Will Campbell Brown’s “The 74″ Investigate Charter Scandals?
My source says no…
Reader: I j’adore investigative journalism. Which is why I was beyond excited to learn that Campbell Brown’s new edu-venture, The 74, will include an investigative component. After all, at a moment characterized by the movement of massive sums from public to private hands, perhaps no *space* cries out for investigating like education. But then a tip arrived in my inbox that made me sad. A reporter who interviewed for a job at The 74 reported that The 74 will not be investigating charter school scandals. Could such a thing really be true? It was time for me to investigate…Rule number one: provide context
First: a bit of context. The 74 refers, of course, to the 74 million children in the US under the age of 18. The 74 also refers to a new venture, backed by some rather sameold funders, aimed at bettering the conversation about our failed and failing schools, and at last freeing the debate from *misinformation and political spin.* But unlike other similarly funded ventures also aimed at conversation bettering, The 74 will bedifferent. *Our stories are backed by investigation, expertise, and experience. The Seventy Four’s reporting aims to challenge the status quo, expose corruption and inequality…*
First: a bit of context. The 74 refers, of course, to the 74 million children in the US under the age of 18. The 74 also refers to a new venture, backed by some rather sameold funders, aimed at bettering the conversation about our failed and failing schools, and at last freeing the debate from *misinformation and political spin.* But unlike other similarly funded ventures also aimed at conversation bettering, The 74 will bedifferent. *Our stories are backed by investigation, expertise, and experience. The Seventy Four’s reporting aims to challenge the status quo, expose corruption and inequality…*
Except that when my source, an education reporter at a metro daily in New York, interviewed for a potential job at The 74, said source was told, well, I’ll let said source say it:
I was told that the newsroom will have two parts: an investigative team that will dive deep into ed issues and a daily news team that will write the news of the day. The investigative team will not do large scale investigations into faults in charter schools but the daily news people will write quick hit stories of this nature because it will be forced to. It could not ignore major breaking news on charters but can make sure it’s investigative work does not go into that territory.
Rule number two: always follow up on tips
Said source thought that this sounded *sketchy,* and I concurred. Which is why I did what any aspiring investigative journalist would do. I googled The 74, found the *contact us* link and sent a query paraphrasing what I’d been told into the ether. And it wasn’t long before I got a response from one of The 74’s PR representatives. *Call Will Campbell Brown’s “The 74″ Investigate Charter Scandals? | EduShyster:
Said source thought that this sounded *sketchy,* and I concurred. Which is why I did what any aspiring investigative journalist would do. I googled The 74, found the *contact us* link and sent a query paraphrasing what I’d been told into the ether. And it wasn’t long before I got a response from one of The 74’s PR representatives. *Call Will Campbell Brown’s “The 74″ Investigate Charter Scandals? | EduShyster:
