Wichita public television station KPTS has produced the weekly public affairs program Kansas Week since 1989. Tim Brown has been the host since 2006.
Now many of KPTS’s shows are available online through the station’s website. There’s a link on the main page, or click on watch.kpts.org. Both Kansas Week and the Sunday afternoon show Ask Your Legislator are available.
As newspapers and other forms of traditional news media experience economic difficulty, a gap has been created that needs to be filled. One of the solutions is the rise of non-profit organizations that have stepped in to provide the watchdog service that investigative journalism provides. Jason Stverak, author of the piece below, is president of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, which funds investigative journalism in a growing number of states, including Kansas at Kansas Watchdog. This piece also appeared in National Review Online.
Corruption and scandal are not simply bred in D.C. — crooked politicians have to start somewhere. Gone unnoticed, scandal-plagued local politicians sometimes escalate to Congress or other federal positions.
The cure for a dishonest politician is an investigative reporter willing to allocate the time to expose the truth. However, the decline of resources at newspapers around the nation has increased the vacuum in state-based coverage. As such, newspapers around the country are curbing reporters’ ability to spend the time or money to investigate a story in addition to the daily beat they write. This growing hole in investigative journalism is now being filled by non-profit organizations that have the capacity to spend time becoming immersed in a story.
The formula for success for the non-profits is to hire straight-shooting professionals and provide them the opportunity and training to reemerge as the beat reporters from yesteryear. With local focuses, specific targets, a commitment to using highly trained and professional journalists, and a strategic approach to using and distributing resources, online non-profits are the future of journalism.
Just recently, a series of state-based watchdog groups have demonstrated that online news websites can churn out substantive investigative pieces. Jim Scarantino, the New Mexico Watchdog at the Rio Grande Foundation, found that New Mexico’s lieutenant governor was utilizing tax dollars to buy Christmas cards for her political committee. Joe Jordan, a dedicated state-based reporter at NebraskaWatchdog.org, uncovered that their state’s educators were using taxpayer-funded credit cards to purchase a first-class plane tickets to China for $11,000. And it was a Watchdog in Ohio that publicized a candidate’s attempt to pay for votes among college students.
Kathy Hoekstra, a watchdog from Michigan, found herself investigating a union day-care scandal when her organization, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, sued Michigan’s Department of Human Services. The lawsuit stemmed from the two home day-care owners receiving a notification that they were members of a union, and that dues would be taken out of the subsidy checks they receive on behalf of low-income parents who qualify for aid. The lawsuit alleged that these home day-care owners are businesses, not government employees, and therefore it is illegal to siphon union dues from government-subsidy checks. Weeks of investigating the details of this case paid off when Kathy’s article was welcomed with open arms in all the major news outlets in Michigan, exposing this story to millions of readers.
Although many of the state-based watchdogs are local in focus, on several occasions, one watchdog’s local discovery has led to a major news story. This past November, Jim Scarantino was doing research on Recovery.gov when he noticed that a few of the congressional districts that received stimulus funding in New Mexico did not exist. The story he wrote about that obvious error prompted a watchdog in another state to look into his own state’s information. As more and more watchdogs looked into their own state’s data on recovery.gov, more congressional districts proved to be fabricated. What came to be known as the “Phantom Congressional District Scandal” lead to the discovery of more than 440 phantom congressional districts nationwide and hearings on Capitol Hill. The Colbert Report even refashioned its popular “Better Known as a District” into a new segment, “Know Your Made-Up District.”
Non-profit journalism organizations are changing the conversation in politics, the media, and for news consumers around the nation. Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, once said that “a newspaper in every home” was the “principle support of … morality” in civic life. The decline of American newspapers might sadden Mr. Franklin, but the pursuit of greatness in journalism by online non-profits would without a doubt bring him pride.
Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity promotes social welfare and civil betterment by undertaking programs that promote journalism and the education of the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, or taxpayer abuse by elected officials at all levels of government. Founded in January of 2009, The Franklin Center is a nonpartisan organization that believes that new technology can advance the cause of transparency in government. The Franklin Center aims to educate, to advise and to train individuals and organizations from all backgrounds to become thorough, unbiased and responsible reporters well versed in new media techniques and journalistic integrity. For more information on the Franklin Center please visit www.FranklinCenterHQ.org.
