Techniques and tools for backgrounding and fact checking those in power
One of the most important roles of a journalist is to be a watchdog for the public, to reveal the inner workings of government and highlight conflict of interests and wrong doing on the part of elected officials. Andrew Lehren, an award-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times, has dedicated his career to accountability journalism from environmental scandals to Wikileaks.
In this two-part, hands-on workshop, Andrew will guide you through the process adopted by investigative journalists to report on elected officials as well as useful techniques and tools such as:
- Backgrounding
- Unlocking government records
- Gaining a document mindset
- Fact checking
- Databases
What to bring: A laptop if you want to follow along or take notes