Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Online excellence in journalism


In spite of the hysterical cries that new media is the death of journalism, I have found several sites that truly excel at news delivery and always improve understanding of the issues. My current favorite is the non-profit ProPublica. Even their "About Us" page is awesome:
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with “moral force.” We do this by producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.
I am particularly addicted to their Eye on the Bailout coverage, where they give us an excellent illustration of how much has been repaid to government to date. ProPublica also links to investigative work done by other organizations, making it a great source for your daily outrage (guaranteed to have a story near you!)

Pulitzer Prize winner PolitiFact is my other standby. These guys really keep our public officials honest, and manage to do so with a wry sense of humor. Their Truth-O-Meter ranks the veracity of politicians' statements, giving grades like True, Half True, Barely True, and Pants On Fire (for the egregious violations).

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