Is Shreveport giving rebirth to investigative journalism?
As newsrooms shift their focus to gathering pictures and reports from random readers and viewers and editors shell out big bucks for flashy columnists over grunt reporters, it’s becoming more difficult to find investigative journalists on the beat. Tight budgets just don’t allow for a month or more of digging with no actual reporting. But the Shreveport Times investing money in what it calls its Public Service Team. Three reporters will focus on First Amendment journalism, producing investigative and enterprise stories and online databases. “This team is responsible for helping move forward, harder and faster, on investigatory and relevatory journalism that is inspired through the reader and reporter ideas constantly flowing in our Information Center,” says Alan English, the paper’s executive editor. “We believe a vigorous pursuit of the First Amendent is our main call.
