Well done Ian a fitting post. (4.00 / 1)

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky

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by: HousesofProgress @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 02:16:04 AM UTC

okay i'll bite (0.00 / 0)

I don't like everything Brian Ross does but he's broken a lot of stories and is willing to anger people in power. He won the Crokite award a couple years ago:

From wikipedia:

Major scoops

In 1998, Ross broke the story on ABC's Primetime of sweatshops in Saipan, the capital of the Mariana Islands, where the women were forced to have abortions. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was later convicted for fraud, represented some of the owners of the sweatshops. In 2005, Ross reported that Abramoff funded an all expense-paid trip by Tom DeLay to Saipan, to benefit the sweatshop owners.[2]

On May 15, 2006 Ross reported that the federal government was monitoring journalists' telephone records in an effort to track down leaks. Allegedly, the CIA was tracking reporters from ABC News, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. It is unclear exactly how the government was tracking the targeted journalists.[3]

On May 24, 2006 Ross reported on the lead story for ABC World News Tonight that the Justice Department was investigating Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, for possible connections to the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. Both the Justice Department and Dennis Hastert issued denials, but Ross insisted the story was correct.[4] Ross did say that the investigation may eventually "wash out and be nothing".[5]

On September 6, 2006, Brian Ross reported that Pakistan has decided not to seek the capture of Osama bin Laden, so long as bin Laden acts "like a peaceful citizen." [6] Pakistan denied the report.[7]

On September 29, 2006, Brian Ross reported that Florida Rep. Mark Foley (R) sent underage male Congressional aides sexually explicit internet messages.[8] This led to Foley's resignation from Congress.

[edit] Awards

In 2003, Brian Ross received the George Polk Award given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.[9]
In 2007, Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative Team won a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, for breaking the story of Mark Foley's inappropriate contact with Congressional pages, ultimately changing the course of the election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

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by: tremayne @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 02:17:23 AM UTC

I am not sure Ross is all that .. (4.00 / 1)

see:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/g...

&

http://www.salon.com/opinion/g...

Ross was awful on the Anthrax stories.

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 02:35:35 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Brian Ross was a good reporter many years ago (0.00 / 0)

But I wouldn't put him in that category now, after publishing some of the most dishonest hit-pieces over the last decade or so. The guy is a font of reckless official leaks of the worst sort, even though he does manage to write a real story on occasion.


"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

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by: Emocrat @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 02:52:32 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

If you're talking TV, no one comes to mind, but McClatchy (0.00 / 0)

has a bevy of great reporters.  And they do do some reporting.

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by: Terra Mystica @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 03:16:21 AM UTC

Yes, I'm (0.00 / 0)

a big fan of McClatchy

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by: Ian Welsh @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 03:45:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bill Moyers (4.00 / 6)

Real TV journalism would basically be dead except for Moyers and the gang at PBS, especially Frontline.  

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by: Ron @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 03:26:25 AM UTC

The Cronk, along with many others, made journalism a respectable trade (4.00 / 2)

...which is what it is. It's not a profession in any respect. Nor is it very respectable anymore.

He's one of the reasons I went to J-School way back when (okay, 1980). So I'm a tad wistful at both his demise and the sad fact that our national discourse has only worsened over time, in spite of all his (and others) efforts.

For an establishmentarian, he put the truth up front when needed. I remember his editorial in which he declared the Vietnam War basically a lost cause. I remember the way the room fell silent and the heaving of lungs in the room. I remember the reactions better than the speech itself, because I was a kid at the time and that's what you notice--the parents in the room. That's also the kind of thing that sticks in your mind later when pondering a career in journalism. You want your work to resonate.

That moment also made him into a national icon in a way no PR department could ever manage without spending tens of millions in the process. Being willing to put it out there made that moment happen and it defined him in the public eye going forward. You can't buy that.

