ProPublica reporters reached out for comment; were met with Intimidation, stonewalling
Bob Woodward (left) and Carl Bernstein at work in the Washington Post newsroom in April 1973. The two upheld a principle tenet among journalists and the First Amendment – holding the powerful accountable – when they exposed the illegal activities of the Nixon administration, which led to his resignation. Fifty years later, reporters have gone from venerated to vilified by the current administration, according to a new ProPublica report.
By Charles Ornstein, ProPublica
This summer, my colleagues were reporting out a story about the Department of Education’s “final mission,” its effort to undermine public education even as the Trump administration worked feverishly to close the agency.
As we do with all stories, the reporters reached out to those who would be featured in the article for comment. And so began a journey that showed both the emphasis we place on giving the subjects of our stories an opportunity to comment, as well as the aggressively unhelpful pushback we’ve faced this year as we’ve sought information and responses to questions.
Megan O’Matz, a reporter based in Wisconsin on ProPublica’s Midwest team, first asked the department’s press office for an interview in mid-August. At the same time, we emailed top administration officials who were making crucial decisions within the agency, including Lindsey Burke, deputy chief of staff for policy and programs, and Meg Kilgannon, director of strategic partnerships.
ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM THE INTEGRITY PROJECT
