DISCLAIMER: If you're a source and I want to interview you or someone else you work with, there's almost no chance (0.00%) that the story I'm writing will be an adversarial one. I've done some work in this vein, but what I do today isn't it. The nature of my recent freelance contracts isn't to … Continue reading Adverserial journalism part 1: disclaimer
My work
The James Beard House
...Just proof that I cooked in the kitchen of the late James Beard. Thanks to Monica Wang for the use of the photo. My Chef Edward Kim is to the right. (My left.)
Serious work a-brewing
You heard it here first: a new journalism outlet in Chicago, in collaboration with... CivicLab is a new-ish space in the West Loop for folks who want to innovate in the public sphere--their tagline was recently changed to "Making Democracy." As I understand it—and this is a gross over-simplification—they're piggy-backing on the makerspace/hackerspace movement to … Continue reading Serious work a-brewing
Leftovers brunch
This was last week's impromptu brunch for four at my house, when the roommate arrived with some farmer's market goodies and I paired it with the junk collecting in our fridge. My favorite dish? So simple: Scrambled eggs, green onions, chevre, and the Vietnamese chili oil naam prik pao. But the mushroom sautee with wilted … Continue reading Leftovers brunch
Radio kit
I'm slowly building a radio reporting kit. Now just to train on some editing software. Any Hindenburg coaches out there? Yes, I work five shifts a week at Ruxbin Kitchen and one at Pleasant House Bakery. What's one more shift of journalism, on my own terms? Or a couple more half days, for that matter? … Continue reading Radio kit
Sandy’s landfall
Thrill-seeking spectators at the waterfront, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as Sandy reached shore. Creative Commons-licensed photo from http://www.thoughtcatalog.com. Tonight I spent a couple hours catching up on Twitter journalism and trying to spread some helpful facts to people who might need them. My feed, which I've posted below, was solely dedicated to the hurricane havoc. For analysis' sake … Continue reading Sandy’s landfall
New city, new (ad)ventures
It's time I move this site into line with reality. I left Ohio journalism at the end of May, after exactly a year with the Springfield News-Sun and, sporadically, the Dayton Daily News. Since I had accepted an offer to be Springfield's permanent city hall reporter only a month earlier, my colleagues were surprised to hear … Continue reading New city, new (ad)ventures
Gots me an award
People gave this to me on Sunday. Here's the second installment in the series for which I won. (It links to the first part there.) The topic still needs more reporting, actually... It addressed the local effects of a nationwide phenomenon later documented best by Radley Balko. (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.) Maybe … Continue reading Gots me an award
Next year, pink slime on fewer school menus
In this followup story to last month's pink slime exposé (see previous post), I show it'll be harder for schools to get their hands on products that contain "lean, finely-textured beef." But not impossible. If a school here doesn't use its buying co-op to order its cafeteria meat, and it doesn't ask the company that … Continue reading Next year, pink slime on fewer school menus
Beef producers not forthcoming about ‘pink slime.’ In southwest Ohio anyway, I put a stop to that.
Lean, finely-textured beef, AKA pink slime. Creative Commons-licensed photo courtesy of Flickr user pennstatelive. Journalism, if anything, is reading documents carefully. Especially when they come from corporations with big public relations budgets. With this story — whose fallout I'll probably continue to report in the coming weeks — I throw a wrench in what, at … Continue reading Beef producers not forthcoming about ‘pink slime.’ In southwest Ohio anyway, I put a stop to that.
For the privilege of saving 6 cents a month, please pay $50
The City of Springfield says no one has applied to its new program to award a kind of tax break to those who minimize runoff from their properties. (The city's often forced to process said runoff as sewage, an expensive proposition.) Like very few others, I read the credit manual from cover to cover. It … Continue reading For the privilege of saving 6 cents a month, please pay $50
Bed bugs on the rise
According to county health data, one out of every 42 homes in Springfield called for help about bedbugs last year. My story corroborates the increase with several sources and describes the real health threat — trying to treat them yourself without knowing what you're doing. An inset box (that only appeared in print) gives some … Continue reading Bed bugs on the rise
City mails hundreds of 60-cent bills
Readers we surveyed express a keen interest in our newsroom keeping watch over their tax dollars. We're more than happy to oblige. To wit: my story about the city mailing bills that, if someone were to pay one — and many did — would net the city 11 cents after accounting for the paper and … Continue reading City mails hundreds of 60-cent bills
False info from a source, and how we dealt with it
As it turns out, my source for a story that ran in Tuesday's paper -- the Ohio EPA -- gave me incorrect information. To compensate, we're correcting the original story on the web (although it looks like the sub-headline hasn't been changed) and we're running a second story in the same place, 1A downpage, that … Continue reading False info from a source, and how we dealt with it
Credit unions vs. banks: the fight started late last year; here we catch up with the data
New credit union data provided an occasion to discuss, with an A1 story, the differences between the two forms of banking — and the PR war that's been fought since the Occupy movement started pushing credit unions last fall. I also reported that the ubiquitous local bank, Security National, took a $100 million TARP bailout … Continue reading Credit unions vs. banks: the fight started late last year; here we catch up with the data
Stories finalist for AP investigative award
My work on the aftermath of the anti-narcotic bill (see the immediately previous post) has been chosen as one of the top three examples of investigative reporting done at newspapers of our size in Ohio. Three investigative reporting finalists were chosen in each of the five circulation-size categories. That's among more than 3,000 entries. The … Continue reading Stories finalist for AP investigative award
Medications still hard to come by for those in pain
Continuing one of my stories last summer, I reported Sunday that people are still having a hard time finding doctors to treat chronic pain. And doctors are still wondering what's legal. It's safe to say nearly all doctors in the Miami Valley have stopped prescribing strong pain medication for fear of showing up on the … Continue reading Medications still hard to come by for those in pain
I saw the first minutes of an innocent man’s freedom after 20 years in prison
Roger Dean Gillispie leaves a bus with supporters to face his parents' home, which he hadn't seen in 20 years. According to a U.S. district court decision six days ago, Gillispie was wrongly convicted of nine counts of rape in 1988. Photo by Teesha McClam, used courtesy of Dayton Daily News. Though he likely could … Continue reading I saw the first minutes of an innocent man’s freedom after 20 years in prison
Coverage of anti-fracking group
Three members of an anti-fracking group based in Yellow Springs have traveled around the state and the country to teach others about the possible dangers of fracking and to join protests against it. Photo by Brandon Smith-Hebson, used courtesy of Dayton Daily News. To accompany a Sunday front-page centerpiece on fracking, once again I joined … Continue reading Coverage of anti-fracking group
Wide reach for home explosion story
Hello, folks -- just a quick update today, from the middle of a day of story research. The story on the Fairborn home explosion got a lot of play in news outlets across the country over the weekend — a Google News search returned "554 similar articles" to the Washington Post's version of my story. … Continue reading Wide reach for home explosion story
Brandon Smith 