Browse Primary Sources
"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
"Miami Woman is Linked to Hart - Candidate Denies Any Impropriety" - Jim McGee and Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald
"Gary Hart, the Democratic presidential candidate who has dismissed allegations of womanizing, spent Friday night and most of Saturday in his Capitol Hill townhouse with a young woman who flew from Miami and met him, Hart denied any impropreity. Hart, 50, was confronted late Saturday evening by Miami Herald reporters who had documented the movements of the former Colorado senator and the unidentified woman from the time she left Miami on Friday afternoon aboard Eastern Airlines Flight 996. . ."
Miami Herald 1987-05-03
"Sex Lives Become an Issue for Presidential Hopefuls" - Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald
". . .So as his campaign plane flew toward yet another stop, the press demanded to talk with Hart on the subject that had dominated reporters' conversations for days: his sex life. More precisely, they wanted to quiz him about rumors of marital infidelity. . ."
Miami Herald 1987-04-27
Follow-Up: "Walker is Urged to Sign Legislation Regulating Bill Collection Agencies" - Pamela Zekman and William Gaines
". . .The bill sponsored by Rep. L. Michael Getty (D., Dolton), prohibits freewheeling use of abusive collection tactics like those uncovered during a six-week Tribune Task Force investigation and requires that agencies be bonded and registered with the Department of Registration and Education. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-07-07
Follow-Up: "Bill Collection Firm Is Sued by Carey" - William Gaines and Daniel Egler - Chicago Tribune
". . .Carey's suit alleges that Zeidman's tactics are 'injurious to the public welfare.' Other abuses cited in the suit are threatening debtors with arrest, violating the Assumed Names Act by using a name designed to sound like a law firm, preparing court orders, and impersinating an attorney. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-08-14
V-"Bill Collectors Here Show No Fear of the Law" - Task Force - Chicago Tribune
". . .The result is a different mentality in Illinois, a mentality that tells the unscrupulous collector he can try anything and 'push 'em till they break.' 'In the state of Washington, we look to the collection agency to do what it says it will do,' said Charlie King, director of the state's collection agency board. 'If they don't, it will be considered an idle threat, and using idle threats in collections is against the law' . . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-11
IV-"Fear: The Collectors' Trump Card" - Task Force - Chicago Tribune
". . .Mrs. Curtis, like many Americans, had found herself in a financial crisis, a category that 97 percent of the collectors' prey fall into, according to collection industry sources. Only 3 percent of debtors have no intention of paying their bills, according to these sources. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-10
III-"Federal Jury to Investigate Bill Collectors" - Task Force - Chicago Tribune
"A federal grand jury investigation was ordered yesterday into alleged abusive practices of debt collection agencies which were uncovered by The Tribune. A special consumer fraud task force was assigned by U.S. Atty. James R. Thompson to investigate alleged terror tactics and fraudulent practices of agencies named in citizen complaints and exposed by The Tribune Task Force. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-09
II-"Bill Collector's Tactics: 'Everything We Do Here is Borderline Illegal'" - Task Force - Chicago Tribune
". . .Marshal Zeidman, 39, Chicago's self-proclaimed master craftsman in the deceit and trickery of bill collecting, had won again. He knew the court order was flawless. He had written it himself. And tho Zeidman is many things, he is not an attorney and his office is not a courtroom. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-08
Follow-Up: "2 Seeking to Curb Collector Abuses" - Pamela Zekman and Robert Unger - Chicago Tribune
"Two bills aimed at eliminating abuses by Illinois bill collectors are being drafted by Atty. Gen. William Scott and an Evanston legislator. The two bills, prepared independently by Scott and State Rep. James McCourt will seek licensing of collection agencies and controls aimed at eliminating harassment and threats by some collectors. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-14
"'Don't Be Easy on Her, Step On Her'" - Task Force - Robert Unger and William Crawford - Chicago Tribune
". . .Donald Saville isn't just talking a good game. He delivers. Or, rather, Mark Sales delivers. That's the name that Saville's 'backbone, spunk, pride, and guts' hide behind when he takes to the telephone. He is good at his job, as much a seasoned actor as a convincing collector. Once he gets his prey on the line, his monolog is pat. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-07
I-"Bill Collector Terror Tactics: 'Push Them Till They Break'" - Task Force - Chicago Tribune
"They are self-proclaimed enforcers of a credit economy, and they play by their own rules. No city of state agency controls them. No rules have been made to govern them. As a result, the tactics of many of Chicago's collection agencies and the people who run them are to frighten, threaten, or cajole money out of anyone they have arbitrarily labeled 'dead-beat' . . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-07
Follow-Up: "Bill Collection Law Is Signed" - Pamela Zekman and William Gaines - Chicago Tribune
". . .Flanked by the bill's sponsor, Rep. L. Michael Getty, Walker commended The Tribune for its 'revealing series on collection agency abuses' and said the legislation is 'long overdue' . . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-09-09
"A Bill Collector and His Victim—Applying the Screws" - Pamela Zekman and William Gaines - Chicago Tribune
". . .He was out to collect $56 on an unpaid Mobil Oil Corp. credit card account. Mrs. Scott was going to pay, he had decided. Had he asked, — and he didn't — he would have learned that the Mrs. Scott on the other end of the telephone line had never had a Mobil credit card, or a car, or a driver's license. In fact, she had never learned to drive. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1974-04-07
"Undercover Detective at Heart of 'Operation CUP' Investigation" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
". . .Ronald Bayless, a former Pinellas County sergeant, and Ronald Mock, a former Tampa narcotics detective, were veteran law enforcement officers in their mid 30s when they accepted Paso County Sheriff John M. Short's offer to help clean up a serious drug smuggling problem in East Pasco County. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1983-12-07
