By Mike McGraw
The Kansas City Star

This is a "Collected Wisdom" centerpiece story from The IRE Journal, Fall 2009

I’ve been a reporter for nearly 40 years, with most of that time spent as an investigative
reporter. I love what I do and have never wanted to do anything else.
Three things turned me on to investigative reporting: Covering organized labor
in Kansas City in the 1970s and 1980s, during the zenith of Teamsters Union
corruption (and seeing how dues-paying union members got sold down the

Some reporters wanted to explore eastern Bolivia, where hundreds of Guaraní Indian families live in a state of semi-slavery. Others proposed investigating women's rights and sexuality.

By Andy Curliss
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Our running investigation has focused on former Gov. Mike Easley of North Carolina.

We have revealed numerous instances of unreported gifts, favors or other perks provided to the governor while he was in office and shown how many of those people who made the gifts benefited from the governor or his administration. (The Democrat finished his second term in January.) The reporting has included revelations about a six-figure discount for the governor on coastal property, a job for his wife at N.C. State University, free travel, free cars, free golf and more.

It had been an open secret for years in Jefferson County's courts — Kentucky's largest court system — that many defendants in criminal and traffic cases were able to get their charges dismissed simply because the arresting officer didn't show up for hearings.