We start with our cover girl, Ida Tarbell . Investigative reporting existed before she zeroed in on Standard Oil, but she and her muckraking colleagues reshaped the form. Here at the turn of another century, Tarbell would be amazed at the breadth and variety of investigative work. That watchdog role is close to the journalistic heart of the matter. Strikingly, it is threatened in part by inadequate, unfair, or off-target work that echoes the style of investigative reporting but not its core.
Strong journalists carry on their shoulders the sins of weak and cynical ones.
Monica Lewinsky and Wen Ho Lee are receding in our rear view mirrors, but it is difficult to see the future. But it depends also on the quality of the people who pitch and approve and produce the stories. And here the news is good. Young journalists at the turn of this century can be inspired by the best efforts of Jeff Gerth , as portrayed in Ted Gup's profile. Or by the documentary filmmaker Robert Richter , plugging away against the odds, profiled by Lauren Janis.