Why public service work's decline is political

The loss of investigative reporting is taking on a growing political dimension as partisan forces jockey to seize control in the vacuum created by newspapers reducing their public-service journalism.

Fresh evidence: The right-leaning National Legal and Policy Center's John Carlise writes today: "If conservative non-profit organizations significantly increase their use of investigative reporting, then the movement will be able to partly offset the liberal bias of the mainstream media. Despite their political agenda, newspapers and TV networks like scandals simply because they make great headlines. Experience shows that they will cover scandals exposed by conservatives."

Conservatives did a good job building think tanks like the Discovery Institute during the 1980s and 1990s to publish research advancing their agenda. It stands to reason they'd try for the same success in public-service journalism. Carlise's remarks seem aimed at the launch of outfits such as ProPublica, the new investigative website led by outgoing Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger. The site has financial backing from San Francisco Bay area liberals Herb Sandler and his wife, Marion Sandler.

Gannett Blog readers: Has your newspaper or TV station cut back on investigative reporting? Use this link to e-mail your thoughts. See Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.

[Hat tip, Romenesko]