Watchdog Editors editors@niemanwatchdog.org

 

Contributions

Cruelty as a weapon of war
COMMENTARY | June 169, 2008
Former Navy general counsel Alberto Mora tells Congress that the adoption of interrogation techniques that violate human dignity is not just contrary to our core American values – it weakens our defenses.


Write an article, get it published, win $50,000
SHOWCASE | May 123, 2008
But not just any article. This is a 'preventive journalism' prize set up by a group called 'Understanding Government,' founded and headed by Charles Peters, the former publisher of Washington Monthly. A likely subject of the article: exposing poor leaders and bad policies before they lead to disasters.


An online version of 'Bush's War'
SHOWCASE | March 85, 2008
In addition to the current two-part, 4-1/2-hour documentary, Frontline has an extensive online component. Among other things, it presents 175 video clips and transcripts of more than 400 interviews.


Three DC journalists on the state of investigative reporting
COMMENTARY | May 151, 2007
Walter Pincus, John Walcott and David Corn think the Washington press corps is being manipulated by administration officials who have become supremely adept at dominating the news agenda. They discussed that and other challenges facing investigative journalism on WAMU, a Washington, DC, National Public Radio station.


Send us what you're proud of, and we'll share it
SHOWCASE | May 129, 2007
There may be smaller staffs and a reduced newshole but great watchdog reporting is still being done at news organizations large and small, and we’d like the world to know it.


Warren Buffett on the future of newspapers
COMMENTARY | April 108, 2007
In the Berkshire Hathaway annual report, the investor reviews what led the industry to many years of staggering profits and takes a nuanced look at what may happen next. Overall, his expectations are gloomy.


Noting inspiration and courage on Independence Day
SHOWCASE | July 184, 2006
Happy Fourth. As a holiday message, we’d like to share an email we got the other day. It’s about two American military lawyers who represented suspected terrorists held as prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. On June 29th, the Supreme Court ruled that tribunals set up by the U.S. at Guantanamo violated the Geneva Convention and U.S. military rules.


How the suits are making a travesty of television news
COMMENTARY | April 115, 2006
Former ABC newsman Ted Koppel says the consultants, accountants and demographers who are running television news divisions are surrendering their civic responsibilities – particularly when it comes to news from overseas.


Lawyers for Guantanamo prisoners lauded
SHOWCASE | March 67, 2006
Two military attorneys, one from the Navy and one from the Air Force, were cited for their “willingness to risk allegations of traitorous behavior” and for challenging “authority by insisting on legal rights for military prisoners.”