"Official Recommended Job Applicants Who Lied" - Lucy Morgan and Jack Reed - St. Petersburg Times
". . .In several instances, Michels recommended the employment of men who did not tell the truth about their backgrounds when they filled out applications at the department. Michels, 48, is a long time friend of Sheriff John M. Short and helped run both of the sheriff's election campaigns. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-10-25
"State Subpoenas Financial Documents" - St. Petersburg Times Staff Writers - St. Petersburg Times
". . .Russell's investigators are apparently interested in Short's dealings with John T. Moorman, a wealthy part time deputy who helped Short make thousands of dollars in a series of personal transactions in 1981 and 1982. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1983-12-17
"Indictment Sparks Anger—and Jubilation" - Jan Glidewell, Jeff Testerman and Dan LeDuc - St. Petersburg Times
". . .At the other end of the spectrum was Dade City lawyer Charles Waller. Waller, a target of a questionable drug investigation code-named 'Clean Up Pasco,' or CUP, watched on television as WTVT-Channel 13 broke into a soap opera to announce the indictment. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-08-25
"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
"Short, Six Others Indicted In Pasco County" - Lucy Morgan and David K. Rogers - St. Petersburg Times
"Suspended Pasco County Sheriff John M. Short and four deputies were among seven persons indicted Wednesday by a Pasco County grand jury investigating the sheriff's department. Short was charged with two felony counts of official misconduct under a Florida law that prohibits public officials from corruptly falsifying an official record. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-10-25
"Study Critical of Sheriff's Department" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
"The National Sheriff's Association has criticized the way Pasco County Sheriff John M. Short runs his department in a 60-page report that recommends a host of changes. Short requested the management study earlier this year in response to a series of St. Petersburg Times stories critical of the way he runs his department. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-05-05
"Deputies With Special Ties to Short Get Special Treatment" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
". . .Pasco County Deputies Al Denning and Victor Morris were fired for taking an unauthorized coffee break - in a department where other deputies survived despite the fact that they filed false police reports, flunked polygraph tests and associated with organized crime figures. Deputies with special ties to Sheriff John M. Short frequently escape serious punishment while others are fired over minor infractions, according to files reviewed by the Times over the past seven months. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-02-26
"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
"Pasco Sheriff Spurs Challenge on Radio Show" - Lucy Morgan and Jack Reed - St. Petersburg Times
". . .In an emotional phone call broadcast Friday morning by WDCF in Dade City, realtor Lewis Abraham asked Short either to deny that the sheriff's office ever investigated him or to submit himself to an examination that would determine if Short was lying. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1983-12-17
"Pasco Department Hired Girls, 17 and 18, as Drug Informants" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
"As part of a drug investigation, the Pasco County sheriff's Department once installed a 17-year-old runaway and her 18-year-old friend in a mobile home, where the young women sometimes traded sex for drugs. The mother of the 17-year-old girl had already reported her daughter as a runaway and had asked the Sheriff's Department for help in finding the girl, a juvenile. Meanwhile she was being used in the investigation without her parents' knowledge. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-05-06
"Some Deputies Had Records Before Being Hired" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
". . .Before hiring anyone to be a law enforcement officer, the state demands that a police or sheriff's department certify that the applicant has been subject to a 'thorough background investigation' and is 'satisfied' that the person is of 'good moral character' . . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-02-26
"Shooting Was Ruled Suicide, But Was It?" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
"Joseph H. Donahue was dead on his bathroom floor, his legs neatly crossed and his hands poised on his chest. Beside the body was a Smith & Wesson service revolver engraved with the date he left the Port Richey police department to become a top-ranking officer for Pasco County Sheriff John M. Short. The chamber of the gun was open and four live rounds of ammunition were scattered in a pool of Donahue's blood. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1983-12-18
"Short Will Continue Re-Election Efforts" - Bradley Stertz - St. Petersburg Times
"On his way out as sheriff of Pasco County Friday, John M. Short added a parting comment: 'It's obvious I'll have a little more time in the next 11 or 12 days to campaign full time.' Even though he was indicted by a grand jury Friday and suspended from the office he has held for eight years, Short will be pushing ahead to the September 4 primary. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-08-25
"Public Duties, Private Business Overlap in Pasco" - Jack Reed and Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
"On the afternoon of November 9, people passing the Pasco County Sheriff's office in New Port Richey saw a hearse parked out front. It remained there for about three hours. Inside, no one was dead. A spokesman for Crain S&S Sales a funeral home supply company, says a company salesman was merely showing his wares to Sheriff John M. Short and Roger Michels, the sheriff's assistant director of administration. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1983-12-11
"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
"Doing Business with the Boss in Pasco" - Jack Reed and Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
"When Pasco County Sheriff John M. Short wants to buy or sell a piece of property or find a business partner, he often turns to his employees. While building his personal wealth, the sheriff has done business with at least eight subordinates and surrounded himself with fellow entrepreneurs. . ."
