washingtonpost.com Launches New Online Destination for The Washington Post’s Investigative Reporting
Premieres First Online Feature Story in Partnership with CBS News’ “60 MINUTES” Welcomes Readers to Participate in Continuously Updated Investigative Process
WASHINGTON, November 19, 2007—washingtonpost.com, an award-winning news and information Web site, yesterday launched “Washington Post Investigations,” a new online section containing stories and additional features produced by the newspaper’s investigative reporters.
The new online home for exclusive, in-depth, investigative reporting will include a comprehensive archive with up-to-date information on the status of every major Washington Post investigation in recent years, as well as Bob Woodward’s coverage of the Watergate scandal. The section will feature the work of the oldest continuous newspaper investigative team in the country, founded by Woodward, as well as investigations by other Washington Post reporters.
“Over time, even the most important ongoing investigations sometimes fall out of the public eye, leaving many to wonder, ‘Whatever happened with that story?’ ” said Jeff Leen, assistant managing editor in charge of the Investigative Unit. “Washington Post Investigations” serves as a destination for readers to easily find the most current information on individual cases.”
Featuring a unique, interactive platform, the page engages readers to join in the investigative process. “Washington Post Investigations” provides a tip line for readers to submit leads and comments. Through Live Discussions online, readers can have questions answered directly by investigative unit staff and other Washington Post investigative reporters who, since 1999, have won six Pulitzer Prizes, including two gold medals for public service.
“By providing readers with the most up-to-date information on each investigative case, we are enabling them to collaborate with our staff and play a role in the evolution of these ground-breaking stories,” said Jim Brady, executive editor of washingtonpost.com.
The online section premiered yesterday with a joint investigative story with CBS News’ “60 MINUTES.” Washington Post staff writer John Solomon and “60 MINUTES” correspondent Steve Kroft gathered 250 cases in which prosecutors used a science called bullet-lead analysis, which was discarded as flawed in 2005. By comparing a bullet’s compositional elements, the science attempted to match a bullet found at a crime scene with ones in a suspect's possession. Solomon and Kroft exposed the fact that federal authorities have yet to examine the effects of the science in individual cases years after the analysis was abandoned as faulty.
This investigation is available now online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/silentinjustice and is the first in a three-part series by Solomon entitled “Silent Injustice.” Today, the series continues with an in-depth look into the case of a Baltimore police sergeant who remains in jail even though key evidence used in his trial has been discredited. The final installment will run in December.
John Solomon will be available during a Live Discussion to answer questions about “Silent Injustice” at 12:00 p.m. ET, Monday, November 19th:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/11/15/DI2007111501575.html
Bob Woodward and Jeff Leen will be available during a Live Discussion to answer questions about the new online investigative section and The Washington Post’s investigative reporting at 11:00 a.m. ET, Tuesday, November 20th:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/11/15/DI2007111501761.html
“Washington Post Investigations” URL:
www.washingtonpost.com/investigations
About washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com is the award-winning news and information Web site of The Washington Post. It offers world-class journalism, a remarkable blend of traditional reporting, and innovative, multimedia content that provides an unmatched level of depth and texture to breaking stories as well as features, plus unique ways for reader to engage with the site, its capabilities and content.
The recipient of the first-ever Emmy for original video journalism online, washingtonpost.com has won numerous other awards, including an EPpy Award for Best Overall Newspaper-Affiliated Site, several Digital Edge Awards, a 2007 National Journalism Award for Web Reporting, National Press Photographers’ Association Best of Photojournalism Award, and three consecutive Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence for Non-Broadcast Affiliated Website, among others.
washingtonpost.com is one of five online properties produced by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the online publishing subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. (NYSE: WPO)
For more information, please visit www.washingtonpost.com.
About “60 MINUTES”
The CBS News magazine providing a blend of hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news began its 40th season in September and is the most successful program in television history. The highly respected news broadcast has been the number-one program five times -- a feat matched only by television legends “All in the Family” and “Cosby.” Its vast collection of awards includes 14 Peabodys, 11 DuPont Columbia University awards and over 80 Emmys.
“60 MINUTES” can also be experienced on CBSNews.com, the award-winning website of CBS News. For more information, go to http://www.cbsnews.com.
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Media Contacts:© The Washington Post Company
