Undercover Reporting

"CBS 5 Goes Undercover to Investigate Black Market Birth Control" - Lindsey Reiser - CBS 5

". . .Yerberias may be a great place to find natural remedies for whatever might be ailing you - maybe a stomachache or a headache. But CBS 5 News has learned some Valley yerberias are also a great place to find birth control, oftentimes brought here from Mexico.We asked for contraceptives at five yerberias in Phoenix, and got some at two of them, for about $20 each, without a prescription. . ."

CBS News  2012-05-08

"I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave" - Mac McClelland - Mother Jones

". . .Despite moving fast enough to get sloppy, my scanner tells me that means I'm fulfilling only 52 percent of my goal. A supervisor who is a genuinely nice person comes by with a clipboard listing my numbers. Like the rest of the supervisors, she tries to create a friendly work environment and doesn't want to enforce the policies that make this job so unpleasant. But her hands are tied. She needs this job, too, so she has no choice but to tell me something I have never been told in 19 years of school or at any of some dozen workplaces."You're doing really bad," she says. . ."

Mother Jones  2012-03-01

"Power, Money & Control" - Mike Gallagher and Cameron McWhirter - The Cincinnati Enquirer

"An Enquirer investigation has found that Chiquita made business decisions in Latin America to cover up a bribery scheme involving company and subsidiary employees, helped foreign growers try to evade taxes, and ran into tax problems. Corrupt activities committed by U.S. companies abroad may fall under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. . ."

The Cincinnati Enquirer  1998-05-03

"Nightmare Without End" - Mary A. Fischer - GQ

". . .That Stephen Roye knowingly carried drugs is inarguable. That he was guilty of naivete and bad judgement is also beyond doubt. But his story, like that of a spellbinding novel, is more complicated, his motivations more complex than a single grave and foolish act might suggest. What led Roye to Bangkok illustrates an especially American kind of arrogance about the world and oneself, an arrogance that frequently leads to tragedy. The realities of being stranded and in mortal trouble in a foreign country, particularly a county in Southeast Asia, remind us once again that when you travel halfway around the world, you don't take the protections of the United States Constitution. . ."

"Reporters Reveal How They Broke Stories on Treatment of Vets" - Joe Strupp - Editor & Publisher

". . .Hull said that her story began with a simple yip from a source to Priest, which prompted the pair to visit Walter Reed and simply observe and speak to patients. We worked very stealthy and sort of under the radar, Hull explained, noting they never lied about who they were. Nobody ever asked. . ."

Editor and Publisher  2007-03-30

"Banks Reject First-Timers" - Nicola Byrne - The Daily Mail (London)

". . .The investigation by the Mail shows that three out of eight lenders have difficulties funding the purchase of a one-bed apartment, with National Irish Bank saying it would refuse to extend a loan on them at all. Brokers the Mortgage Store and EBS Building Society both advised our reporter, posing as a 30-year-old first-time buyer earning $50,000 a year, not to invest in a one-bedroom apartment. . ."

"Misinformation Intern: My Summer as a Military Propagandist in Iraq" - Willem Marx - Harper's Magazine

". . .The Iraqis working for us posed as freelance journalists, but they also paid editors at the papers to publish the stories—part of the cost Lincoln Group billed back to the military. 'Look,' Jon assured me, 'it’s very straightforward. You just have to keep the military happy' . . ."

Harper's  2006-09-01

"Herald Wins 3 Awards, Including One For Hart Coverage" - Miami Herald

". . .'The accuracy of the Herald stories, while widely questioned at the time of publication, has stood up under the thorough scrutiny of critics,' the society said. 'The stories were in the finest tradition of responsible newspaper reporting and met the strictest standards of journalism' . . ."

Miami Herald  1988-03-30

"Top Aide's Account Contradicts Hart's" - Tom Fiedler and Jim McGee - Miami Herald

"Gary Hart's campaign manager has offered an account of Hart's weekend meetings with aspiring Miami actress Donna Rice that flatly contradicts explanations from Hart and another campaign advisor. William Dixon attacked a Miami Herald report about Hart's relationship with Rice as 'preposterous; and 'inaccurate in every way' . . ."

Miami Herald  1987-05-05

"Journalists Debate Ethics of Herald Story" - Celia W. Dugger - Miami Herald

". . .Their concern is the story behind the Hart story, which led Monday evening's network newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS. Some leading journalists criticized The Herald for using what they considered unethical tactics to get the story, and then rushing it into print Sunday before it was adequately checked out. . ."

