The New Watchdogs: Franklin Center Builds Nationwide Network of Investigative Reporters

[Judi Lynn]

Monday, February 7th, 2011
The New Watchdogs: Franklin Center Builds Nationwide Network of Investigative Reporters

BY ROBERT R. BLUEY- Jim Scarantino was browsing the government’s economic stimulus Web site last year when he did a double take. As the editor of New Mexico Watchdog, Scarantino was keeping tabs on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s impact on his state.

Recovery.gov, the government’s official source for data on jobs created or saved, reported $8.96 million was spent in New Mexico’s 35th District. There was just one problem. New Mexico has only three congressional representatives.

“When I saw the page listing the top five congressional districts, I knew I had a story. We only have three,” Scarantino explained. “It was like shooting fish in a barrel. It was such a ludicrous error. It’s the kind of thing investigative reporters love to get a hold of because it makes fools out of arrogant, pretentious government bureaucrats.”

Scarantino broke the story and immediately notified a network of reporters from across the country working for similar Watchdog outlets. They, too, found erroneous entries on the government’s Web site. Phantom congressional districts became a national story, even catching the attention of Stephen Colbert on his faux news show on Comedy Central.

More:
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-new-watchdogs-franklin-center-builds-nationwide-network-of-investigative-reporters

[KoKo]

1. The Reporter who wrote article is part of the RW Heritage Foundation

and this "investigative group" has gone after Michael Moore and others like Harvard's Neiman Foundation.

From the article:

Hoekstra made waves with an exposé on liberal filmmaker Michael Moore last year. Cleverly called “Michael and Me”—a title inspired by one of Moore’s films—Hoekstra used her broadcast talents to reveal that Moore got taxpayer funding for a movie he was filming in Michigan. Given the state’s dire economy, it sparked outrage. The celebrityfocused Perez Hilton blog linked to her report, exposing the Mackinac Center to an unlikely audience.



Mr. Bluey directs the Center for Media and Public Policy, an investigative journalism operation at The Heritage Foundation.