If you've been feeling despondent about the current state of local TV news, just take a look at the latest issue of Quill, the SPJ magazine. Here's all you need to know about the section that cheered me up: Despite the cutbacks in TV newsrooms, …
Congratulations to KCTV in Kansas City and chief investigative reporter Dana Wright, who just won a 2011 Casey Medal for distinguished coverage of children and families, particularly the disadvantaged. The winning entry was a five-part series, "Big problem, low priority," that looked at the plight …
What turns one appalling case into an investigation that can change state law and reform an industry? Determined, methodical digging and accurate analysis of public records--that's how the Seattle Times told the full story of Seniors for Sale, a year-long series on elderly abuse in "adult …
The odds have long been stacked against investigative reporting in local TV, but somehow it survives. Despite concerns about the expense and time involved in producing investigative journalism, not to mention the potential for lawsuits, some I-Teams actually manage to thrive. While many newsrooms cut or …
Want more proof that social media are great reporting tools? Look no farther than "Keys to the Castle" an investigative story Jace Larson reported for KUSA in Denver that picked up a 2011 duPont-Columbia Award. The story uncovered a housing scam that victimized people facing …
Most reporters don't have the luxury of working on an investigative story for weeks on end. These days, being a "full time" investigative journalist often means filing daily stories while working on long-term projects. Doing that well takes lots of different skills, not the least …
What started as a daily news story turned into a multi-part, award-winning investigation thanks to a simple question: Was the incident an isolated occurrence, as officials claimed, or part of a pattern? Finding the answer uncovered a system failure that allowed thousands of accused felons …
Sometimes you find the best stories just by taking a closer look at what's already in plain sight. What WCAX-TV reporter Kristin Carlson saw was a Vermont dairy industry in such dire straits that farmers willingly broke the law to hire help so they could …
Layoffs and cutbacks have taken their toll in local television newsrooms but quality TV journalism ain't dead yet. Want proof? Six local stations won the prestigious duPont-Columbia silver baton this year--the most in more than 20 years. The winners are doing journalism the old-fashioned way, …
Stories on local TV news just seem to keep getting shorter. From all indications, the average big market package runs about 1:15 these days. So it's unusual, to say the least, for a station to not only buck the trend but to create a new …
by Alan Cohn, WFTS-TV, Tampa, Fla. It's one thing to get a great tip. It was another thing to actually catch Angel Ocasio in full Marine Corps Uniform wearing the Navy Cross he didn’t earn. I learned the Tampa man was going around dressed as a Marine …
It all started at the IRE conference this summer, when a 60 Minutes producer approached WFOR-TV's Stephen Stock. Would he be interested in working together on an investigation? That brief conversation led both CBS News and its Miami affiliate to produce separate but parallel stories a …
