ABSTRACT
A new reporter at the Belleville News-Democrat was cleaning her desk when she came across an Illinois state manual and asked veteran reporter George Pawlaczyk if he wanted it. Many people assume that watchdog responsibilities fall only to veteran investigative reporters, but all journalists should see themselves in this light, no matter what their beat may be. Watchdog journalism can often take months to produce, but it can also be turned around in a day or two. A watchdog mindset is a key component of reporters civic obligation as a journalist. Pulitzer Prize-winner Maurice Possley says the best watchdog journalism sheds light on things that otherwise would not be seen. The Belleville News-Democrat reporters approach small stories as well as large ones with a watchdog mindset. Boardman describes how the watchdog tradition at his paper evolved with beat writers teaming with investigative reporters to uncover medical abuses, art fraud and athletic scandals at both the high school and college levels.