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
"Pasco Sheriff Short Indicted" - Lucy Morgan - St. Petersburg Times
". . .Governor Bob Graham appointed Phillips as interim sheriff today. He'll take over at noon today when the suspension of Sheriff John M. Short is effective. . ."
St. Petersburg Times 1984-08-25
"Media Law: Keep Your Distance: There Is Often a Fine Line Between Reporting Crimes and Encouraging Criminals" - Duncan Lamont - The Guardian (UK)
". . .But when newspapers get too close to criminals, or criminal conduct, there can be unexpected repercussions. The media are not protected from the criminal law by any special reporting dispensation. When BBC reporter Mark Daly went undercover to film The Secret Policeman in Manchester, for example, he was arrested for obtaining a pecuniary advantage (his wages) by deception, and damaging police property. . ."
The Guardian 2004-09-20
"The Gary Hart Story - How It Happened" - Jim McGee, Tom Fiedler, James Savage - Miami Herald
"The voice on the other end of the telephone was strained with a nervous jocularity. “You know, you said in the paper that there were rumors that Gary Hart is a womanizer, ” he woman told Miami Herald Political Editor Tom Fiedler. “'Those aren't rumors. How much do you guys pay for pictures?' "Gary Hart, 50, announced his quest for the presidency April 13 at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with a promise as lofty as the backdrop: 'All of us must try to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of integrity and ethics, and soundness of judgment... ' "He began as the front-runner with everything in his favor. Polls showed him not only winning the Democratic nomination, but handily beating George Bush -- the GOP’s early favorite -- in a theoretical matchup. "The former Colorado senator surrounded himself with the brightest minds in politics. He showed a new surefootedness, the product of having run the course once before, in 1984. The gold ring seemed within reach. "And the voice on the telephone was offering evidence to The Herald that could undo it all. "The call was the beginning of one of the fastest, most shocking unravelings of a presidential campaign in American history. The saga has elements of a prime-time soap opera: the Marlboro-man handsome candidate, the long-suffering wife, the lust for power, the blond poster model from Miami Vice, the overnight trip to Bimini --capped by a weekend in Washington. . . . "
Miami Herald 1987-05-10
"Detecting Consumer Fraud: Salvaged Autos" - Chris Halsne - IRE Journal
". . .I knew doing surveillance on Russian mobsters wasn't the safest idea in the world, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Karin Sumeri's parents. Karin was a young college graduate killed while riding in a used Volvo. The car uncharacteristically sheared apart during a routine accident. The vehicle was rebuilt - totaled by an insurance company several years earlier. Somebody had literally glued the roof back together. Accident investigators say Karin would have lived if the Volvo hadn't been shoddily repaired. . ."
IRE Journal 2002-05-01
"Towing Woes" - Dave Savini - IRE Journal
". . .Towing companies act as middlemen for charities. In some cases, charities directly hire tow operators. In other cases, when a charity recieves a call that someone wants to donate a car, it passes that information to an organization that handles car donation programs. That company in turn hires towing companies to pick up the car and either sell or scrap it. A portion of the proceeds are supposed to go to the charity. But officials say that was not always the case with two towing operators: O'Hare Kars and Royal Auto and Towing. . ."
IRE Journal 2006-07-01
"Selling Innocence" - Dave Savini - IRE Journal
". . .I soon spotted young girls in bikinis walking out of Smith's Chicago home. I noticed still and video cameras, and made a positive identification of Smith based on a mug shot we obtained through local police sources. Immediately, I called Rubenstein in our Chicago newsroom. She rushed to the scene with our photographer and undercover equipment. During our stakeout, we wrote down license plate numbers of the models old enough to drive. . ."
