two other finalists for the award, Ken Fuson of The Des Moines Register and David Zucchino of the Los
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Sunday, March 11, 2007 10:16 PM

The Winner

Last week Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times won the National Journalism Award for human interest writing. On Sunday her remarkable talent was on display again. In "His Second Self," DeGregory and Lorri Helfand wrote about Steve Stanton,
posted by jonmarshall | 2 Comments
Friday, March 09, 2007 2:04 PM

The Flimflam Plan

Dan Stockman of the The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind., has produced a nifty investigation into some suspicious housing deals in his city. In "Which Price is Right?" Stockman identifies 124 transactions where the seller received one price and investors
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 08, 2007 8:30 AM

He's Back

As the military tries to sort through the mess at Walter Reed Army Medical Center exposed by The Washington Post, Bob Woodruff offers a first-hand account of what it's like to come home injured from Iraq. The ABC News special "Bob
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:30 AM

Tobacco Two-Step

Every reporter at some time faces the problem of how to tell a complex story clearly. Mark Curriden surmounts this challenge with aplomb in the current issue of the ABA Journal. His "Up in Smoke" is the most comprehensive, understandable explanation I've
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:30 AM

Before the Flood

In 2002 the New Orleans Times-Picayune ran a prophetic series detailing how a major hurricane could devastate southern Louisiana. This week the Times-Picayune is back with another series, "Last Chance," that describes how Louisiana has a decade or
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, March 05, 2007 8:15 AM

Critical condition

I remember all too well the excruciating hours my son waited to have his broken arm treated at our local emergency room. Hilary Waldman makes sense of these kind of painful emergency room experiences with "Diagnosis: Hyperextension" in Sunday's Hartford
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 01, 2007 12:00 PM

Escape to the North Country

Reporter Sharon Schmickle, photographer Jerry Holt and online producer Regina McCombs led a team of more than a dozen Minneapolis Star Tribune journalists who created an amazing package about the hundreds and perhaps thousands of Liberian
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 01, 2007 9:00 AM

Flirting

Slate.com is featuring brilliant slideshows using the work of Magnum Photos. For example, "How You Doin'?" portrays in black-and-white the sensual and sometimes comical encounters between men and women from around the world. I love how these pictures
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments