Looking forward to the future of journalism

‘A need to investigate the bastards’

Columbia Journalism review posted an interesting feature story about nonprofit investigative news organizations, and how they take different approaches to funding and sharing their content. The CJR story opens with a telling anecdote about a meeting at California Watch. At the meeting, the editors agree that one of their reporters, after months of digging, has …

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Why you can’t read my news story online, and why that could be a good thing

I wrote a story about the dangers of police chases that was published in Sunday’s paper. If you’re a subsciber to the San Antonio Express-News or bought Sunday’s edition, you could read my story. But you can’t read it online — it’s been embargoed for a few days. I like the Internet. But I like …

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Data reveals challenges and risks of police chases by the San Antonio Police Department

The San Antonio Police Department keeps a unique database that documents every police chase by SAPD officers. I’m working on a story that will be published Sunday that’s based on an analysis of the data. We’re examining the challenges and risks police officers face when they try to catch a suspect in a high-speed chase. …

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Reporter’s notebook: Tips for putting together the pieces of a puzzling, complex story

Jigsaw puzzle

On March 26, City Hall reporter Josh Baugh got an adrenaline-pumping tip: FBI agents had seized files at the office of Fernando De León, a city official who reviewed permits for real estate development in San Antonio. The tip sparked a frantic series of phone calls that afternoon as Josh and I tried to figure …

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Longform.org: Long, beautiful stories online

Express-News Reporter Brian Chasnoff found a unique discovery: A collection of compelling, long-form stories on the Web: Two generous souls have started a website (goodnight forever “Web site”) that fills a hole in my life. As Slate’s Jack Shafer explains, the duo — Max Linsky and Aaron Lammer — recently began compiling gems of long-form …

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Using LucidChart to connect the dots between people and organizations

Ties between Rapid Permit Services and Fernando De Leon

When City Hall reporter Josh Baugh and I worked on this story about fired city official Fernando De León, Josh found a nice online tool to help us connect the dots. LucidChart lets you create flow charts and organizational trees that you can share with your colleagues and publish when you’re done. Here’s the chart …

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Firm tied to San Antonio official landed plum job at the Rim shopping center

City hall reporter Josh Baugh and I learned a few more scraps of information about fired city employee Fernando De León; the permit company owned by his sister; and possible reasons why the FBI and police are investigating them. First, some background: On March 26 — a lazy, Friday afternoon in the newsroom — Josh …

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Watchdog blog roundup for 4-27-10

What others are saying about watchdog journalism: Claudia Ricci: How much would you pay Jim Hummel to uncover government corruption? Hummel, a former newspaper and TV reporter, is trying to make an online news site work. Reflections of a Newsosaur: A non-profit news model that might work: MinnPost. The Independent: A new British nonprofit, the …

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The power of in-depth journalism: KSAT story about the homeless wowed viewers

With all the mind-numbing stories about shootings and car accidents that usually glut local TV news broadcasts, it was refreshing to watch this gripping, commercial-free, documentary-style story by KSAT about the homeless. Broadcast in December 2005, the story was an effort by anchor Steve Spriester to chronicle the face of homelessness in San Antonio. Express-News …

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