Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
Reporter Karisa King wrote a story published Sunday that revealed state Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, is accused of defaulting on $5.5 million in debt. Aside from being an interesting read (Leibowitz denies owing that much money), the story is a good example of the power of public documents. Related: Different ways to contact a … Read more
Helen Zhang at Mediaite points out the sudden interest in the Texas death penalty case of Cameron Todd Willingham was prompted by a ginormous, 16,000-word article by the New Yorker magazine. The story is long — but it’s hard to stop reading it: The fire moved quickly through the house, a one-story wood-frame structure in … Read more
Mindy McAdams compiled 15 blog posts into a single pdf file to create a great primer about blogging, videos, pictures, podcasting — and why you ought to be learning it all. McAdams wrote this guide for journalists but it’s useful for anyone who wants to tell stories in the multimedia world and make connections with … Read more
A team of journalists working for Hearst-owned newspapers and television stations across the country have spent months investigating the little-known but deadly problem of medical errors in the United States. The stories reveal that more people die every year from medical mistakes than car accidents. At the San Antonio Express-News, Database Editor Kelly Guckian analyzed … Read more
The latest issue of the Incarnate Word Logos, the student newspaper of the university in San Antonio where I studied journalism, published an article in May about the school cafeteria, and how some students are unhappy with their meal plans. The article stirred up ancient memories. My very first news story was published in the … Read more
Investigative Reporters and Editors is in the middle of a fundraising campaign. If you care about watchdog journalism, you might want to think about helping the cause. I first heard about IRE from Ken Dilanian, who was an investigative reporter for the San Antonio Express-News in the mid-1990s. I was a skinny dude with a … Read more
If you’re researching a topic related to the federal government, chances are the Government Accountability Office has already looked into the issue and published a detailed report about it. Now the GAO, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, is going all social media on us by setting up accounts on Twitter and YouTube. Related: A … Read more
News University gave a recent Webinar hosted by Matt Thompson about effective ways to design and write a successful blog with a robust community. Thompson offered key tips for reporters, who are often told to go forth and blog but don’t receive much guidance about what makes a good blog. Many journalists, who have spent … Read more
Angela Grant, the video guru at the San Antonio Express-News, shared an excellent post about video projects published on YouTube by a class of Texas State University journalism students taught by David Nolan. Angela taught me everything I knew about shooting and editing video. One of her lessons is promising: Anyone can do this. Most … Read more
Awesome video by the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof, who offers some sound reporting advice for all journalists and bloggers. True, most of us will never need fake wallets or interpreters or blow darts. But doing everything you can do verify someone’s story — no matter how sympathetic they are — is important whether you’re … Read more