IRE Journal 2002-07-01
"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
"Layers of Truth and Life in Iraq" - Borzou Daragahi - Los Angeles Times
". . .We were in a mostly Shiite Muslim part of the country, so I stuck to my cover story: I was an Iranian headed to Najaf, one of the thousands of Shiite pilgrims who make their way there each month to pay their respects at the shrine of Imam Ali.He demanded to see my passport. To my surprise and terror, he thumbed through it. Then he calmly looked up and asked, "Where's your entry stamp?" I had no answer. I had entered Iraq with my U.S. passport, which I wouldn't dare bring with me on the road. I froze. Since first arriving in Iraq 4 1/2 years ago, first as a freelance reporter and then as the Los Angeles Times bureau chief, I had kept up the pretense that I was playing it safe. . ."
Los Angeles Times 2007-04-10
"September" - C.J. Chivers - Esquire
" . . . Garbage was the job no one wanted, and so there was little chance of anyone taking it away. I found the cart and began to push it through the lobby, pickup up the loose trash as I made my way. "Immediately, I belonged. Every few yards someone would stop me - Hey, can you stop by our truck? We've got some nasty shit over there. hey buddy, hold up, let me dump this - and the police waved me from place to place . . . "
Esquire 2002-09-01
Reaction- "Child-Sponsor Groups to Track Benefits Better" - Lisa Anderson and Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
"A coalition of private relief and development agencies is about to release new rules designed to intensify outside scrutiny of the child sponsorship industry and ensure that children actually receive benefits promised in advertisements soliciting donations. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-06-14
II-A - Miracle Merchants: "The Copper-Tinted, $10 Million Office Center Exudes an..." - David Jackson - Chicago Tribune
". . .To some of those the charity promised to serve, that remains an open question.The fund's colorful annual reports list the tangible advances made by its most successful projects around the world, highlighting the aqueducts that bring water to some 240 Colombian families and the grant that gave Gambian doctors 250,000 doses of meningitis vaccines for children. CCF was among the first child sponsorship agencies to stop giving handouts to residents of developing countries, because it found that method of philanthropy fostered dependency and invited employee fraud. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-22
Reaction- "The Road to Reform" - Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
". . .But the increased activity is part of more aggressive reforms launched by Save the Children Federation Inc. (SCF) in the wake of a yearlong Tribune investigation that exposed serious problems within Save the Children and other child sponsorship charities, ones that raise millions of dollars annually through heart-tugging appeals asking donors to sponsor a needy child for a few dollars each month.The Tribune special report, published in March 1998, revealed that Save the Children had some of the worst problems in the industry. Among other things, the organization took money from donors to sponsor children who were dead and falsified correspondence to American sponsors from African children, including at least one who had died. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-12-31
I-J - Miracle Merchants: "Playing With Numbers to Bolster Their Pleas" - Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
". . .While the language sometimes varies, the 35,000 figure has appeared repeatedly in recent years, in television and print solicitations by several child sponsorship organizations. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-I - Miracle Merchants: "A Year's Schooling Wasted For the Lack of $9" - Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
". . .Because child sponsorship had failed him. Despite a sponsorship through the Rhode Island-based agency Childreach, the boy could not pay his school tuition.Pierre Richard is just one of thousands of children sponsored through Childreach, which tells its donors their money will make big differences in the life of their sponsored child. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-H - Miracle Merchants: "Tiny Fractions Bring Big Bucks" - Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
". . .Childreach marketing director Stacey Pulner Mihaly acknowledges that the stories of the children's lives were composites drawn "from the histories of many children." The pictures were randomly selected from Childreach's photo archives, Mihaly said, and the children's names were simply made up. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-G - Miracle Merchants: "Many Can Take a Bow in Developing Nations" - Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
". . .When the Tribune asked the organizations to support claims of having a global impact on child survival, education and longevity, they offered anecdotal accounts of improving vaccination rates, increasing the use of contraception and improving nutrition at the community level.They could not provide evidence that conditions in countries where the sponsorship groups are working have improved much more than in other countries. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
"Phantom Classes" - Marla Jo Fisher - IRE Journal
"The tip sounded promising, but nothing to write home about. A parent e-mailed our editor, claiming his teenage sons in high school had received college credit for taking sports classes they signed up for, but never actually attended. Andy Carl told Scott M. Reid, The Orange County Register's sports investigative reporter, that his sons, James and Nathan, had been ordered by the athletic director to fill out college enrollment forms and return them, along with the rest of those in the sixth-period athletic program. . ."
IRE Journal 2003-03-01
"Reckless Acts" - Chris Halsne - The IRE Journal
". . .Our investigative producer, Bill Benson, went to work tracking down the most serious cases so we could add examples into our television story. He started with drunken driving and negligent driving cases. Remember: The data we received with our request was void of personal information. The computer did, however, give us a location of the traffic stop, time of day, a mile post, and even a notation if a citation was issued because of an accident. We could figure out which district or traffic court held the case file by mapping the mile post. After that, it was as simple as thumbing through files to spot notations by police that identified government cars involved. Sometimes the driver's 'occupation' field gave us solid leads as well. . ."
