Investigations: Audit Lands Half of Organic Certifiers on Probation

Half of organic certifiers were put on probation after a U.S. Department of Agriculture audit found unacceptable pesticide levels in certified foods, says this report from Jill Richardson on AlterNet.

TAGS: food, investigations, organic

Interesting: CIR Launches PaperTrail Blog

The Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit supporting investigative journalism for eons, has just launched its blog, PaperTrail. Check it here.

TAGS: nonprofit journalism

Updates: Mygazines, Crunchbase

Just added two interesting new sites to my blogroll in the right-hand column: mag-sharing site Mygazines and Crunchbase, the searchable database for technology companies and people.

Investigations: Prominent Activist Was Really a Spy

A prominent U.S. gun-control activist was actually a secret mole working for the National Rifle Association and corporations targeted by citizen campaigns, reports Mother Jones magazine in this interesting investigation.

TAGS: investigations, investigative journalism, spy

The Biz: Mag-Sharing Site Under Legal Threat

The Press Gazette reports on legal threats from the magazine industry against mag-sharing website Mygazines.com, a service that allows readers to upload mags from around the world without the consent of publishers. Mygazines creator John Smith, whose business is registered in Anguilla, says his site isn't about piracy and actually strengthens the industry.

TAGS: future of journalism, web, internet, the biz

The Biz: Is the Web Bad for Investigative Journalism?

Is investigative journalism doomed because of cost-cutting media desperate to survive the internet age? Maybe it's just changing. This think-piece from the Press Gazette talks about how investigative reporting is actually getting stronger as in many cases it draws on the collective wisdom and efforts of non-journalists through the web.

TAGS: investigative journalism, future of journalism, web, internet, the biz, online journalism, citizen journalism