First Amendment Reporting: What can reporters, editors do?

What can reporters do?

During a round of drinks with a number of Colorado Capitol press corps colleagues last week, the question of how journalists can continue quality First Amendment journalism amid newsroom layoffs, cutbacks and larger work loads was asked. 

"How can we be expected to do that level of work when we are being asked to pump out more stories, instant online news updates, take photos and blog every day?" 

It's true. Reporters are being asked to do more with fewer resources and less time than ever before. But, after thinking about this conversation (and so many others just like it) I came to believe that more work and less time shouldn't be an excuse for reporters and editors to stop practicing the democratic responsibility of First Amendment, watchdog reporting. 

First, the more watchdog journalism a community reads in its local paper the more respect it will give to the publication. I understand respect doesn't necessarily equate to more advertising or even subscriptions, but it does count for something. Sources will open up more and people in the know will feel safer in making sure the newspaper is in the know. 

Second, it should make the reporter(s) feel good to know he/she is doing the job. So, what can overworked, underpaid reporters do? 

Here is a quick list of three steps any reporter can add to their work week in order to produce more watchdog journalism but that won't take too much of their valuable time either:

- File more open records requests. Not everything has to be done in the form of a FOIA, of course. Often times reporters can gain information simply by asking for it. But, it's essential that reporters use the public documents in order to find stories. The best stories are found not through canned press releases but by digging into the public documents of a school district or city government. Sometimes, just by filing the open records request a reporter will stumble onto a hidden nugget. And, in some instances, a government staffer might lead the reporter to another document related to the original request but that offers better insight into the subject at hand. 

- Ask for copies of audits.  There is important information buried in the pages of government audits. Any reporter covering a beat, whether schools, city or state government, or the FAA, should ask officials for copies of all of audits performed in the last 12 months. Most audits contain an executive summary which summarizes the bulk of the information into a couple of pages and often will highlight the inconsistencies or problem areas the auditor found. This practice doesn't take much effort but can lead to good watchdog stories. 

- Scrutinize consent agendas. It's amazing how often the best news items from a board meeting or a city council hearing are hidden away in the consent agenda. Sometimes government employees place important fee or tax increases onto the consent agenda because they know the elected officials will not raise an eyebrow. If it passes on consent, there is no public discussion on the item, or even an individual vote by lawmakers. Most journalists will say that "Everyone knows to check consent agendas" but you would be surprised how many don't. 

Retiring USA Today Editor laments loss of watchdog role

The writing is on the wall. During an interesting Q&A with Poynter, Richard Curtis, the founding visual editor of USA Today, expressed his concern with the faltering newspaper industry and its inability to continue serving its role as a watchdog over government. 

From the Q&A:

What do you think is next for USA Today?

Curtis: As much investment as I have in this institution and in its people, I want it to succeed wildly. Ultimately, I think it will be the last paper standing. I think there are dire times ahead for newspapers, in general.

I love reading local newspapers. But I think their economic model is not sustainable. And I don't think that bodes well for newspapers or for democracy.

I think without a healthy, unencumbered newspaper model to provide a watchdog role over public officials especially -- it does not speak well for the future of the country. I think we have to do everything within our power to guard against that happening.

However, the business models haven't been developed that are going to make that watchdog journalism sustainable, except on a national level.

Having worked for a national news organization all of these years, I can tell you that it's almost impossible to shine that spotlight into the dark corners of local government from that perspective.

... I don't think the answer is the Internet, I'll be honest with you. I think it's part of the solution, but it's not the solution, for many, many reasons.

I don't think the business model is there for the Internet -- despite people saying that the growth in online advertising is doing so well. They're charging pennies for it. And pennies will not sustain the kind of rigorous journalism that's necessary, unless journalists are willing to work for free.

Curtis' point that local newspapers especially lack the ability to employ watchdog journalism with current staffing levels is a good one. Although the nation's largest newspapers have sustained newsroom staffing to allow for months-long investigations to continue (most notably the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Washington Post, all of which have generally avoided major layoffs to their newsrooms) community newspapers, which write for a majority of the nation's newspaper readers, have not. 

Depending on the location and the owner of a given community publication, newsroom staffing has been cut by 20-50 percent in recent years. The result has been a serious reduction in watchdog reporting and a disintegration of journalism's First Amendment duty. I've personally seen and heard the horror stories of overworked city editors telling reporters they are no longer expected to do investigative journalism because they can't afford the overtime and their 40 hours each week must be used to pump out two to three daily stories in order to "feed the beast". 

In many cases, understaffed community newspapers have one reporter covering the city council, the county commissioners and the state legislature all at the same time. How much corruption can be uncovered when a reporter is carrying that load? I know of some community newsrooms that ask four to five reporters to pump out more than 40 stories each week. Anybody who can do simple math can see how in-depth, investigative journalism is nearly impossible to do under that load. 

Although government and corporate corruption occurs at the highest levels of our nation's existence, it also is rampant at the community level. The city council member or small-town mayor accepting a bribe or directing city contracts to his brother's construction firm happens and needs to be exposed. Unfortunately, the hard-working and talented journalists at the Times, the Post and the Journal don't have the reach to cover those important stories.