IRE Journal 2004-11-01
"Medical Welfare Rip-Off" - Joel Grover - The IRE Journal
". . .For months, I'd been getting tips at KCBS describing the same scam: Wealthy Los Angeles doctors were somehow recruiting busloads of homeless patients to come to their clinics. Once there, the homeless patients were asked to fake illnesses, and in return would get paid an illegal kickback. The doctors could then charge bogus treatments to "Medi-Cal," the state's welfare program that provides healthcare for the poor. Sure, it was a great story, but the tips always lacked key information, such as how these homeless patients were recruited, and who was behind this scam. But my producer, Jennifer Cobb, and I were determined to document this amazing scam on undercover tape, start to finish. . ."
IRE Journal 2001-11-01
"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
Reaction-"Children's Charities to Improve Monitoring New Rules Designed to Make Sure Funds are Used as Advertised" - Mike Dorning - Chicago Tribune
". . .The Tribune's yearlong examination of four leading sponsorship organizations--Save the Children, the Christian Children's Fund, Childreach and Children International--found that several children sponsored by Tribune reporters and editors received few or no promised benefits. A few others received a hodgepodge of occasional handouts, such as toothpaste, soap and cooking pots. Some got clothing and shoes that frequently did not fit. Sick children were sometimes given checkups and medicine, but not always. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-12-13
Reaction-"Save the Children Reacts to Probe, Plans Reform" - Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
". . .In the wake of the Tribune's investigation, Save the Children has begun a number of changes in its operations.For the first time, deaths of sponsored children must be reported to the Westport headquarters and to the sponsor within two days after Save the Children personnel learn of the death, a spokesman for the organization said. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-18
I-F - Miracle Merchants: "Myth VS. Reality in Africa" - Hugh Dellios and Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
"The Tribune's sponsored children in Africa did not fit the streotypes or even understanding the concept of being sponsored. For these two boys, the images presented to their sponsors didn't match the reality of their lives. Sponsored? News to him. Salvador Nhabangua does more than teach lessons in the crowded, open-air classrooms of the village school in Zongoene, Mozambique. He writes letters to America.Flashing a broad smile, the 44-year-old teacher cheerfully admits he composes most of the letters that purport to come from children in his classroom, who are among the 216 sponsored through Save the Children Federation Inc. in this farming community overlooking the Limpopo River. Nhabangua takes pride in the task. Unfortunately, he doesn't always take the time to discuss the letters with the children before he writes them. He says that an SCF staffer pays him $5 to $10 a month on an informal basis to write the notes. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-E - Miracle Merchants: "For Sponsors, Image and Reality Worlds Apart" - Hugh Dellios - Chicago Tribune
". . .But when the Chicago Tribune sponsored two young boys in the African nation of Mozambique, they found that child sponsorship as depicted by Save the Children is a myth: As Save the Children executives later acknowledged, there is no guarantee that a sponsor's dollar will ever reach that sponsor's child, and no way of knowing whether it ever does. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-D - Miracle Merchants: "Greetings From Grave: 'We Are All Doing Well'" - Hugh Dellios and Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
"Years after a boy's death, an American family still received messages from Abdoul Kone, the child whom they had sponsored. Their case shows how donors can be betrayed by the sponsorship system.As they had been in previous years, Clover and John Dixon were delighted to receive a 1996 New Year's greeting from this West African village. For nearly six years, a boy from Mali named Abdoul Kone had occupied a special place in their Bellingham, Wash., family, his photograph posted on the refrigerator door and his letters handled with loving care. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-C - Miracle Merchants: "Unprecedented? Charity's Own Probe Finds More Dead Children" - Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
". . .When Chicago Tribune reporter Lisa Anderson discovered that Korotoumou Kone, the child she was sponsoring in Mali, had been dead nearly two years, Save the Children Federation Inc. said the error was unprecedented.But after the Tribune learned that a Bellingham, Wash., family had sponsored a dead child for nearly four years before being notified of his death, SCF began an investigation of its Malian operations. That inquiry, completed last fall, found that at least 24 sponsors had sent the charity money on behalf of dead children in Mali for varying periods of time. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-B - Miracle Merchants: "Relentless Campaigns of Hollow Promises" - Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
". . .But a yearlong Tribune inquiry into four of the leading child sponsorship organizations--Save the Children Federation Inc., Childreach, Children International and the Christian Children's Fund--found this promise of an affordable miracle to be achingly hollow. Sponsored youngsters often received few or no benefits, and in the worst cases children had been dead for years while unwitting donors continued to sponsor them.The Tribune found that the notion of individual child sponsorship exists primarily as a marketing myth. Costly, time-consuming and hampered by the logistical difficulties posed by some of the poorest and most remote places on Earth, child sponsorship succeeds far better as a fundraising engine than it does as a vehicle for providing benefits to the children whose faces sustain it. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
I-A - The Miracle Merchants - Lisa Anderson - Chicago Tribune
". . .The Tribune found that the notion of individual child sponsorship exists primarily as a marketing myth. Costly, time-consuming and hampered by the logistical difficulties posed by some of the poorest and most remote places on Earth, child sponsorship succeeds far better as a fundraising engine than it does as a vehicle for providing benefits to the children whose faces sustain it.Child sponsorship agencies vigorously defend their approach, maintaining that their donors clearly understand that money does not go to benefit individual children, but to the broader community in which the children live. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
"Scarecrow Cops" - Dick J. Reavis - Texas Monthly
". . .Early in February I went to Houston to test hiring and training practices in the private security industry, by applying for security guard jobs under paper-thin pretenses. My objective was simple: to get employment offers from companies across the industry. Over the course of three weeks I applied for work at eleven companies, always telling the sort of lies that a felon might tell. . ."
