By Ulysses Arn -
Conservatives have a habit of being critical of the "old media" over their lack of coverage to a certain story, like Benghazi or Fast and Furious, or their clear liberal bias in others, such as gun control in the wake of Sandy Hook. But every once in a while, someone comes along who shines out from all the rest because he or she is actually doing the job he or she is supposed to be doing as a constitutionally-protected member of the press.
Sauk Valley Media (Dixon Telegraph, Sterling Gazette) reporter David Giuliani is one such person. Whether it is digging into the finances and expenditures of local government units or getting into the faces of local elected leaders in order to have his questions answered, David Giuliani is a rare breed compared to the likes of Chris "thrill up my leg" Matthews or Piers "Musket" Morgan.
Instead of being a stenographer or an outright liberal activist posing as a journalist, David is what he is supposed to be, an investigator of the truth. I recently had the chance to talk with David about his reporting.
Question: What is making you want to keep an eye on local government?
David Giuliani- We are working for our readers. They are busy and don't have the time to follow local government agencies closely. That's where the local newspaper comes in. There is a "wow" factor, for me at least, in doing comparisons between government entities. For instance, the coroner's office in Whiteside County spends less money but has much more work than the one in Lee County. No one had any answers on why this is the case. But the Lee County board, for instance, needs to have this information, especially since it'll have to cut the county's budget down the road.
(*Note: David is referring to Lee County's more than $1 million deficit.)
Question: Why is keeping an eye on government at all levels important for both the general public and for the media?
David- Media scrutiny makes for better government. When they know folks are watching, they'll do a better job. In Illinois, we have more government entities than any other state, so we can't watch them all. Investigative reporting is the key. Unfortunately, newspapers are having a harder time making money. We haven't found a surefire way to make money on the Internet. As such, reporting staffs have gotten smaller in the last decade. But we must find a way to keep doing investigative stories. We must get beyond government officials' rhetoric and news releases.
Question: What can/should people be doing to keep a watchful eye on their local government?
David-They can read the annual reports for the government entities on the state comptroller's website. They can check out how much people make in salaries and pensions on openthebooks.com, a gold mine of information. They can check out meeting minutes and budgets. If government entities put them online. We all should encourage our governments to post as much information as possible on their websites. And people should file Freedom of Information Act requests. Such requests don't have to be written in some fancy way; just send an email to an agency's public records custodian.
With a news hound like David Giuliani working in the area it is going to be hard for anyone in Lee or Whiteside counties to pull off a heist like Dixon's former city comptroller, now convicted felon, Rita Crundwell did. Furthermore, waste and inefficiencies, whether it be by the counties or townships, are very likely to be found out and reported on so long as we have David around to keep a tab on things.
I honestly believe that if more members of the "old media" were true journalists and reporters like David is, then the newspaper industry wouldn't be dying and the network nightly news cast wouldn't be losing viewers. Until the networks and major newspapers understand that, we are just going to have to highlight the good reporters out there like David and Sharyl Atkisson of CBS News.
SVM-No easy job getting township salary information
