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Watchdog ConferenceNational Baptist Convention]. Finding the ex-deacons. Findingthe guy who ran for president of the organization andlost a couple of years ago. Understanding the politics of thisorganization. Exploiting the political differences within theorganization.”Byron Acohido: “We have these hard drives where youcan stack six years’ worth of work, or more. Divide up yourfiles and log all the stories that everybody published chronologically,or whatever system works for you, so that you getthis feel of what is out there. If you are not aware ofsomething, then it’s like quicksand. The corporate forcesand different agendas take over again. It’s amazing how thepress will repeat spin…. If reporters would just track what’sbeing written, go into other Web sites where they can getinformation that helps them piece together what the truth ismore likely to be, then we would better serve readers andpreserve our credibility.” ■Verifying What Sources SayAs helpful or reliable as sources might seem to be, no reporter should accept their version of events withoutfinding documentation to back up what they say. None of the investigative reporters at the conference couldhave published their stories without searching for records to support what their sources had said.Susan Kelleher: “People [sources] would always ask,‘Are you going to have to tell anybody that I gave you theserecords?’ And I would say, ‘Yeah, if we get sued and I base thestory on these records, then yeah, I’m going to have todisclose where they came from. However, if they come to meanonymously in the mail in an unmarked envelope, which Ihave a habit of throwing away, then it’s up to me to validatethem, and I will have no idea where they came from becauseI really don’t know.’” [Document below is an example of oneKelleher used in herstory.]Kelleher used anotherreporting technique ingathering documentationfor her story fromreluctant sources. “I’dtell people where I washaving lunch, and I had areally distinct car at thetime, a blue Toyota Tercelwith cow-covered carseats and I’d tell them Ihad a really bad habit ofleaving the truck open.That really paid off becauseI got a mother lodeof documents one timethat way. I did have to eatat Sizzler, though.”Loretta Tofani:“Check your source’s information;find out if thestatement is true. But youalso have to preserveyour initial gut feeling of, but this is wrong, it shouldn’t beroutine, rather than accept the source’s more cavalier viewof ‘This is what happens in life.’”Doug Frantz: “I’ve been an investigative reporter foralmost 20 years, and I couldn’t have done my job duringthose years without relying on sources, on people who tookrisks to themselves, who risked going to jail. People on theScientology story risked something worse than jail, which isthe wrath of Scientology.But, also, I could not havedone my job if I had onlyrelied on those sources. Itis essential that you use asource, particularly whenyou are dealing with a nonprofit,as a point of origin;it’s the beginning place, becausethey are most likelyto be disgruntled formertrue believers, whether theyare ex-members of the RedCross or formerScientologists. And you’llfind no person in the worldmore zealous than a formerScientologist, believe me….You have to take what theysay only as a starting point.You cannot rely on a singleword of a single sentencewithout checking it outyourself.” ■Image courtesy of The Orange County [CA] Register.20 Nieman Reports / Fall 1999