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Oh Look, Bloggers Can Do Investigative Reporting Too
from the funny-how-that-works dept
Whenever we talk about bloggers or others outside the mainstream press doing some kind of investigative reporting, some traditional journalists tend to stop by and complain that even if it was done this one time by this one individual, that individual won't stick around and do any future investigative reporting. However, that seems to miss the point. With the new tools of production these days, the simple fact is that if there's a story to get out, anyone can now get it out there and get it attention. If they only do it once in their lives, that's great. The next story will be done by someone else. Again, this isn't to knock professional reporters -- who I still believe strongly have a place in this ecosystem. But the complaints that investigative reporting simply won't be done without newspapers still rings incredibly hollow.
In the latest example, sent in by Chris, a blogger in Florida has apparently been doing an excellent job breaking a number of key stories concerning a recent murder. Even the local police say they're now seriously investigating leads brought to their attention by this guy's reporting -- even as the local mainstream press continued to argue against what the guy was reporting. It's still not settled what happened exactly, and some of the blogger's ideas may not turn out to be true, but as the NY Times notes, he has not yet had to retract any of his posts, and many of the factual points he's raised have later proved to be true.
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Dear Lord,
Whatever religion's God is actually right, I implore your righteous ass, do NOT let the murderer in this case turn out to be the blogger.
Because then I'll have to listen to Bill O'Reilly and Chris Hanson and every other two-bit government mouthpiece stomp around the media for days and days using this guy as an example of all bloggers/new media/etc.
So if you have an ounce of compassion in your godly heart, which looking around is highly suspect, please make sure that doesn't happen.
Or else it's war.
Love,
Dark Helmet
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Re: Dear Lord,
this was my first thought as well.
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So if I want to know about murders in Pensacola, I will consult bloggers. Otherwise, I will stick with trusted news services.
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Re:
"So if I want to know about murders in Pensacola, I will consult bloggers. Otherwise, I will stick with trusted news services."
...You will? Which vaunted trusted news sources are these, that don't report incorrect information or sensationalize murder trials? Old media has been around a long time and we STILL don't have an answer for the murder of Kennedy, so I'm confused as to who you're trusting...
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Damn fool.
If he knows enough to be taken serious then he by definition a person of interest in the crime.
If he is a person of interest and he knows non public information then he is the guilty party, an accessory, or an access after the fact and open to arrest.
This is the way innocent people go to jail for crimes they did not commit. You hear about one or two such cases a year after they spent 20 years or more on death row.
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Re: Dear Lord,
That was also my first thought about this issue, either his accurate facts are determined by deductive reasoning or by witnessing them.
And a primary witness is always the perpetrator, or as the cops refer to them as "a person of interest".
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Re: Re:
There's the point: The media's primary job isn't to solve murders, they are to report the facts as they have them. Investigative reporting is a secondary or tertiary part of the job.
If you want a murder solved, ask the police. If I want to know what the police are saying about a murder, I read the news.
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Re: Re: Re:
"If you want a murder solved, ask the police. If I want to know what the police are saying about a murder, I read the news."
Understood. Just one question:
Who do I ask if I want to know what ACTUALLY happened?
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
i believe the answer is 'be there to witness it'
not that that's the world's most terribly helpful statement ever, but still :D
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Logical flaw
"The next story will be done by someone else."
Proof by assertion to those who want to believe it?
How do you know what DIDN'T get done because nobody volunteered to do it?
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'll ask some moron with a blog.
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I love how you can find one or two examples of a blogger doing some sort of investigative journalism and consider that strong evidence that society is ready to eliminate newspapers. You're embarrassing yourself. Don't pretend like you're not. It's a weak case - and you are actually hurting your argument because in this case you, as a blogger, are grossly misinterpreting and misrepresenting the data and therefor doing a poor job of reporting. This actually this borders on being yellow. Nice job bud. Way to help your cause.
I enjoy reading some news. And I enjoy reading some blogs. But let's be clear, we need them both. Why? Because people want both. That's why. Not everybody wants newspapers to die, despite your relentless campaign to bring their death to fruition.