Miami Herald  1987-05-05

"Hart: I Did Nothing Wrong - Presidential Candidate Calls Miami Woman Acquantance" - Jim McGee and Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald

"Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart acrried on a private relationship with a young Miami woman for at least two months that included long-distance phone calls and avisit to his Washington townhouse this weekend, according the a Herald investigation and Hart's own admissions. . ."

Miami Herald  1987-05-04

"Expert: Pasco Sheriff Mishandled Death Cases" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times

"Critical evidence in the violent deaths of two well-known men was destroyed during crime-scene investigations conducted by the Pasco County Sheriff's Department, according to an expert hired to review the two cases. Because the investigation were substantially flawed, the expert says, serious questions remain about the deaths of former Pasco Sheriff's captain Joseph H. Donahue and Tampa car dealer Ernie Haire. . ."

St. Petersburg Times  1983-12-18

"Pasco Sheriff Reveals 53 Hirees Had Records" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times

"An internal investigation at the Pasco County Sheriff's Department has discovered that 53 of the 360 employees on the sheriff's payroll in February had arrest records. The internal investigation was sparked by a St. Petersburg Times report that at least 25 of the 195 sworn deputies and corrections officers had criminal arrest records. . ."

St. Petersburg Times  1984-06-21

"Sheriff Rented to Firm with Questionable Ties" - Jack Reed - St. Petersburg Times

"Wearing the hats of public official and private landlord as Pasco County Sheriff John M. Short does can be embarrassing at times. When Short's former captain Joe Donahue was indicted by a federal grand jury in March for accepting bribes from Vincenzo 'Jimmy' Acquafredda, a garbage company with ties to Acquafredda was renting an office from Short. . ."

St. Petersburg Times  1983-12-11

"Pasco County Sheriff Had Secret Target List" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times

"Pasco County Sheriff, John M. Short investigated a number of prominent East Pasco residents as suspected drug smugglers in a secret, privately financed undercover operation in 1961-62. The investigation, which produced no arrests, apparently focused on men who had earned the enmity of Short or John T. Moorman, a wealthy part-time deputy and Short associate who helped finance the operation. . ."

St. Petersburg Times  1983-12-03

"Recruiting Fraud" - Byron Harris - IRE Journal

". . .The goal of a recruiter is to put young men and women in boot camp, or "butts on the bus" in the Navy vernacular. A WFAA-TV investigation found that recruiters supplied enlistees with hundreds of counterfeit high school diplomas and instructed them to lie about their academic background. At the time of our reports, the Armed Services wanted 95 percent of their enlistees to be high school graduates, because history shows high school grads have a better success rate in boot camp than those who don't complete high school. . ."

IRE Journal  2001-03-01

"Big Hit" - Joel Grover - IRE Journal

". . .In some ways, our mechanic investigation was a classic local consumer expose. It uncovered wrongdoing at Jiffy Lube, the nation's largest lube and tune chain, which serves 30 million customers per year. Acting on a tip from an insider, we caught some L. A. Jiffy Lube locations charging customers for repairs that were never done. The story had good undercover tape, a revealing interview from an insider and a compelling confrontation with a top manager who lied on camera. . ."

IRE Journal  2007-01-01

VI-"Day at Larned Just One Big Trip" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichta Beacon

"Want a real tri? Like drugs? Visit Larned State Hospital. Become a patient and you'll be administered enough anti-depressants to calm the greatest fear you ever thought you had. . ."

Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon  1974-02-02

III-"Patient Welcomed by Assault, Sexual Attack" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

"But it had been my first exposure to other women patients earlier in the day which set the stage for future occurrences, many of which were highlighted not for their starkness, but by boredom. . ."

Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon  1974-01-30

"In a Poor Babies' Hospital" - Unsigned - New York World

"This little scene occurred in the ante-room of the Post-Graduate Hospital in East Twentieth street, anf two weeks later the reporter visited the hospital on a reception day—a babies' reception day—and the hospital wore quite a holiday air."

New York World  1889-03-10

"Investigative Journalism is Found Shifting Goals" - Jonathan Friendly - The New York Times

". . .To others in the field, the shift is a welcome evolution. They say some articles that pass as 'investigative' journalism are 'adversary' journalism in which charges of personal or institutional wrongdoing are based on suspicion rather than evidence. They say the press is as enthusiastic and active as ever in disclosing corruption and that the difference is the toughening of internal standards to assure faurness and accuracy. Attitudes

The New York Times  1983-08-23