Pulitzer Prize finalist Jerry Mitchell told a group of reporters, editors, producers, students and journalism educators to be investigative journalists that do what he thinks is the most important role of the press.
“Journalism is the life blood of democracy,” Mitchell said. “How do you know when someone gets up and lies? We need the watchdog aspect to hold our officials accountable. I think that’s the role the press plays.”
Mitchell, the Clarion-Ledger investigative reporter that put four Klansmen and a suspected serial killer behind bars, was one of the presenters at a Watchdog Workshop hosted this past weekend by the Jackson State University School of Journalism and Media Studies in collaboration with Reveal from the Center of Investigative Reporting and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).
Journalists who attend IRE Watchdog Workshops get their investigative batteries recharged. Nearly 100 journalists from small, midsize and large publications, TV, radio stations, Web-only news sites, students and educators learned tips on how to negotiate records requests, persuade sources into speaking candidly in addition to getting tools and “tricks of the trade” designed to create better, faster, watchdog journalists.
Shawn McIntosh, deputy managing editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discussed her paper’s approach to watchdog stories from a variety of beats, how to fact-check and treat sources and the length of time it may take to produce meaty enterprising stories.
IRE Executive Director Doug Haddix oversees training, conferences and services for more than 5,500 members worldwide, and for programs including the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) and DocumentCloud. His session focused on web search, databases and social media for investigators and was designed to help journalists find information on the Web quickly, locate critical documents and data for more depth in daily work and produce quick-hit enterprise stories.
Haddix was pleased that IRE could offer the workshop in Jackson, Miss.
“These workshops help journalists who might not be able to make it to a national conference, due to distance of cost, to get high caliber training close to home with excellent speakers and topics that will help them when they get back to work,” he said. “I think now more than ever, people are looking to journalists to help them figure out what is real and what is fake news, based on data, documents and facts. We focus on getting it right, sharing with audiences context and perspective.”
SJMS Dean Elayne H. Anthony stated: “The School of Journalism and Media Studies was pleased to host IRE in this important workshop. We considered it a great opportunity to expose our faculty and students to in-depth, technology-assisted reporting techniques and to network with veteran journalists who take investigative reporting seriously.”
Anthony added that SJMS faculty members and media managers in attendance were able to enhance their knowledge and news gathering techniques, which translates to current, up-to-date training for our media students.
Mitchell, a $500,000 McArthur ‘genius” grant winner who is writing a memoir about his pursuit of civil rights cold cases, also was thrilled the IRE workshop was in Jackson. “For years, IRE has done a terrific job of promoting investigative reporting, and I’m so tickled that they’re going to hold a Watchdog Workshop at JSU. I hope that many students and other young reporters take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about this wonderful profession and how we can make a difference in the lives of others,” he said.
Attendees were from the Jackson local area and Mississippi statewide media outlets, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Texas. In addition to Haddix, Mitchell and McIntosh, speakers and presenters included veteran reporters and editors like Gregg Mayer, a former newspaper reporter who practices law in Mississippi, who has represented newspapers, television stations, journalists, authors and government officials in a variety of First Amendment disputes; Neena Satija, a radio producer; and Reveal Senior Editor Jennifer LaFleur, who was a director of computer assisted reporting and award-winning journalist.
Photos by SJMS
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