Multimedia Minutes: “The Devil is in the Document”

Here’s how to go deeper into stories viewers talk about.

Even ESPN has gotten into the game of digging deeper and fact finding.  A new blog called The File uses public information requests, court filings, government data, and reader-furnished material to go deeper into the stories that the sports world is talking about.  They say the documents they post will help you ignore the spin and crowd noise and get right to the facts.  Their motto:  The devil is always in the document.

This is from the first edition of The File, which looked at football’s Bowl Championship Series:

We’re following the money in the BCS. So when we saw President Obama welcoming the BCS champs of Alabama to the White House in March, it made us wonder: How much does the ultimate photo op cost? Here’s how that $97,327 total breaks down:

 $79,314: A chartered plane from Tuscaloosa and back again 

 $3,500: Four buses to transport the team to and from the airport

 $6,000: Four more private buses to tour the team around D.C.

 $1,671.30: Bill from Metropolitan Police Department, Homeland Security Special Ops, for crowd control
 $3,512: Breakfast, Classic Fare Catering
 $3,329.95: Lunch tab from Chick-fil-A

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TAKEAWAYS

Use public information requests to see how your tax money is spent.

You have a right to ths information, but you have to ask for it.

For example, because many viewers wonder how the taxpayer funded stimulus money is spent.

And even basic expenses including how public servants spend money on travel and conventions.                       

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Senior Research Analyst Rory Ellender brought this to our attention.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 1:44 pm and is filed under broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Multimedia Minutes: “The Devil is in the Document””

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