Corruption: Who’s Watching?

| September 24, 2009 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2009/09/robrosenthal-small.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:66;s:6:"height";i:66;s:4:"file";s:30:"2009/09/robrosenthal-small.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:0:{}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => already_optimized
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

)
1647764886 
1253750400

90.3 WBHM Birmingham–

This week on WBHM we’re exploring the culture of corruption in Alabama. When it comes to rooting out shady deals, newspapers have historically been the most vigilant watchdogs. Think Woodward and Bernstein’s Watergate. Or more recently, former Birmingham News reporter Brett Blackledge’s coverage of the two year college scandal in Alabama. Blackledge won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting.

But the Birmingham News, like many newspapers around the country, has been scaling back on its reporting. And some observers wonder, as the media landscape shifts, who will take up the mantle of corruption watchdog. WBHM’s Tanya Ott talked with Robert Rosenthal, a veteran newspaper reporter who now directs the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, California.

~ Tanya Ott, September 24, 2009.

 

Colorado senator on Schumer: ‘It’s important for people to know when it’s time to go’

Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet stopped short Wednesday of calling on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down from leadership, but came pretty darn close.

Malaysia approves a new search for MH370 wreckage in the Indian Ocean

The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people. The plane headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

Canada says China executed four Canadians earlier this year

Beijing's embassy in Ottawa said the executions were due to drug crimes and noted that China does not recognize dual citizenship.

Trump to sign order aiming to close the Education Department

The Trump administration has already moved to cut the department's staff by half.

Jury says Greenpeace owes hundreds of millions of dollars for Dakota pipeline protest

Experts say the verdict has relevance for free speech issues nationwide.

Birmingham mayor warns violators after Alabama bans gun conversion devices

The devices convert semi-automatic guns to fire like a fully automatic weapon. A bipartisan coalition pushed the Alabama legislation after several mass shootings last year, including the deaths of four people outside a Birmingham nightclub in September.

More Government Coverage