As the debate over the funding of Kansas public schools goes on, sometimes facts get lost in the shuffle, and school spending advocates sometimes invent “facts” in order to score political points by criticizing those working to bring inconvenient facts to light.
Besides spending advocates, journalists can get caught up in this. In a recent news story in the Hays Daily News, the paper reported a claim made by Linda Kenne, Victoria USD 432 superintendent. Here it is:
One particular corporation seems to drive the efforts. Kenne said, “Koch Industries’ address is the same as the Kansas Policy Institute.” “Do you want the state to be owned by Koch Industries?” she asked.
The reporter of this story, Dawne Leiker, quoted a government official who said something. I guess that constitutes news. But responsible reporting and journalism requires that there be at least some factual basis underlying the statement, or the reporter needs to say so. In this case, the facts are that the two organizations do not share the same address.
It’s worth noting that Leiker writes for the leftist blogs Everyday Citizen and Kansas Free Press. At Everyday Citizen you may read her poem Ode to Conservatism, in which she likens conservatives to “pit bulls, bedecked with luscious lips” who are offended by the existence of poor people, and that opportunity goes to those who beg for it, presumably from rich conservatives.
It’s tempting to feel a little empathy for school spending advocates like superintendent Kenne, as Kansas Policy Institute has uncovered and given publicity to large fund balances that schools could be using if they want to. And it’s not just KPI that says so. Kansas Deputy Commissioner of Schools Dale Dennis agrees.
But that’s not an excuse for playing fast and loose with facts.
Kenne may be taking her cue from the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union). It, along with the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), is at the forefront of defending the status quo in Kansas public school spending — that being a rapid rise. Their lobbyists and publications also show little regard for facts when scoring political points by criticizing those who uncover facts inconvenient for them.
As an example, a recent edition of “Under the Dome Today” referred to the “Kansas Policy Institute whose board of directors includes Koch Industries executives.” The facts are that of the members of the KPI Board of Trustees, two are former Koch industries employees. Neither has worked there for many years.
Misreporting simple facts like this should give us reason to question the facts used to support their larger and more important arguments.
Underlying this is the puzzle as to why Wichita-based Koch Industries is the subject of so much criticism from Kansas school spending advocates. With some 2,100 employees in Wichita and owning a large amount of property, Koch Industries and its employees pay many millions in taxes that go to school districts and other functions of government.
The company is involved in other ways, too. In 1991, Charles and Elizabeth Koch founded (and a Koch Family Foundation continues to fund) Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas, which “teaches free enterprise fundamentals through hands-on experiences and encourages students to start their own business, enhance their business skills for future career opportunities and continue into higher education.” YEK is present in many Wichita and surrounding area public schools.
As another example of Koch Foundation generosity, a page on the Wichita public school website tells of Education EDGE Koch Focus mini-grants given to support classroom projects in several areas.
Further, a recent letter appearing in the Wichita Eagle told of this: “Thanks to the support of USD 259’s administration, the financial generosity of the Koch foundation, and the expertise of Gilder Lehrman and the Bill of Rights Institute, programs such as these are having a profound positive impact on history and civics education.”
We need to carefully examine the facts and arguments advanced by school spending advocates. They could also learn to say “thank you” now and then.
Does the application for press credentials to the Kansas Senate contain questions designed to limit or restrict the types of organizations that apply?
A bit of background: In a New York Times op-ed from a year ago (News You Can Endow), the authors tell of the financial troubles of newspapers: “Today, we are dangerously close to having a government without newspapers. American newspapers shoulder the burden of considerable indebtedness with little cash on hand, as their profit margins have diminished or disappeared.” The reaction of newspapers: “News organizations have cut costs, with grave consequences.”
It’s an important issue. As the article states: “If [Thomas] Jefferson was right that a well-informed citizenry is the foundation of our democracy, then newspapers must be saved.” I would argue that it doesn’t matter much if newspapers survive in their present form of physical delivery — as the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund has said, on dead trees.
