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Laura Frank, reporting for Exposé, explores the state of investigative reporting in a series entitled “The Withering Watchdog.” In an era of shrinking newsrooms, “investigative reporting is often the first target. Investigative journalism takes more time and more experienced journalists to produce, and it often involves legal battles. It’s generally the most expensive work the…

In its on-going watchdog series “Clout Goes To College,” the Chicago Tribune reveals a “jobs-for-entry scheme” at the University of Illinois’ law school. Internal emails “show for the first time efforts to seek favors — in this case, jobs — for admissions, the most troubling evidence yet of how Illinois’ entrenched system of patronage crept…

A three-day series by The Columbus Dispatch explored a little-known facet of the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance, which, in addition the helping first-time home buyers obtain loans, insures $56 billion in outstanding loans for developers to build and renovate apartments for people of modest means. “Bad loans, no penalties” examined how developers who have…

An investigation by CNN’s Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost led to a major policy change in how much the U.S. Postal Service will pay for an employee’s home. The investigation also prompted an inspector general’s review that criticized how much the agency spends to relocate employees.  CNN revealed how the agency was buying homes costing…

An ABC News investigation by Asa Eslocker, Joseph Rhee and Eric Longabardi examined the safety of the 55-year-old seaplane used by Red Bull to promote its energy drink across the country. The plane was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1976, but “it flies over the heads of hundreds of thousands of people a year…

In a five-month investigation, The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., looked at court attendance among police officers. Reporters Jason Riley and R.G. Dunlop found, “More than 600 defendants facing such felony charges as drug dealing, robbery, burglary and assault were set free in 2007 because the Louisville Metro Police officers who arrested them failed to appear…

Tisha Thompson at WTTG-Washington, D.C., found more than one-third of federal judges are at least 70 years old, the age at which the majority of states require their judges to retire. One judge is more than 101 years old and still hearing a full case load. Thompson created an interactive Web site with state-by-state comparisons…

“A two month I-Team investigation into Office Depot and its lucrative contracts with local governments and schools, is prompting swift action by Missouri’s Attorney General,” reports Leisa Zigman of KDSK-St. Louis.  The investigation revealed deceptive pricing and over-charging on products outlined in the contracts.  Former Office Depot senior sales account manager David Sherwin stated, “The…