PUBLIC MARKS from filloux with tag journalism

ProPublica opens for business June 11, 2008 10:46 AM ProPublica, the not-for-profit investigative journalism initiative, is up and running. Its editor-in-chief, Paul Steiger, and managing editor, Steve Engelberg, yesterday wrote a welcome to the starting line: Today we take our first concrete step in building an investigative publishing platform that will produce original stories focusing on betrayal of the public trust and abuse of power. Our goal is to do stories that would otherwise escape notice and to follow up on work done by others that demands change or is being overlooked.

For New Journalists, All Bets, but Not Mikes, Are Off By JACQUES STEINBERG Published: June 8, 2008 A 61-year-old woman elbows her 5-foot-2-inch frame to the front of the crowd mobbing Bill Clinton after a campaign event in South Dakota. As Mr. Clinton shakes her hand and holds it tight, she deftly draws him into a response to an article on the Vanity Fair Web site that examines his post-presidential life. “Sleazy” and “slimy” are among the words that issue from the former president’s mouth. Within hours, audio of the three-minute exchange — including the woman’s description of the article as a “hatchet job,” and Mr. Clinton’s description of Todd Purdum, the author and a former reporter for The New York Times, as “dishonest” — is available for the world to hear on the Huffington Post Web site.