Texas Monthly 1982-05-01
II-Miracle Merchants: Precede: "About This Special Report" - Unsigned - Chicago Tribune
"Work on this project began in 1995 when a group of Chicago Tribune reporters and editors initially sponsored 12 children through four of the largest and best-known child sponsorship organizations--Save the Children Federation Inc.; the Christian Children's Fund; Children International; and Childreach."Over the next two years, the individuals sent monthly or annual donations to the children who were randomly selected by the organizations. Tribune reporters and editors didn't request specific children, although some said they preferred children on certain continents in order to research a wide spectrum of charity work. They identified themselves by name but not by their affiliation to the Tribune. The charities didn't ask for information about employment or occupation in donor applications.
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-22
I-Miracle Merchants: "At Times, I've Wanted to Turn It Off Too" - Graeme Zielinski and David Jackson - Chicago Tribune
"The pitch for sponsors. They are known as "flies-in-the-eyes" commercials. They feature the wrenching images of starving children, their bellies bowed and faces speckled with insects. They tear at your heart . . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1998-03-15
"Dateline Mole Allegedly at DefCon with Hidden Camera" - Kim Zetter - Wired
"DefCon security on Friday warned attendees at the annual hacker conference that Dateline NBC may have sent a mole with a hidden camera to the event to capture hackers admitting to crimes. DefCon says it was tipped off by their own mole at Dateline who sent them a pic of the undercover journalist who DefCon employees identified as producer Michelle Madigan. . ."
Wired 2007-08-03
"Antigay Lutheran Pastor Protests Too Much" - John Townsend - Lavendar Magazine
"As cantankerous and varied as GLBT activism is, virtually everyone holds privacy sacred. The exception is if someone in a public position of political, social, or theological influence engages in homosexual or transgender activity while at the same time denouncing the basic civil rights of GLBT citizens. Former Senator Larry Craig’s restroom cruising and Dr. George Rekers’s Rentboy.com allegations come to mind. "The GLBT community and its allies have a wide variety of principled viewpoints, often conflicting, on just how out a GLBT person should or should not be, as well as what constitutes healthy sexuality or sexual excess. Both sides of these big philosophical questions are discussed and argued conscientiously every day. "However, it’s a universal consensus among GLBT individuals and straight allies that to bash GLBT persons physically and/or sociopolitically—but then turn around, and be homosexually active oneself—is hypocrisy. . . . "
Lavendar Magazine 2010-06-18
"Outing Case: Cries of 'Hypocrite' for Pastor, Magazine" – Jeff Strickler - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"A Minneapolis gay magazine story allegedly 'outing' a minister based on comments he made during a therapy session is generating a flood of controversy, both about the minister and the magazine's reporting techniques. . ."
Minneapolis Star-Tribune 2010-06-23
"The Truth About Carnivals" - Dick J. Reavis - Texas Monthly
". . .Gambling, the heart of carnival games, is the invisible force that brings game owners and some agents together with marks, or patrons, on the midway. Counting on plain luck, marks come to the carnival to beat the games. Carnies live off the notion. . ."
Texas Monthly 1981-11-01
"11 Hours to Monterrey" - Dick J. Reavis - Dallas Observer
"We open our eyes. 'We need money for the bridge. Are you going to kick in?' the van driver is telling us. 'Everybody needs to give me $15,' says Don D, a thin, light-skinned man in his 50s. With a drooping mustache, faded jeans, and pointy-toed boots, he looks every bit the part of an aging vaquero. But in truth, he's a camionete operator riding herd over six passengers who are risking an illegal border crossing as part of a cheap ride from Dallas into Mexico. The money he's asking for isn't for the fare, tolls, or even gas. It's bribe money for the Mexican customs inspectors. Nearly everyone on the bus is bringing household good and appliances that, they believe, are subject to import taxes. If the taxes aren't paid, those belongings become contraband when they enter Mexico. . ."
