Frontline’s ‘Black Money’ gets honorable mention at Loeb Awards
PBS’ Frontline received an honorable mention in television enterprise in the Gerald Loeb Awards for “Black Money,” a segment that looks closely at international bribery and how it has helped many companies operate. Marlena Telvick, Lowell Bergman, Oriana Zill de Granados and Daniel Hirst produced the segment. The 2010 Loeb Awards, announced June 29, are the highest honor in business journalism.
Viewers learn how U.K.-based BAE spent $100 million to support the lavish lifestyles of Saudi families as part of a bribe. They listen to an interview with reporter David Leigh of The Guardian, who broke stories about BAE’s bribery using documents from a confidential source.
“It was clear that BAE had a pretty big slush fund out of which they were paying off the books, using this travel company as a cutout,” Leigh says in the segment. “It was obviously corrupt and corrupting.”
Today’s Tip: Don’t ignore your journalism colleagues.
As media outlets invest time in investigative pieces to advance the daily news, we’re getting more experts on certain topics. In this segment, David Leigh knew all about BAE. Here in Milwaukee, Raquel Rutledge knows all about state-supported day care.
Neil McIntosh blogged about the topic of journalists as experts. He argues that stepping in and asking a few questions doesn’t make someone an expert. But as specialization increases – such as Dan Egan focusing on the Great Lakes or Craig McCoy following former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo for six years – more journalists will become experts.
So while you’re looking for sources, add a non-competitive reporter to your list.
