Uncovering Hidden Government
By Karl-Erik Stromsta
Paul D'Ambrosio
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“The first thing I learned was that you can have the scoop of the century, but if you can’t write, no one’s going to read it,” said Paul D’Ambrosio, the investigations editor of the Asbury Park Press.
Donald gave his presentation, “Developing Sources” as part of the Western Knight Center’s four-day seminar “Going Beyond the Agenda: Investigating Local Government.”
While lecturing on investigating consultants, commissions, public authorities and others nefarious characters who like to stay under the radar, D’Ambrosio referred to a story he covered about a New Jersey senator giving himself a raise in order to boost his pension.
The first step was determining what the story was not about, he said
“It was not about Republicans and Democrats, or who was running for office,” he said. “It was about how tax dollars were being spent and who was representing New Jersey.”
“So I wanted to get beyond the political aspect.”
For starters, D’Ambrosio suggested checking campaign contribution databases to see how money is being spent. Pension databases can also be useful for job and salary information.
The flood of information can be overwhelming at times, he said.
For example, during the course of an investigation into a former western New York mayor, D’Ambrosio’s team compiled a 1,500-page database of financial disclosure records and a campaign contribution database with 500,000 records.
“This (mayor) was very efficient at raising money very quickly,” D’Ambrosio said. “He was very good at the pay-to-play game.”
He acknowledged that though important, at times stories based on numbers and statistics can be daunting to readers.
“You have to build a relationship with readers by addressing issues they are personally concerned with,” he said. “Give them news they can use. And always involve real people in your stories through photos and quotes….always (use) at least one community voice.”
In doing so, investigative reporters can effect tremendous change, he said. For example, his pay-for-play investigation led to the defeat of a powerful senator and drove lawmakers to clamor for further good-government reforms.
He also suggested driving readers to the online versions of publications by posting massive amounts of information – far more than a newspaper could ever hold – in user-friendly formats.
D’Ambrosio spoke about uncovering ‘power brokers,’ who he defined as “individuals with the ability to select and fund candidates who…put their own self-interest ahead of voters’.”
Power brokers are usually not elected officials themselves, he said, preferring instead to stay in the shadows, as far from campaign financial disclosure forms as possible.
“If you think (existing) laws work, think again,” he said. “Lawmakers will always exploit their relationship with the powerful.”
“Campaign money is like water. It will always find cracks in the system.”
Investigative reporters should start by checking to see if local candidates have received large amounts of money from outside the area. If there are vast amounts of campaign cash being injected into a race, what are the undercurrents? Who stands to gain from a particular candidates’ victory?
D’Ambrosio acknowledged that stopping all government corruption is impossible, saying “sometimes it’s like trying to hold back the tide.”
But that doesn’t mean investigative journalists don’t owe it to the public to try.
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