Dallas Observer 1993-06-24
"I Was a Bum" - Dick J. Reavis - Texas Monthly
". . .By six o'clock I'm back out on the sidewalk. The doors close at seven for the worship service, and in order to sleep at the mission, you've got to attend. Between supper and salvation time, the men smoke a few cigarettes and go around the corners of the building in two and threes to take last minute swigs from their bottles. If Brother Bob or other mission mean catch them, they'll be turned away at the door. . ."
Texas Monthly 1978-05-01
"A Season in Hell" - Dick J. Reavis - Texas Monthly
". . .Police power at Rusk has shifted from the attendants to sociopathic inmates, who spend most of their time looking for opportunities to maul other patients. . ."
Texas Monthly 1978-10-01
"Bottled Dreams" - Dick J. Reavis - Dallas Observer
". . .It was mid-October, and I was spending my days at the main library, eyes peeled for a story to write while my mobility returned. My colleagues and editors has gone through ethical spasms about the need for me to tell the winos that I was reporting on the, but all of that was beside the point. Nobody had asked if I might be doing a job, and when I told people that I was a journalist in real life, they thought I was just telling a wino tale. I had become one of the crowd, because I looked the part. . ."
Dallas Observer 1992-12-17
"A Dirty Job" - Dick J. Reavis - Dallas Observer
". . .Big Boy believed the company might treat the crew as working men deserve - fairly and with dignity. He didn't know that in today's workplace, that's as much a fairy tale as the lifetime job is. . ."
Dallas Observer 1993-07-15
"Peddling Dreams" - Alix M. Freedman - Wall Street Journal
"Along the way, thought, its high-pressure methods have sometimes turned coercive and abusive, according to accounts by about 50 former store employees and company executives who have left within the past 18 months . . . "
Wall Street Journal 1993-09-22
"Did a Post Photographer Cross a Line to Get a Picture of John Hinckley?" - Andrew Alexander, Ombudsman - Washington Post
"News organizations often struggle with where to draw the liine on privacy and whether to comply with prohibitions that can be excessively restrictive. Sometimes, they consciously violate the rules -- explicit or implied -- for the public good. Several years ago {Michel) duCille visited a patient treatment center with cameras hidden in a gym bag to document substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medica Center . . . "
The Washington Post 2010-05-02
"A White Woman in a 'Black' Skin" - Dorothy Gilliam - The Washington Post
". . .Miss Halsell spends nearly a fifth of this 200-page book on the physiology of turning herself black, of her horror when she learns that she may not be instantly white again. . ."
The Washington Post 1969-11-04
"The Many Faces of Grace Halsell" - William Gildea - The Washington Post
"Grace Halsell doesn't look tough enough to have done what she has done. She is 52 years old, single, seemingly demure, almost frail. She speaks softly and responds with a "my goodness" to a question she considers embarrassing. She looks as though she might be content puttering in her Northwest apartment, venturing occasionally to the Safeway or Garfinckel's."
The Washington Post 1976-08-30
"I Was a Slave in Puglia" - Fabrizio Gatti - L'Espresso (Italy)
"The boss wears a white shirt, black trousers and dusty shoes. He's from Puglia, but he hardly speaks Italian. To make himself understood he seeks the assistance of his bodyguard, a Maghrebin who is in charge of keeping everything under control in the fields. "Find out what this guy wants. If he's looking for work, tell him we don't need anyone, today." The boss speaks in dialect and drives away in his SUV. . . ."
L'Espresso 2006-09-04
"The Melting Pot's Mexican Roots" - Grace Halsell - The New York Times
"For two years I have been living with people of both sides of the Mexican border investigating the illegal immigrants who are entering this country. . ."
The New York Times 1978-07-25
"Made in China" - Ed Bradley - CBS Sixty Minutes
CBS News 1991-09-15
"Bedlam 1946" - Albert Q. Maisel - Life Magazine
" . . . Thousands spend their days-often for weeks at a stretch-locked in devices euphemistically called 'restraints' : thick leather handcuffs, great canvas camisoles, 'muffs,' 'mitts,' wristlets, locks and straps and restraining sheets. Hundreds are confined in 'lodges' - bare, bed-less rooms reeking with filth and feces - by day lit only through half-inch holes in steel-plated windows, by night merely black tombs in which the cries of the insane echo unheard from the peeling plaster of the walls. . ."
Life Magazine 1946-05-06
"When You've Walked a Mile in Their Shoes" - Grace Halsell - The New York Times
"When I went to live among the Navajos on their vast Southwestern reservation in early 1972. I packed very lightly, but immediately felt weighted down by my own values and conceits. I wanted to go among the Indians, free of my past, an empty vessel, a clean slate, to be nothing and absorb everything, to see, hear, understand only that which was disclosed to me . . ."
