Point for investigative journalism

I'm in complete support of citizen journalism. If the media is to be a conversation, then we have to give a voice to those that aren't doing this for a living. It's an important aspect which deals with the question, if the news is watching the government and businesses, who's watching the news? Citizen journalists help this process. And in the last several years, especially during hurricane Katrina, we saw just how powerful that is.

One of the perhaps too often discussed questions here at the University of Oregon is whether or not citizen journalists will replace professional journalists. As a group of professionals hoping to make it in the job market this is a bit of a pressing concern, but one that I am not personally concerned about. And a talk yesterday at the University solidified why I feel that way.

Hop over to The Oregonian's special report page on the meth epidemic to see why. Page after page after page examining with a great deal of scrutiny the methamphetamine problems that are sweeping across the nation. Now, sure, it doesn’t take a paid journalist to write an article about meth. Talk to a couple recovered addicts, meet with a politician and talk to a state patrol officer and you're pretty well there, right?

But what the Oregonian has shown us what can be done with a full time investigator, just tracking this one issue. Where the government has been unable to provide an answer as to why we have the situation at hand, Steve Suo has given detailed information, the most important of which he found over months of statistical analysis.

It wasn't all done in front of a computer. In fact what made the story work had more to do with legwork than punching a few numbers in excel. Before Suo had a glimpse of what the real issue was, he spent three months traveling around to different states collecting data from police agencies and rehab clinics. Suo was able to do what, with all due respect to citizen journalists, your average person can't do without some sort of financial backing.

This is all to merely illustrate one point. Technology can advance, it can become nearly effortless for an individual to start a website, a radio program or any imaginable medium, but it can't change the fact that there is a limited amount of time, money and resources. We have to eat, and work. Citizen journalists work with a fire in their belly above and beyond most people, but occasionally we need someone to dedicate the hours and resources to something long term.

For most newspapers deep investigative reports like this don't lead to any major cash. Good newspapers regularly funnel money into projects that don't bring about any real revenue from readership, but are motivated by the same fire in their belly as the citizen journalist.

Suo is not a brief example of this dedication to information gathering. The story has gone from months to years, and the affects of his work imprint themselves across local and international governing agencies. The articles have influenced drug policies from state, to national and international agencies.

Suo admitted at his talk that he is looking forward to having his life dedicated to another topic, but I'm thankful in the meantime that they have poured this much effort into the issue. It's why we do what we do.