Watchdog Reporting and New Forms of Investigative Journalism    [Print This Page] Time: 3:45-5:00 p.m. Date: Thursday, Sept. 11 Place: 278 Gannett Hall Traditional news operations are embracing new technology even as they face steep cutbacks in resources. As the Web creates new avenues for presenting computer-assisted reporting, new ethical dilemmas have arisen. In the midst of all this change, what's happening to investigative journalism? And even in uncertain times, new models for investigative reporting are taking shape that offer exciting possibilities for the future of muckraking. This session is sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). Discussion Leaders James V. Grimaldi Investigative Reporter The Washington Post James V. Grimaldi, BJ '84, is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. In 2006, he won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with two Post reporters for their work on the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The stories also won the Selden Ring Award and the Worth Bingham Prize. In 2004, Grimaldi worked on a series of stories on major fundraisers in the presidential campaign, and in 2003 he co-authored stories on animal deaths at the Smithsonian-run National Zoo that led to the resignation of the zoo's director. Articles he and the Post investigative team reported and wrote after Sept. 11 were part of the Post's entry that was a public-service finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. He was a Knight-Bagehot fellow in business and economics journalism and a 2007 Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. Manny Garcia Metro Editor The Miami Herald Manny Garcia is metro editor at The Miami Herald. He has covered general assignment, police, courts and municipal government. Garcia is a former special projects editor, courts and cops editor and member of the Herald's I-team. He was a key reporter and writer in the Herald's 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning voter fraud investigation and its 2001 Pulitzer Prize for the Elian Gonzalez raid. Garcia and Jason Grotto, MA '01, shared a 2004 IRE Award for their project "Justice Withheld." Cheryl Phillips Board President, Investigative Reporters and Editors Deputy Investigations Editor, The Seattle Times Cheryl Phillips is president of the board of directors of Investigative Reporters and Editors and is deputy investigations editor at The Seattle Times, where she was an investigative reporter from 2002 until January 2007. In Seattle, she has twice been a member of reporting teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She reported and wrote for the "Your Courts, Their Secrets" series that was a Pulitzer finalist in the investigative reporting category, and her team coverage of the Washington, D.C., sniper suspects in 2002 was a finalist in the breaking news category. Previously, Phillips worked as a computer-assisted reporting editor for USA Today's sports section and as a CAR projects editor at The Detroit News. She also covered local government and the state legislature at the Great Falls Tribune in Montana and was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Lea Thompson Veteran Broadcaster, Investigative Reporters and Editors Board NBC News - Now Freelance For 16 years Lea Thompson was a chief correspondent at Dateline, NBC and NBC News, and for more than 15 years, co-head of the investigative unit and a main anchor at WRC-TV in Washington. Her work was the driving force behind three acts of Congress: The Infant Formula Act, The Medical Laboratory Improvement Act and The Vaccine Compensation Act, which also spurred the search for a new DPT vaccine. Her work has initiated more than two dozen Congressional and governmental agency hearings, and laws and decisions by dozens of federal, state and local governments including the nationwide recall of 25 million asbestos-laden hairdryers. A few people have gone to jail. Thompson's stories have caused many companies to change policies including new warning labels on Infant Tylenol and new procedures at Sears to keep used batteries from being sold as new. Her work has spawned a number of made-for-TV movies and three books. Thompson has won every major broadcast journalism award including multiple IRE, Peabody, Polk, Murrow and National Emmy awards, the Loeb, duPont and 19 Regional Emmys. Alison Young Investigative Reporter The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Alison Young is an investigative reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she covers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She previously was a member of Knight Ridder's Washington-based investigative team. Before that Young spent 10 years at the Detroit Free Press, where she was a reporter, enterprise editor and the deputy metro editor. She also has reported for The Arizona Republic and the Dallas Times Herald. Young's reporting in 2006 won Scripps Howard, Sigma Delta Chi, Heywood Broun and National Press Club awards. Previous honors include two Gerald Loeb Awards, a National Headliner Award and the Roy W. Howard Award for Public Service. About the Futures Forum Top journalists, advertisers and thought leaders will lead numerous interactive sessions during the Sept. 11 Futures Forum, a day of cutting-edge discussions about the next century of journalism. Ethics, convergence and politics are just a few of the many hot topics that will be explored in this diverse program dedicated to challenging industry thinking and visualizing possibilities for the future. Sessions will be 75 minutes long and held concurrently with others on the schedule. Full schedules will be available during on-site check in during the Sept. 10-12 celebration. Close Window