With the growth of the intertoobz into the medium of choice for those interested in truth, we are fortunate this medium has provided us with access to people who actually give a shit about TRUTH. Truth, by the way, is ironically listed as the primary objective in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and motto. As a previous chapter Pres of that now shameful entity, the irony couldn't burn brighter than it does now.

But before I went off and got all wistful and shit, there was a point to this comment. Oh yeah. The ones who still matter.

There are a lot of them, thankfully. They don't make that much money, I would guess, but they labor on anyway. So here's my short list of worthies (in no particular order, as I think that would be silly):

* Matt Taibbi: He doesn't get the cred he deserves, because he's as much a writer as a journalist. But if you've followed his recent work on the financial industry, you have to admit he's incredibly (bleeping) sharp. He also knows how to hone in and find the Public Interest and impact on a story.

* Al Giordano: Working his ass off for years in Latin America, his work is impeccable and has been for a long time. He deserves a lot of respect. He sources properly. He does what we used to call "research."

* Robert Parry: Broke the Iran-Contra story while working for AP and was promptly castrated by that fine purveyor of "truth." His work back then was impeccable, as one who had to meet super-high standards just to file those stories in the first place.

* Bruce Webb: Though he's dead now as a result of "suicide," he deserves a posthumous mention. And no, I don't believe he committed suicide, but that's another matter. He broke the crack cocaine story. Period. No serious person disputes that.

* Seymour Hersh: need I say more?

* Amy Goodman: seriously, need I say more?

* Bill effing Moyers: Period. Also as much a writer as journalist. Also as much a philosopher as a journalist. He's one of the few Americans we can actually call "wise" and not have that come off as a bad joke.

There are so many, many more. Matthew Rothschild at Progressive. The crew at The Nation and so on.

Lastly, every young upstart who gives a shit about the truth and pursues it with vigor.


"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

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by: Emocrat @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 03:48:48 AM UTC

This is as good a list as I have seen. (0.00 / 0)

Taken together it seems like a big list.


--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky

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by: HousesofProgress @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 14:30:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

jim leher (0.00 / 0)

Jim Leher is a great reporter...but maybe more of a achorman than a newsman. Also, Charlie Rose is nice.

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by: boomersun @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 04:03:20 AM UTC

lehrer (0.00 / 0)

gotta disagree, the NewsHour is a disgrace.  

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by: AliceDem @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 13:18:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

TV? (0.00 / 0)

None are the whole shebang, by Cronkite standards, and many tend to do analysis more than reporting, but IMO these people are doing far better work than most, either as reporter, anchor or analyst:

Keith Olbermann
Rachel Maddow
David Schuster
Richard Engel
Lawrence O'Donnell
Eugene Robinson
Chrystia Freeland
Christiane Amanpour
Martha Raddatz
David Brancaccio
Maria Hinojosa
Lara Logan

And yes, I have an MSNBC bias. CNN is unwatchable, Fox is unspeakable, and I haven't watched the nightly network news in years, mostly because I just don't trust them anymore. Still way too fearful of being accused of having liberal bias and way too accomodating to the right as it goes down in flames. But they do have some exceptions.

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything...Mankind are forever destined to be the dupes of bold & cunning imposture" -- Alexander Hamilton

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by: kovie @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 09:43:28 AM UTC

Brit Hume (0.00 / 0)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

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by: LockeOak @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 17:19:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

i don't watch teevee, so i can't list anyone (4.00 / 1)

people doing real investigative journalism that i know would include Brad Freidman of bradblog, marcy wheeler, greg palast, and some of the crew from TPM. there are many more in the blogosphere following Cronkites shoes. i say to hell with the teevee bobbleheads, all of whom will likely fail to achieve Cronkite's status. let's celebrate those who are really doing great work, instead of settling for mediocre product from the Village. by definition, it's nearly impossible for one to be a SCLM member, and do serious, detailed, critical journalism.  

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by: chicago dyke @ Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 12:38:22 PM UTC