So Please, quit pretending like you are doing anybody a favor by riding this "death of newspapers" bandwagon. It's getting old, and was yesterday's "news".
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Re:
Ok, Mr Murdoch, back in your box now.
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"Oh Look, Bloggers Can Do Investigative Reporting Too"
I have seen dancing bears at a circus, doesn't mean one it going to win Dancing With Stars.
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Funny
The fact that the state of the industry is such that it's now a news story when someone reports the news. Either good or bad-- I have no idea which.
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Funny
The fact that the state of the industry is such that it's now a news story when someone reports the news. Either good or bad-- I have no idea which.
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Re:
Ummmm....
...you can find one or two examples of a blogger doing some sort of investigative journalism and consider that strong evidence that society is ready to eliminate newspapers.
Again, this isn't to knock professional reporters -- who I still believe strongly have a place in this ecosystem.
So saying that professional reporters still have a place in this ecosystem but suggesting that they cannot merely rest on their laurels, which actually would result in them being eliminated, is a claim that society is ready to move on from newspapers?
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News
It is my honest belief that if the newspapers actually did more investigative, non-biased, reporting they wouldn't be going down the financial shit hole.
If a blogger can do a better job than a "reporter" then the blogger deserves the eyes & money that comes with success. That is competition, that is capitalism.
In my town we recently has a string of murders, all having some odd similarities. The local paper barley gives a mention on page 3 and no updates since to the investigation. Withing newspapers website, on the comments to the tiny article are around 300 comments begging for more reporting. It's been three months and nothing.
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Re: News
"The local paper barley"
Mmmmm, local paper barley and radio hops make for a tasty brew....
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Re: Re: Re:
"If you want a murder solved, ask the police."
[sarcasm/] Because the police always do a bang-up-job solving crimes. [/sarcasm]
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Re: Re: News
LOL, yup no coffee yet.
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Re:
"I enjoy reading some news. And I enjoy reading some blogs. But let's be clear, we need them both. Why? Because people want both. That's why. Not everybody wants newspapers to die, despite your relentless campaign to bring their death to fruition.
So Please, quit pretending like you are doing anybody a favor by riding this "death of newspapers" bandwagon. It's getting old, and was yesterday's "news"."
Mike has never said he wanted newspapers to die, so your whole rant is quite pointless. The newspapers themselves are saying they're dying, and saying that they need to be "saved". Mike's just pointing out that saving them isn't our job, it's their job.
If newspapers die out, it's because people stopped caring about them. Just like any other business that's collapsed.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
No, because they do a crappier job running newspapers.
Opportunity cost.
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Yes they can. But someone still has to pay their bills.
This is exactly what I have done for over a decade for the invention promotion industry and that is why they run around trying to trash my reputation. Some of the people behind the frauds are literally raking in tens of millions a year.
What we do to help inventors avoid being fleeced.
1) We compile victim stories and when we have enough evidence we list the offending companies at www.InventorEd.org/caution/list/.
2) We track who the owners are, management, sales people and bad apple attorneys who facilitate their conduct.
3) We show victims how and where to file complaints and after we get enough complaints we encourage all of the complainants to refile in a cluster. This helps make the worst players rise above the noise and often leads to them getting the kind of attention they have justly earned.
4) We supply compiled data to law enforcement and media on request.
5) We do not broadcast any information which might alert the perps that they have become the subject of interest.
6) We cooperate with other organizations with similar goals.
7) When a scumbag atty threatens us on behalf of some shyster promoter we generally publish their threats on internet to save them the trouble of threatening others.
8) We have a broad spectrum of volunteers and conduct investigations into the most obnoxious promoters, followed by submitting what we learn to the authorities.
9) Behind every questionable invention promoter there are always questionable patent attorneys. In fact, many of the silly patents which are issued are the work of invention promotion companies. We track who the attorneys are writing those patents (most do not list their names on the patent), and we encourage those who have been damaged to submit complaints to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline at the USPTO. In a number of cases those attorneys have been sanctioned. One is still a fugitive from justice:)
Ronald J. Riley,
I am speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR act PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
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help
lol.... i don't know how to make an investigative report... help me...
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