The New York Times 1973-11-10
"Wisdom on the Hoof" - Grace Halsell - The New York Times
". . .I have been living among the oldest people in the Western Hemisphere - viejos, as they are called in their native Spanish language- in the remote Ecuadorian village of Vilcabamba, nestled like a saucer in the picturesque, rugged and physically inhospitable Andes. . ."
The New York Times 1975-03-03
I-"Living at Larned Is a Demoralizing Experience" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
". . . I lived with the 'insane' and was told by a dangerous mental patient that I was 'all right' and should not be there. I discovered that a woman who shot her husband three times, chopped him up with an axe and buried him can be as 'sane' as anyone I know. . ."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-01-28
II-"New Patients Stripped of Belongings, Dignity" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
"When I was admitted to Larned State Hospital, I was stripped. Stripped of nearly all my belongings and stripped of most of my dignity. When I telephoned to obtain information about being admitted, I posed as my sister. I spoke with Dr. Mario Torres, who asked the name of the patient, and for a brief description of the problem . . . "
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-01-29
"Girdles the Globe Without a Cent" - Harry A. Franck - New York Times
"I believe a man with a bit of energy and good health could start without money and make a journey around the globe. . . ."
The New York Times 1910-03-20
IV-"Boredom and Drugs Form a Typical Day" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
"A typical day at Larned State Hospital is laced with boredom, fear, anxiety and a lot of drugs - for the patients. . ."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-01-31
"Social Networking Sites at Center of Coast-to-Coast Coordinated Search" - Frederik Joelving - Wired
"In their pursuit of Evan Ratliff, the sleuths living across the country exchanged intel and coordinated efforts via social media Web sites such as Twitter (using #vanish) and Facebook. One hunter even created a dedicated application on Facebook called Vanish Team, and several others set up their own Web sites and blogs. . . . "
Wired 2009-11-20
"Continuing Hospital Probe Urged" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
"Probate Court Jude Clark V. Owens says he almost committed himself to Larned State Hospital several years ago to check on conditions there. But since his court is responsible for all involuntary commitments from Sedgwick County, he decided the risk of being found out might be too great . . ."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-02-05
"Wired Tests Writer With a Series of Bold Challenges" - Nicholas Thompson - Wired
" . . . Nicholas Thompson, Ratliff’s editor, and Lone Shark Games’ Mike Selinker came up with the challenges, and then Selinker figured out an amazing way to add even more detail and intrigue. He called up Will Shortz of The New York Times and received early versions of the coming week’s crossword puzzles. He then figured out how to write out the challenges by jumping between words in the puzzle. Wired published a long string of numbers, so searchers would have to solve the puzzle in order to decode the challenge. . . ."
Wired 2009-11-20
"Evan's Daily Costume Change" - Nicholas Thompson - Wired
Wired 2009-11-20
"Chat with Evan Ratliff Today About His Time on the Run" - Nicholas Thompson - Wired
Wired 2009-12-03
Reaction- "Time for a Look" - Unsigned - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
"The first impression, after a careful reading of the Betty Wells series in The Eagle on Larned State Hospital is that patients, though not brutalized, are sometimes mistreated, and that there is a serious shortage of professional help for them."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-02-05
"Vanish: Finding Evan Ratliff" - Nicholas Thompson - Wired
From Mike Selinker's entry: "After breaking Evan’s FastTrak, Nick and I theorized that Evan would dump his car. To get the license plate out there, “Evan’s friend” (me) gave Teeuwynn (@Evansvanished) the first four characters: 4MUN. A search of License Place Genie would reveal under California plate 4MUN509 the confirmatory message (written by me, under the name “Ratty”): “Blue Devils Ultimate 4ever!”—a reference to Evan’s Duke University background and his love of ultimate frisbee."
Wired 2009-11-20
Reaction- "Legislators Explore Mental Hospital Probe" - John Petterson - WIchita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
"'Questionable areas' at Larned State Hospital, detailed in a Wichita Eagle series, should be investigated, Rep. Charles F. Laird, D-Topeka, said. Laird said Friday he plans to explore the possibility of calling for a legislative investigation of conditions at the state mental hospital. . ."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-02-03
"Writer Evan Ratliff Tried to Vanish: Here's What Happened" - Evan Ratliff - Wired
"August 13, 6:40 PM: I’m driving East out of San Francisco on I-80, fleeing my life under the cover of dusk. Having come to the interstate by a circuitous route, full of quick turns and double backs, I’m reasonably sure that no one is following me. I keep checking the rearview mirror anyway. From this point on, there’s no such thing as sure. Being too sure will get me caught. . . . "
Wired 2009-11-20
Guest Editorial- "Larned, the City, Is a Nice Place" - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon
". . .So Wichita Eagle reporter Betty Wells isn't uncommon when she says it was a nightmare. Most of us, given her role in a sudden departure from the world of openness, honking horns, laughter, work activity and rational idea exchange, probably would agree. But to the point of our discussion. . ."
Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon 1974-02-03