Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
With all the doom and gloom we keep hearing about newspapers, you’d think no one ever reads them. Tell that to Aaron Blanco. Six days ago, reporter Brian Chasnoff wrote a cool feature story about Blanco and his company, Brown Coffee Co., where Blanco roasts fresh coffee beans in small batches to unlock pungent, fruity …
I first learned about Kachingle last year from Steve Outing. I thought Kachingle was a cool idea, waited for it to launch, and then promptly forgot about it. Then I read this post by the Center for Public Integrity today saying it joined Kachingle. Kachingle’s still around? Turns out, Kachingle has launched in beta, and …
Rosland Gammon had an interesting Q&A with investigative reporter Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who uncovered rampant fraud in a $350 million, taxpayer-subsidized child-care program. Her series of stories, Cashing in on Kids, led to criminal charges against the scammers. A video profiling Rutledge offers a glimpse at the tedious grunt work required …
Last week, FBI agents and white-collar crime police detectives questioned Fernando De León, a city official in San Antonio who oversaw the permitting process for real estate development. We published a story today with more details: Related: Former San Antonio official Fernando De Leon faces federal charges in alleged bribery scheme Federal authorities subpoenaed records …
What others are saying about watchdog journalism: Nieman Journalism Lab: Former Washington Post Editor Len Downie says for-profit news orgs won’t create enough journalism. The Guardian: How investigative reporting makes use of the internet. Now the Details: Jeffrey Dvorkin argues there’s a downside to nonprofit investigative reporting.
Zachary Adam Cohen penned a great piece for bloggers who want to do more than write clever riffs off the work of others. The post disappeared into the mists of the Internet but here are the relevant parts: I personally love blogs that rip content from a bigger site and comment on it. I think …
There’s still more news in the story of the retaining wall collapse at the Hills of Rivermist — builder Centex Homes declined to meet with residents today. If you want to know more about the background of this story, check out this timeline of the major events related to the retaining wall collapse.
This speech is a decade old but it never grows stale. It still offers a fresh, compelling look at what makes a good reporter tick. John MacCormack is a veteran journalist at the San Antonio Express-News. Madalyn Murray O’Hair was a controversial atheist who had been reported missing in Austin. Most people believed O’Hair was …
Nearly two months after a retaining wall split open at the Hills of Rivermist in San Antonio, Centex Homes submitted plans to the city for a new wall that is reinforced with concrete piers and will cost at least $4 million: Centex Homes is hoping the third time’s the charm. This week it produced a …
Political junkies, rejoice. C-Span has posted nearly its entire video archive online for the public to search and view. This is awesome. Let’s say you’re researching the roots of the economic crisis, and you want to explore whether the deregulation of the banking industry played a role. The C-Span archive offers the full video of …