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2003 NFPW Conference
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2003 NFPW Conference

Investigative reporting: Digging through public records

How do investigative reporters outwit public relations specialists, cut through the “no comment” mantra and discover the nuggets of vital information in the opaqueness of organization documents?

A stellar panel: a lawyer, an Associated Press correspondent, a banking and financial services reporter, a lobbyist, a Public Broadcasting producer, a financial fraud investigator and a court administrator agreed that it takes persistence, research and extraordinary patience to ferret out the nuggets that tell the story, shape public policy, or build a case.

Jonathan Epstein considers documents a “treasure trove.” Epstein covers Delaware’s banking and financial services industries for the Wilmington, Del., News Journal, a Gannett paper. He is persistent in scouring records, checking on business ownerships and executive compensation. “Check out what the money managers are doing,” he advises. “Watch the trends, go to conferences, get the documents. Go get them, and use them,” he says.

Along with patience, persistence and research, Ron Poplos, financial fraud investigator for federal and state government and a former special agent with the IRS, uses surveillance, search warrants, subpoenas and even “trash runs.” Dressed in a trash collector’s uniform and using an authentic garbage truck, he and fellow agents collect a suspect’s trash and pick through the trash for useable information. Among his surveillance discoveries was a bank inside a supermarket that was laundering money to send to a bank in Switzerland. Poplos advises, “Follow the money.”

Randall Chase, the AP correspondent for Delaware and parts of Maryland, covers government, elected officials and general news. Chase concurs with the need for patience and persistence, and adds that one should not be afraid to ask for help. He also advises: Be nice, be honest, be committed, trust your instincts, don’t get too caught up with the competition, and buy lots of file folders (for your ideas.)

David L. Finger, a lawyer whose practice includes First Amendment/media law, has represented newspapers and reporters in obtaining access to sealed court documents and proceedings. To secure information, he counts on the Freedom of Information Act and the public’s right to know, along with dogged persistence and aggressiveness. If a record is sealed, Finger wants to know “why are they sealing? Is there a less restrictive way? Is the sealing the way to handle it?”

Patty Hartman, documentary producer for a Public Broadcasting station in Philadelphia, agrees that reporters need to be aggressive and resourceful. A “no comment” to Patty is the sign to aggressively force a comment.

John Flaherty, lobbyist for Common Cause in the Delaware General Assembly, specializes in legislative research, online services and computer information retrieval.

Stephen Taylor, a court administrator for the Delaware Supreme Court, has been in the court system for 25 years. He tells the assembled reporters that “I’m not there to volunteer information.” He says, “Give me all your questions, then I will say, ‘This is the comment.’” Taylor says is it not the lawyer’s or the court’s role to clarify what a judge’s or court’s opinion means. The court will provide documents and give a comment.

- Dee Pavicic