Matt Doig

Matt Doig’s presentation complemented Adria Harper’s presentation really well.
I felt that Doig however was much more of a dialogue than Mrs. Harpers, as well as much more engaging.

Matt’s stories were both interesting and informative, and he tied in the importance of open government in regards to public records.

I think that my favorite example he gave was of the story he worked on with his colleagues regarding teacher exam scores and low-income schools. I was very impressed with the dedication they put into getting this story. It was surprising that the news organization allowed them to work on this story for two years, and i'm sure much of that time was spent trying to get around the board of educations attempts to stop them. I feel that this story is a quality news piece that goes above the typical dateline: sexual predator type of story. I’m sure that this story affects hundreds of students not only in Florida but it probably goes on all throughout other states. I think this is the reason many journalists get into the field, to get stories that truly matter and make a difference.

I think however, on the other side that stories like this also impact so many people in a negative manner. For example, when he brought up his first story about buss drivers with D.U.I’s. I think that perhaps some people might have made a mistake once in there past, and I feel like some of these people might have changed and then I becomes a mistake that’s brought to light in front of all the readership who will probably judge them for it. Although I can also see the side of a concerned parent who wouldn’t want their child being driven around by someone who has that on their record.

I honestly had written off investigative reporting prior to this presentation because I associated to reports with topics like that of a local resident who paid for a pool that was never finished by the contractor. I usually find these stories irrelevant and the kind of investigative reporting Matt described was very interesting and important