Dan Rather

IN AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ADAM SENNOTT OF SPARE CHANGE NEWS, WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, FORMER CBS NEW ANCHOR DAN RATHER SAID “THE SENSE OF PUBLIC SERVICE IS WHAT’S BEEN DRAINED OUT OF A BUNCH OF JOURNALISM OF THE LAST 25 TO 30 YEARS.”

“Journalism at its best matters; journalism at its best is important.  But to do that kind of journalism consistently on a [regular] basis requires an ethos that journalism is a public service,” he says, “it is very dangerous in a society like ours, which is a constitutional republic based on the principles of freedom and democracy…it can be lethal.”

“Even the best of news organizations have become far too much news packagers, rather than news gatherers.”

“Most reporters today lack the courage and the determination needed to provide high quality coverage,” Rather says.  “News organizations are frequently unwilling to invest in the high degree of investigative reporting that is necessary for such coverage.  Finding the financing for deep-digging investigative reporting…its very difficult.”

“Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest. Practitioners sometimes use the term “accountability reporting.'” (Source: Wikipedia)

John S. Knight of Knight-Ridder Newspapers – Winner of a 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing

Lets take a look at three media sources here in the Treasure Coast/Vero Beach/Indian River County and see where they get their news and how much writing they do on their own; although it may not all be investigative journalism. (We have tried our best to report the following numbers and if we stand to be corrected please reply and we will do so.)

The most well-known newspaper in this region is the Treasure Coast Press Journal.

In their January, 18 2016 edition they featured 26 articles written by other sources, as follows:

• Associated Press:  18
• Newsday: 1
• Charlotte Observer: 1
• Miami Herald: 1
• Orlando Starr Banner: 1
• Naples Daily News: 1
• Syndicated Columnist Leonard Pitts: 1
• Syndicated Columnist Jay Ambrose: 1
• Cultural Council: 1

Three staff reporters wrote articles on how the boat show rode out the storm, how no one was injured as strong winds battered the coast and how a man was accused of trying to shoot his friend.

Of course there were letters to the Editor, obituaries, community calendars, movie listings and so on.

Another source for media is the on-line publication InsideVero, previously offering a print version.

InsideVero offers reporting by well-known writers Mark Schumman and Milt Thomas.

From January 1 to January 21, 2016 Mr. Schumann and Mr. Thomas have written 14 articles and published 13 articles from other sources, as follows:

• TCPalm: 8
• New York Times: 1
• Florida Today: 1
• Tampa Bay Times: 2
• Tallahassee Democrat: 1

These numbers do not include two news releases.

Then there is 32963.

In their January 14, 2016 edition 32963 published 13 of their own articles and 14 from other sources, as follows:

• Washington Post: 9
• Bloomberg: 4
• Telegraph: 1

Kudos to reported Meg Laughlin for her true investigative reporting on the Indian River Medical Center.

At http://www.verocommunique.com we dig deep for the truth on important issues; as well as digging deep to provide positive reporting on a variety of topics ranging from not-for-profits such as the Moonshot Moment to FAU Harbor Branch’s efforts to clean the Indian River Lagoon.  All the while doing so with no funding and no advertising.

In 2015 we published over 200 articles, on our own, to help educate and provide a service to our community.

Please visit http://www.verocommunique.com