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Article: `Custodians of Conscience: Investigative Journalism and Public Virtue' by James S. Ettema and Theodore L. Glasser Columbia University Press. 233 pages. $49.50 hardcover, $17.50 paper).
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- November 25, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the theology of American journalism, investigative reporters operate as princes and princesses of the Church _ the best of us, at least according to ``us.'' When they get their story _ or more often series of stories _ they're heroes to their colleagues and a scourge to no-goodniks in the body politic.
If their stories shake up things, produce reforms and win a coveted Pulitzer, they're fit for beatification.
And if they manage to pull off a lifetime of such hard-nosed achievement _ as in the cases of Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens _ they can expect canonization, even if journalists haven't yet substituted ``proof of two sources'' for ``proof of two ...