Author: William H. Freivogel

Prosecutor urges independent audit of Post-Dispatch series

BY WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL / St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce has called upon St. Louis Post-Dispatch editor Gilbert Bailon to order an “independent audit of the reporting” for the paper’s high-profile “Jailed by Mistake” investigation. She wrote in a Nov. 26 letter to Bailon that her staff had found “substantial factual errors” in the

Former St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer says jail series is inaccurate

BY WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL / Eddie Roth, St. Louis' Director of Operations and former Post-Dispatch editorial writer, is using his Facebook page to criticize a recent Post-Dispatch series, "Jailed by Mistake." Roth maintains the series "is premised on 'facts' whose accuracy the reporters admittedly have been unable to verify, and that it distorts

Can Greenwald be trusted with journalism’s future?

BY WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL / Every journalist should read this week's debate between Bill Keller, the former executive editor of The New York Times, and Glenn Greenwald, who has written stories in The Guardian based on Edward Snowden's leaks about NSA surveillance. The debate is between Keller's classical brand of impartial, let-the-reader decide

Brand building trumps consensus building in Washington

BY WILLIAM FREIVOGEL / Speaking on the second-day of the federal government shutdown, journalist Mark Leibovich said Washington doesn't work anymore because of media polarization, big money and the celebritization of politicians. He said the media "has made it easy to grandstand" for politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx.