What others are saying about watchdog journalism:
Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein isn’t concerned about the state of investigative journalism today — he’s concerned about the state of today’s readers.
If money grew on trees and journalists could produce all the top-notch stories they wanted, would the audience read them all? Would it make a difference in society? Or would readers still scan the headlines and read roughly 10 percent of those stories?
Cold cases that the Justice Department have successfully prosecuted relied on the work of investigative reporters.
Journalism must find some middle ground where illuminating investigative pieces and Mel Gibson telephone call mash-ups can coexist.
“If advertising alone isn’t going to support all the online journalism and content sites, and pay walls will just turn readers away, perhaps there’s another solution …”
