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Investigative Reporting More Difficult to Do, but Vital to News Media's Future, Journalists Say at NPC Forum

COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Good investigative reporting is key to maintaining strong local journalism, but it is difficult to do under current economic conditions, leadingSouth Carolina journalists said at a National Press Club Centennial Forum here Wednesday.

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"There are few things we do that gets a more favorable response from readers than investigative reporting," said Mark Lett, editor of theColumbia newspaper, The State.

In the past, he said, a reporter could disappear for a week or even a month and then come back with a great story because he or she had time to run down tips and make context out of the information.

But giving a reporter that kind of time now is difficult, Lett said, when news organizations are cutting staff while creating content for both the Web and the newspaper.

"Every day there is this tremendous push/pull, how to feed the beast, how to fill up the newspaper with local content," he said.

Lett was speaking at one of the National Press Club's forums on "The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press and the Future of Journalism" that the Club is holding around the country to mark its 100th anniversary. At each forum, the Club gathers a panel of leading local journalists to talk about where the news business is going and how to protect its core values.

TheColumbia forum was co-sponsored by the University of South Carolina's College of Mass Communications and Information Studies and the World Affairs Council ofColumbia.

"I have worked in two television newsrooms where the I-Team is the first thing to go when budgets had to be cut," said Barry Ahrendt, director for marketing and programming at WIS-TV inColumbia.

"It is one of the great risks and dangers in our society that we have lost this significant resource," he said. "I don't see any solutions for it right now."

Eliminating investigative reporting is short sighted, said Augie Grant, who specializes in research on new media technologies and consumer behavior at USC. With all of the news media now able to deliver the basic news at practically the same time, he said, news organizations have to produce unique copy to differentiate themselves.

"Something that our best news organizations can do is investigative reporting," he said. "Obviously there has to be a cost/benefit ratio. But when you say, what can make one news organization different from the others, this is it."

A businessman who saw the value of investigative reporting endowed an award the university gives for the best stories in the state each year, said Charles Bierbauer, dean of USC's College of Mass Communications and Information Studies.

"We get a handful of entries each year," he said. "There's not a whole lot being done."

But where it is being done, it has impact, Bierbauer said. Last year the award went to the Charleston Post and Courier for an investigation into a fire that cost the lives of nine firefighters.

"The story made a difference in changing the laws and regulations affecting fire departments across the state," Bierbauer said.

The next National Press Club Centennial Forum will be Tuesday, Oct. 14, inAtlanta. It is sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club and will be held at Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Details and highlights of these forums can be found at the National Press Club's Web site: www.press.org.

The NPC Centennial Forums program is sponsored by Aviva USA, one of the nation's fastest-growing life insurers (www.AvivaUSA.com). In addition, the company is funding the production and distribution of 12,000 DVD copies of the Club's centennial documentary, "The National Press Club: A Century of Headlines" and supplemental education materials.

Tom Godlasky, chief executive officer of Aviva North America, said, "Our partnership with the National Press Club is based on shared values and a belief that the First Amendment, freedom of speech and professional journalism are fundamental to democracy, personal freedom and free enterprise."

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB:

The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. Founded in 1908, the Club has 3,500 members representing most major news organizations. Each year, the Club holds more than 2,000 events including news conferences, luncheons and panels, and more than 250,000 guests come through its doors.

SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING NATIONAL PRESS CLUB FORUMS

Oct. 14Atlanta, Ga.

Oct. 16New York, N.Y.

Oct. 21Portland, Ore.

Oct. 22Seattle, Wash.

Oct. 23Spokane, Wash.

Oct. 27Columbia, Mo.

Oct. 29Des Moines, Iowa

Oct. 30Milwaukee, Wis.

Nov. 6Salt Lake City, Utah

Nov. 10 Washington D.C. Webcast to the University of Alaska (Anchorage andFairbanks) University of Nebraska, University ofIdaho, University of South Dakota, and University of Montana

Nov 12Cleveland, Ohio

Nov. 13Norman, Okla.

Nov. 13Houston, Tex.

Nov. 17Phoenix, Ariz.

Nov. 17Minneapolis, Minn.

Nov. 18San Diego, Ca.

Nov. 19Los Angeles, Ca.

Nov. 19Philadelphia, Pa.

Dec. 2Indianapolis, Ind.

Dec. 3Ann Arbor, Mich.

Dec. 8Naples, Fla.

SOURCE National Press Club