ABSTRACT
Investigative journalism has been augmented by the internet and niche publications like The Hill and Politico, as well as new organizations including ProPublica, which supply funds and personnel for investigative reporting. The Monica Lewinsky scandal, which led to the impeachment of President Clinton, was first reported by a blogger, Matt Drudge. The Hill newspaper, published online and in print, reported an attempted coup against then Speaker Newt Gingrich. Critics of the new media decry the loss of professionalism, the fact-checking and experience that were the hallmark of the best of the mainstream media, as well as its role as “gatekeeper,” deciding what the public should know. Indeed, every phase of journalism’s evolution has had its downside. The printing press provided wide distribution of both the Bible and Mein Kampf. Early radio gave us both the inspiring voice of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the anti-Semitic demagogue Father Coughlin.
