Watchdog New England

Submitted by Jesse Nankin on April 8, 2011 - 3:02pm
Watchdog New England, the Initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern

Watchdog New England is the Initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern University. Funded by the Knight Foundation and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism, the Initiative has a dual mission: (1) to support (often under-funded) small community newspapers in developing investigative and public interest stories in the spirit of transparency and government accountability; and (2) to be a resource for journalists in New England by offering reporting tools, such as databases of public information, and holding conferences. With the journalism industry still struggling to find its place and maintain its integrity, it has been exciting to be part of this experiment that holds the potential to have tremendous impact.

 

You can learn more about our mission here in a blog written by the Initiative's director, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Walter Robinson. But at the heart of the initiative is promoting and supporting the role journalism plays in maintaining transparency and accountability within our communities.

 

As we are a tiny staff and not even a full year into the project, I wear many hats at Watchdog New England, including editing, writing, reporting and maintaining the website. I have also created a substantial database of, well, databases! We are a great resource for finding public information on a wide range of mostly New England-centered topics --from campaign finance to city employee payrolls to environmental hazards. 

 

One of my smaller side projects for Watchdog New England has been to highlight exemplary journalism and pick the brains of the reporters who wrote the stories. I have spoken with award-winning, veteran journalists about surveillance techniques, database reporting, confrontational interviews and finding the next big story, among other topics. I am still very much a greenhorn in the field of journalism, and see these posts and podcasts as a valuable tool for other young professional reporters who are learning the ropes and can benefit from the experiences of others (who can't?!). They also serve as reminders of the dire need for a strong fourth estate!