March 6, 2024
With quality journalism in high demand across the country, broadcasters' award-winning investigative news units uncover government corruption, question those in power and expose those who abuse their positions. This valuable investigative work improves the quality of lives within communities and provides viewers and listeners with the information they need to be informed citizens.
In a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism's 2023 National Fellowship, NBC News investigative reporter Hannah Rappleye produced an in-depth story about discrimination against people with substance use disorder, including those who use specific medications. Using the story of Tennessee lawyer Derek Scott, who passed the bar exam after overcoming addiction, the story examines barriers against treatment options for opioid addiction.
Since December, Tegna's KHOU 11 in Houston, Texas, has been investigating ongoing issues with delayed mail at Houston-area USPS processing centers. “KHOU was the first station to report on the problems and worked to find solutions,” the station said. Policymakers including Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Rep. Al Green (TX-9) have spoken to the station about working to get answers for frustrated customers. "My hope is that we’ll get them to come around and have this level of transparency. I currently do not see it, and I’m still very much concerned, and I’m currently having conversations with members on determination as to whether or not it would take a congressional hearing to move us along," Green told the station in February.
Hearst Television’s WMTW Channel 8 in Portland, Maine, investigated the rising cost of living in their area in an hour-long primetime special. The station’s news director, Amy Beveridge, told TVNewsCheck that the special not only presented the problems but offered solutions and opportunities. "That is how we hope to bring our investigations to the next level," she says.
Across the country, syphilis is on the rise among pregnant women, with potentially devastating consequences for babies. Hubbard Radio's WTOP in Washington, D.C., spoke to local doctor Amy Banulis for an expert perspective on this issue. The voices of local experts provide a personal, trusted connection that is one reason broadcasters provide Americans’ most-trusted news.
Tegna station KARE 11 in Minneapolis, Minn., investigated overbilling and questionable financial practices from companies providing addiction recovery services. The station’s in-depth reporting included reviewing financial reports and Medicaid documents and interviewing clients, providers and legislators. The report drew scrutiny from lawmakers.
The 7 Investigators from Scripps Local Media station 7 Action News in Detroit reported on a Wayne County Sheriff's Office lieutenant who was allowed to continue working after being charged with abusing his girlfriend, a fellow officer. The officer was suspended hours after the station contacted the sheriff’s office, alerting them of an upcoming story on the criminal case.
A partnership between Gray television’s Fox 8 New Orleans and ProPublica investigated the judicial process of a town in Louisiana that brings in more than $1 million per year in traffic fines through a mayor’s court. "The mayor who's trying to raise money for the city is in charge of prosecuting these minor criminal offenses and getting fines brought back to the city," Joel Friedman, an emeritus professor at Tulane University in New Orleans who has taught procedural law for 46 years, told the investigation. "There's no accountability. They can do whatever they want."
With financial scams on the rise and growing more sophisticated, it's important that the public stay vigilant. The news team at Audacy’s 1010 WINS in New York shared a message from police officials along with the story of a 76-year-old New Jersey woman scammed out of $30,000. "We urge our residents to continue their vigilance and never provide personal information or money to someone without first speaking with family members or police," the police's statement read.
More than 2.47 million American jobs depend on broadcasting, and the local broadcast radio and television industry - and the businesses that depend on it - generate $1.17 trillion annually for the nation's economy.
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