BALTIMORE _ Crab cakes and comupter-assisted reporting were all the rage at this year's Investigative Reporters and Editors' conference, where an estimated 700 journalists got their egos stroked, groveled for jobs and found solace in knowing there are others still fighting the good fight in these dark times.
Indeed, there were the rock stars of the journalism world, from Bob Woodward of the Washington Post to David Simon, who created The Wire. Then there were those inspirational few who simply made you swoon _ but not in the Brad Pitt or George Clooney way. Eric Nalder, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter now with Hearst Newspapers, has a knack for getting people to talk. He reminds us to be skeptics, not cynics. Challenge the belief system. Don't believe in anything, be a seeker. If the Legislature has always had cars, why should they get cars?
If a person doesn't want to talk about your story, start talking to them about something else. See a picture of a poodle, ask them about their poodle. If they're fearful of telling you something, interview them about their fears. Nalder's tips on "Loosening Lips" is a must read.
Bernie Kohn, formerly of the Baltimore Sun, found hundreds of people were losing their homes because they missed payments to the people who owned the ground beneath their houses.
"Don't just follow the money. Know who is making it and how," he said.
"Don't just follow the money. Know who is making it and how," he said.
Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal said reporters should be probing for documents that track misspending. "When someone makes a mistake, where does that get written down?" he said. Once you find those answers, T. Christian Miller, now of ProPublica, provided useful tips on how digitizing your documents and making a timeline can help you tell the most powerful investigative story.
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Garance Burke also contributed to this report, in between crab cakes.
Garance Burke also contributed to this report, in between crab cakes.
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