• We want your story ideas, and better yet, your proof

    By Bill Dedman
    Investigative Reporter, NBC News

    The news reporters at msnbc.com and NBC News want to hear your story ideas, and today brings a good example of how we try to follow up on the best of those.

    Bob Sullivan, ace consumer reporter, has a report today on U.S. taxpayers who are having to wait for their income tax refunds because of a snafu at the IRS. Promise after promise by the IRS has turned out not to be trustworthy. You can read Bob's story here on his Red Tape Chronicles blog at msnbc.com.

    That idea came in from a reader who filled out our brief story-suggestion form — and gave us enough information to pursue the story.

    Often that's the key: detail and documentation.

    A news story idea isn't a rant: The bankers are evil. Well, what exactly are we supposed to do with that? At msnbc.com, the new website, we're in the reporting business, not the commentary business.

    A story idea is an intersection of newsworthiness and opportunity: This particular banker who sits on the Federal Reserve board is doing X, Y and Z, and here are the documents to prove it.

    Newsworthiness can be in the eye of the beholder, but a story needs to have a mix of significance and interest to rise to the top of our to-do list.

    Opportunity means there is enough specific information to allow us a chance to actually go get the story.

    Many other good ideas have come in from readers. Some have hit our webpages already (the whiistleblowing witch grounded by the TSA) and others are in the works.

    We can never get to them all. But we're working on the best of them, and the very best come with details, phone numbers and documents.

    What sort of ideas do we want? We're about investigative reporting on topics that matter: corruption or conflicts of interest, broken systems and lax enforcement, abuses by institutions and individuals with power. Holding accountable those who possess power in the world, whether that's national government, state or local government, nonprofits, or the press itself.

    Here's how to reach us:

  • Do you have legal questions about WikiLeaks?

    By Bill Dedman
    Investigative Reporter, NBC News

    We've put together a panel of legal experts to discuss the possibility of a U.S. prosecution of WikiLeaks leaders under the Espionage Act.

    Do you have questions you'd like to pose to the experts? If so, add your comments below.

    These are the questions we have so far:

    1. The release of these diplomatic cables could not be more public, and about half of the 250,000 cables are classified. Is there any doubt that Assange has violated the Espionage Act?

    2. Does it matter that WikiLeaks is the recipient and distributor of stolen material, not the one who stole it?

    3. Is Assange a journalist? Is WikiLeaks a news organization? If so, how does that affect a case? How is Assange any different from the newspapers that have republished the cables?

     

    4. As a non-citizen acting outside the United States, is Assange entitled to First Amendment protections at all? