Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
Two years ago, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, my colleagues Karisa King and Scott Stroud wrote a story that went beyond the platitudes of politicians and pundits. Karisa and Scott checked to see if Texas was actually safer after receiving more than a billion dollars in Homeland Security grant money: … Read more
If you were under investigation by both mainstream journalists and bloggers, who would be easier to intimidate: One single newspaper, or dozens of bloggers? Pulitzer-prize winner Alex Jones says the downfall of newspapers threatens investigative reporting, because papers have the legal muscle to shrug off threats of lawsuits. Michael Masnick at Techdirt and Tim Lee … Read more
Six months after the San Antonio Express-News cut a third of its newsroom, Texas Public Radio interviewed journalists at the newspaper — including yours truly — to measure the impact of the cutbacks. Terry Gildea’s story was featured today on the radio program Texas Matters. Terry interviewed a broad spectrum of the newsroom: Top editor … Read more
Today’s front page of the San Antonio Express-News was dominated by stories that all relied on public records: Karisa King analyzed a public database that tracks property tax disputes in Bexar County. “Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale homes … Read more
Jen and I received an invite on Facebook to help out Marissa Villa, a former reporter for the Express-News’ Hispanic publication Conexion who was laid off earlier this year. The guy who organized the fundraiser for Marissa was former Express-News Business Writer Travis Poling, who also left the paper. Travis is a beer connoisseur. When … Read more
Reporters Todd Bensman and Guillermo Contreras, my colleagues on the special projects team at the San Antonio Express-News, won an award from the National Press Club for their series of stories about gunrunning to Mexico called Texas’ Deadliest Export. According to the press club: Related: Call an investigative reporter in Houston, Texas “Reporters Todd Bensman … Read more
I just got off the phone with Tammy Haby, who I interviewed for this story about the safety record of Kiddie Park. Haby’s son, Holden, had his teeth knocked out in a roller coaster accident at the old park. “Thank you for bringing this all to light and sharing it with everybody,” Tammy said. “We … Read more
It seemed like every section of today’s paper had a story that grabbed me and surprised me and told me something about the world I didn’t know before. Brian Chasnoff wrote about unregulated dog breeders selling sick puppies to unsuspecting buyers. Ariel Barkhurst checked the background of a funeral home administrator who was accused of … Read more
Not that I’m biased or anything, but my girlfriend Jennifer Hiller won two awards for a story she wrote about the Texas Residential Construction Commission, a state agency ostensibly created to help homeowners resolve disputes with homebuilders. In reality, the agency was often powerless to help consumers and it’s going to be dissolved. Jennifer spent … Read more
Last week military reporter Scott Huddleston and I covered the story of Capt. Michael Fontana, a nurse who has been charged by the Air Force of killing three patients at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. This is Military City, USA, and there’s lots of interest in the case and concern about it. Here … Read more