Summer 2009

21st Century Muckrakers

‘… investigative reporters are a hardy breed who will tenaciously uphold their watchdog mission in bad times as well as good.’

The articles about public health, safety and trust in this issue of Nieman Reports are a reminder of the essential role that watchdog reporting plays in our lives. Contemporary exposés of tainted overseas drugs and toys, like recent reports about contaminated meat and produce at domestic grocery chains and fast-food restaurants, trace their origins to America’s early muckrakers. More than a century ago, Upton Sinclair worked undercover to produce his epic investigation of meatpacking plants, “The Jungle,” while Collier’s and The Ladies’ Home Journal documented dangerous “patent” medicines. These reports led to the kind of reforms that are once again being demanded in the wake of current food and drug scandals.

 

21st Century Muckrakers
Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor
The Challenges and Opportunities of 21st Century Muckraking
‘… investigative reporters are a hardy breed who will tenaciously uphold their watchdog mission in bad times as well as good.’
By Mark Feldstein
Investigating Health and Safety Issues—As Scientists Would (1 comment)
The Chicago Tribune paid to have state-of-the-art testing done on products people eat and use and the results provided ‘clear reporting entry points into what are complex topics.’
By Sam Roe
Rotting Meat, Security Documents, and Corporal Punishment (2 comments)
A local Chicago investigative reporter uses shoe-leather techniques and digital tools to uncover health and safety violations and be sure the news is widely spread.
By Dave Savini
Mining the Coal Beat: Keeping Watch Over an ‘Outlaw’ Industry
Digging through records, creating new databases, and asking key questions leads a West Virginia reporter to important investigative stories about the coal industry.
By Ken Ward, Jr.
Reporting Time and Resources Reveal a Hidden Source of Pollution
‘In many cases I had the budget to take chances and to not take no for an answer.’
By Abrahm Lustgarten
Pouring Meaning Into Numbers (1 comment)
In using EPA data, USA Today’s watchdog project empowered ‘parents to learn about the types and sources of chemicals that might be in the air near their child’s school.’
By Blake Morrison and Brad Heath
Navigating Through the Biofuels Jungle
‘Given my years of energy reporting in California, I could spot several warning signs early on; others took additional reporting to uncover.’
By Elizabeth McCarthy
Going to Where the Fish Are Disappearing
Investigative reporters in Sweden set out to tell the story of why and how illegal fishing of cod was happening—and what it meant to consumers and businesses in their country.
By Sven Bergman, Joachim Dyfvermark, and Fredrik Laurin
Watchdogging Public Corruption: A Newspaper Unearths Patterns of Costly Abuse
‘These are tumultuous and frightening times for newspapers, but this kind of reporting is what we do best.’
By Sandra Peddie
Filling a Local Void: J-School Students Tackle Watchdog Reporting
‘Those of us who have been investigative reporters have a responsibility to ensure that local watchdogging remains robust in our industry.’
By Maggie Mulvihill and Joe Bergantino