But newspaper-style journalism must survive. Former editor of the Wichita Eagle W. Davis “Buzz” Merritt wrote a book that chronicles some of the changes in newspapers over the past decades (Knightfall: Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy At Risk). My review of the book contains Merritt’s summary of the properties of newspaper-style journalism that separates it from other forms: “… newspaper journalism is ‘not shaped by a limiting technology,’ such as a television broadcast; it values completeness over immediacy, it is lengthier and deeper than other sources of journalism, its goal is relevance rather than entertainment, and opinion and analysis is presented separately from news.”
Returning to Kansas: Newspapers in Kansas have suffered financially. The Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star have reduced their staff. Morris Publishing, owner of the Topeka Capital-Journal, recently filed for bankruptcy.
Now some organizations have been created and are stepping up to fill the void. These organizations are of the type that the Times op-ed recommends as a way to save newspapers: non-profit organizations.
Specifically, Kansas Watchdog and Kansas Reporter, both started last year, provide coverage of Kansas issues. Both are staffed by experienced journalists, some with reporting backgrounds in Kansas newspapers. Similar efforts are springing up in many states.
They’re both non-profit organizations, and that has created a problem.
Here’s a question on the application for Kansas Senate press credentials: “Please list below the organization’s shareholders, owners or major contributors: (Shareholders, owners or major contributors of 5% or over)”
The problem is that many people who donate to non-profit organizations prefer to remain anonymous. Donors may prefer anonymity for any number of reasons.
Regarding donor-funded journalism, some argue that anonymous donors will require that the news be produced in a way that advances a political agenda. That’s possible, and equally so for news outlets on both the political left and right. It can happen whether donors are anonymous or known. It happens in traditional media, no matter what the structure of ownership.
These issues — primarily how newspaper-style and investigative journalism will survive — are vitally important. It’s likely that the answers will be known only after a period of experimentation where answers are hammered out in public.
But Stephen Morris, who is president of the Kansas Senate, seems determined not to let this happen.
You can read all the questions the Kansas Senate President’s Office asks by clicking on 2010 Kansas Senate Press Credentialing Application.
Access to the Kansas Senate by alternative media is discussed on the KPTS Television public affairs program Kansas Week. Bob Weeks is the guest. Tim Brown is the host.
Other information on this topic is available at Kansas alternative media senate access discussed on WIBW, Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access, and Kansas alternative media discussed on Kansas Week. The latter story contains video of a previous appearance on the KPTS television public affairs program Kansas Week regarding this issue.
The application form for Kansas Senate press credentials for 2010 is available at 2010 Kansas Senate Press Credentialing Application.
Kansas Watchdog reporting at Kansas Senate decides who is press and who is not may have caught the eye of Topeka radio talk show hosts Raubin Pierce and Megan Mosack, as they invited me to appear on their show today to talk about my inability to obtain press credentials at the Kansas Senate.
(By the way, isn’t it great that people in Topeka and northeast Kansas have a radio talk show that covers politics and public policy? We definitely could use something like this in Wichita.)
My appearance is available for listening at the show’s archive page under the heading “Thursday’s Show 2nd Hour”, although I think the easiest way to listen will be to click on this direct link. If all goes well, an audio file will download and start playing in your computer’s media player. After a little banter by hosts Raubin and Megan — they’re on location at a pizzeria in Overbrook, and the pizza sounds delicious — I appear a little more than two minutes into the recording.
The application form for Kansas Senate press credentials for 2010 is available at 2010 Kansas Senate Press Credentialing Application.
Previous reporting by me on this issue is at Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access and Kansas alternative media discussed on Kansas Week. The latter story contains video of my appearance on the KPTS television public affairs program Kansas Week.
This week the Kansas Policy Institute announced the launch of KansasReporter, a news service covering Kansas government. Combined with some other relatively new sources of news, analysis, and commentary — Kansas Liberty, Kansas Watchdog, State of the State, Kansas and a few older sources like Kansas Meadowlark and Voice For Liberty in Wichita — Kansans should be better-equipped to know what’s going on in our state, and to become more involved in our state and local governments.
Following is its press release.
Topeka, Kan., Dec. 9 – KansasReporter is pleased to announce the December 9 launch of its state capital news bureau.
KansasReporter is an online news service providing original reporting on Kansas government. The state capital bureau in Topeka is staffed by two full-time, experienced journalists. Their work will be published online at and accessible for everyone to read. It is also available as a free “wire service” to all media outlets.
