During Tom Blodgett's session on sportswriting, he said that it takes courage to uncover unsavory stuff, especially due to Hazelwood. He also said that courage, more than intelligence, makes a good journalist.
One story I like to share with my journalism students is about a high school journalist who did some serious investigative reporting and discovered that the military in his area encouraged recruits to fabricate documents. Posing as a potential recruit, David McSwane taped conversations and wrote a story revealing the truth. The story was picked up by CBS, and soldiers were suspended from recruiting. CBS called the story "How far will army recruiters go?"
This is a great story for inspiring journalists and for generating discussion. It also brings up ethics and law regarding taping sources.
Jill Bhowmik
Granite Hills High School
El Cajon, Calif.
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