U.S. media have lost the will to dig deep

US MEDIA HAVE LOST WILL TO DIG DEEP
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Greg Palast]
[Commentary] Investigative reporting -- the kind Jack Anderson used to do regularly and which was carried in hundreds of papers across the country, the kind of muckraking, data-intensive work that takes time and money and ruffles feathers -- is dying. Again and again, I see this pattern repeated. Until there is some official investigation or allegation made by a politician, there is no story. Or sometimes the media like to cover the controversy, not the substance, preferring an ambiguous and unsatisfying "he said, she said" report. Safe reporting, but not investigative. I know some of the reasons why investigative reporting is on the decline. To begin with, investigations take time and money. In America's cash-short, instant-deadline world, there's not much room for that. Are there still aggressive, talented investigative reporters in the U.S.? There are hundreds. I'll mention two: Seymour Hersh, formerly of the New York Times, and Robert Parry, formerly of the Associated Press, who uncovered the Iran-Contra scandal. The operative word here is "formerly." Parry tells me that he can no longer do this kind of investigative work within the confines of a U.S. daily newsroom. One of the biggest disincentives to doing investigative journalism is that it jeopardizes future access to politicians and corporate elite.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-palast27apr27,1,68184.story?coll=la-news-a_section
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AFTER MOYERS IRAQ DOCUMENTARY, DC REPORTERS IN DAMAGE-CONTROL MODE
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: David Sirota, WorkingForChange.com]
In the lead up to and wake of Bill Moyers' much-anticipated mega-dunk on the Washington press corps this week, we are seeing the ugliest side of Beltway culture -- sophistry and damage control.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/51110/