KansasReporter is a project of Kansas Policy Institute. KPI President Dave Trabert says, “We launched this service to help fill a void created by the unfortunate reduction in media resources devoted to state government news coverage. The closing of Harris News Service’s Topeka bureau earlier this year and other cutbacks have reduced information available to citizens and media outlets outside the Topeka area at a critical time. The mission is to ensure that government is held accountable to all Kansans and to examine issues from all sides. We recognize that being founded by a public policy organization raises legitimate questions of balance. The purpose of KansasReporter is not to promote a particular viewpoint but to provide vigorous and credible reporting on all sides of stories. We encourage readers to hold us accountable to our mission and welcome their constructive criticism.”
Brian R. Hook leads the coverage as bureau chief. He will oversee editing and also report on a daily basis. With more than 15 years of journalism experience, he worked as a freelance journalist for the last ten years. He reported for dozens of publishers, including Financial Times, Dow Jones, McGraw-Hill, Kiplinger’s and U.S. News & World Report. He started his career in TV news at KAKE-TV in Wichita, before moving to Oklahoma City and then to St. Louis, helping to launch a new, prime-time newscast at KTVI.
Gene Meyer is the new reporter for KansasReporter.org. Meyer spent 25 years reporting for the Kansas City Star. While at the Star he reported and co-wrote a series of stories regarding Kansas pension fund investment practices that led to enactment of state legislation to increase safeguards for public employees’ retirement savings. In addition to reporting for a commodity news service out of Leawood, Kan., Meyer worked for the Wall Street Journal from its Chicago bureau covering agricultural futures markets for the newspapers and Dow Jones News Wire.
Kansas Policy Institute
Kansas Policy Institute is a non-profit organization that advocates for free enterprise solutions and the protection of personal freedom. It also operates KansasWatchdog, KansasOpenGov and KansasVotes.
Contact information for KansasReporter is Brian R. Hook, Bureau Chief
Topeka Office: 785.408.6100
Email: brhook@kansaspolicy.org
There’s a new dog in town, and doing a great job already.
In New Mexico, the New Mexico Watchdog reported the story More Than 4,800 New Jobs Created in New Mexico in Less than a Month from Stimulus, According to Obama Administration Data, which is apparently the first news story to notice the glaring errors — some say fraud — in stimulus data provided by the government website Recovery.gov.
The national Watchdog site then reported $6.4 Billion Stimulus Goes to Phantom Districts.
Watchdog.org is a project of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. There are state-level watchdogs in a growing number of states, including Kansas at Kansas Watchdog. The Kansas group has done some great work already, to the annoyance of some Kansas politicians and bureaucrats who prefer to operate under less scrutiny. It’s worthwhile to bookmark the Kansas Watchdog web site, and to subscribe to their various other contact methods such as their rss feed, Facebook presence, email updates, and Twitter stream.
On Wednesday the Winfield Daily Courier printed an editorial titled ‘Tea party’ bunch is going to extreme.
While criticizing a move made by some Kansas legislators, it uses loaded language like “in full Glenn Beck mode,” “they look silly,” “appealing to prejudice rather than reason,” and “should just laugh at the ‘tea party’ jesters.”
The anonymous author of this piece — probably Dave Seaton, identified in the newspaper’s website as “responsible for the Courier’s editorial content” — seems to be more than a bit out of touch with readers, at least those who have left comments to the editorial.
One comment writer left this: “Kansas is among the states that want it the least. The vote in the last Presidential election showed that a majority didn’t want it or it’s author! We didn’t believe the author’s ‘Kansas Values’ ad then and certainly don’t now!”
Another wrote: “You seem very quick to decry the ‘tea party’ people and Glenn Beck as the demon. You’ve yet to enumerate any inaccuracy held and posed by them, though. … Could that be because you’ve openly embraced and adopted the Saul D. Alinsky tactic of smear and defame those you cannot overcome with clear logic and fact?”
One, identifying himself as the Ayn Rand character John Galt, wrote: “Someone at the Winfield People’s Courier both needs a little fresh air, and reminds me why I generally have done well to avoid the bien pensant opinion of most printed newspapers these days.”
(bien-pensant: right-minded, one who holds orthodox views. I had to look that up.)
It seems like many people in Winfield don’t care for the editorial stance of their newspaper. I understand why.