Sometimes Plan B is better than Plan A
I shot some video over the weekend but it was so windy most of the audio was obliterated. So I ended up making a music video. It wasn’t exactly what I planned. But maybe it was better.
Journalism
How Mexican cartels launder drug money in San Antonio (Hint: Check the North Side)
Express-News reporter Guillermo Contreras wrote a story detailing a federal investigation of two Mexican brothers: Mauricio and Alejandro Sánchez Garza. Federal officials allege the brothers laundered drug money in San Antonio for Mexican cartels.
Check out every insurance claim filed against the city of San Antonio
What happens when you’re hit by a city vehicle and file an insurance claim against San Antonio? Now you can find out by searching a database that tracks every claim filed against the city in the past decade. I stumbled across this story by using Google’s advanced search options. Google lets you search specific websites …
Long-form journalism project asks for money, raises $100,000 on Kickstarter
This is pretty great. First, a new, in-depth journalism project called Matter set a fundraising goal of $50,000 on Kickstarter. They reached it in 38 hours. They set a new goal of $75,000. They reached it in four days. Related: What’s Evernote for? How about making a vast, searchable archive of all your files They …
Attorney General Greg Abbott sues the Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio
The Texas attorney general’s office announced yesterday that it has sued the Texas Highway Patrol Museum, a nonprofit telemarketing organization based in San Antonio that raises millions of dollars in the name of helping state troopers. I had always been curious about the museum, which is housed in a brick building at St. Mary’s and …
Impact of the recession: Google map shows Texas food stamp recipients, by neighborhood
One of the golden rules of writing is show, don’t tell. The same holds true for stories based on public data. Check out this cool interactive map by Nolan Hicks and Yang Wang showing food stamp recipients by Zip code for the whole state of Texas.
Watchdog blog roundup for 11-20-11
What others are saying about watchdog journalism … Successful watchdog sites focus on audience engagement | Block By Block A healthy future for investigative journalism | Steve Buttry Memo to IRS: Get out of the way | American Journalism Review The end of the scoop | Hannah Waldram Finding new models for investigative journalism | …
How to do a confrontational interview: Bob Costas grills Jerry Sandusky
Bob Costas’ grilling of accused Penn State child molester Jerry Sandusky should be mandatory viewing for all journalism students who want to learn how to handle a confrontational interview. Costas wielded a strong command of the facts. Listened intently to each answer. Asked focused questions and follow-up questions. And he wasn’t satisfied with vague proclamations …
‘I’m an investigative reporter. And you’re busted’
Flustered locksmith dude: “Like, what are you doing? I don’t know … what’s going on?” Reporter uncovering locksmith scam: “My name is Brian Collister. I’m with the Trouble Shooters. I’m an investigative reporter. And you’re busted.”
Texas Week’s Rick Casey focuses on the Texas Highway Patrol Museum
Many thanks to Rick Casey, Bruce Kates, and the staff at KLRN’s Texas Week for having me on their show to talk about the Texas Highway Patrol Museum and its little-known purpose as a telemarketing operation. Check out our past news coverage of the museum, which is actually a telemarketing operation that spends only a …