A lot has changed in 30 years...

Investigative reporting: Investigative journalism is a kind of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal. (I hate using Wikipedia, but they had the most understandable definition that I could find.)

You decide if investigative reporting in metro Phoenix is still a vital part of the journalistic culture here.

Or not.

1976 - Don Bolles is assassinated after a series of articles about organized crime and corrupt businessmen.

1976 - Investigative journalists from all over the country respond with The Arizona Project. A trend starts with the Arizona Republic all but ignoring the results.

2006 - Phoenix's state of investigative journalism, culled from the websites of the major media outlets in metro Phoenix (with my very subjective grade in parentheses):

• The Arizona Republic: No specific investigative reporting links, but there is a page for "Special Reports" that doesn't contain any investigative reporting. (D-)
• The East Valley Tribune: As with the AZRep, only a "Special Reports" page with no investigative journalism. (D-)
• The Phoenix New Times: Much better. No specific links for an investigative reporting page, but that's because most editions have something in them. This week it's a piece about how contracts are awarded at ADOT. But in spite of the record of good work at the New Times (John Dougherty's work alone makes the New Times the best at investigative reporting in Phoenix right now) the paper doesn't have the circulation or the journalistic cred (it's your basic music and entertainment weekly) to have much of an impact outside of its market (college and high school students looking for club/band/movie times). (B+)
• The State Press (ASU): I don't know enough about the paper to comment, but ASU Prez Crow is a big proponent of the ideal of the Stepford Student Body; the State Press (and anybody who isn't a star athlete on scholarship) is kept on as tight a leash as possible. (INC)
• The Arizona Capitol Times and The Business Journal of Phoenix are non-entities in the investigative journalism world due to their market focus. Their intended markets have absolutely no interest in 'rocking the boat'; something which good investigative journalism most certainly does. (N/A)

On the TV side,

• NBC-affiliate KPNX-12 is owned by the same company that owns the AZRep and features investigative reporting as much as its printed sibling. In other words, it doesn't feature it. There is a link for something called the "I-Cast", but that is just a video summary of top news; nothing investigative. The website for the station does have some incisive pieces about a sheltie on a diet and litter bugs. (D)
• ABC-affiliate KNXV-15 does have a link for "The Investigators." There is some good work there, but the vast majority of it really belongs in the Consumer Affairs category. Stories about "the dark side of tattoos and body piercing in Arizona" and about which stores' "checkout aisle scanners overcharg[e] you" are interesting, even useful, but not really the investigative legacy of Don Bolles. (C+)
• CBS-affiliate KPHO-5 has its "5i-Team". Again, a lot of consumer affairs work ("Company Makes Money off Mold Fears") but not any significant muckraking. The closest was a feature about how difficult it can be to file a complaint about a police officer. Not a feature documenting the activities of a bad police officer, just about the red tape involved in complaining once you actually have to deal with one. KPHO does get credit for doing a piece on JD Hayworth's links to Jack Abramoff. (B)
• Independent KTVK-3 has a "Special Reports" link, but while there are some decent, in-depth pieces ("Lewis Prison Standoff" and "Polycystic ovarian syndrome" for example," again, most are consumer affairs-related, not investigative journalism-related. (D)
• Fox-affiliate KSAZ-10 has a link for "Fox10 Investigates." There isn't much info at the link, but that may be because their investigative reporters are hot on the trail of the story most vitally important to Arizonans. From their website...

FOX10 Investigates

Married to a Gay Man - posted 04.19.06

If you are gay and married, or married to a gay man, and willing
to talk about it to FOX-10 News about your home life, please contact the FOX-10
investigators at 602 262 0410.

Now there's a station where they live and breathe the legacy of Don Bolles. Or maybe Jerry Springer.

Edit on 5 June 2006... BIG NEWS!! Fox10 has updated its website.

Now it reads

FOX10 InvestigatesSmart Camera -

posted 06.01.06 camera -

that can make subjects look thinner - go to www.hp.com

Now they're using their "Fox10 Investigates" space to hawk cameras. Whoooo Hoooo! I smell a Rocky Mountain Emmy in the air.

....end edit.

(F)

Overall evaluation for metro Phoenix: D+.

It would really have been nice to find someone other than the New Times consistently doing actual investigative reporting, the kind that makes corrupt public officials and mob bosses nervous. Instead, we get "Certified Used Cars: Smart Buys or Rip-offs?" (KPHO)

Note about the grading: The evaluations are based material available on the outlets' websites; it was the fairest way that I could think of to take print and video reporting and compare apples to apples.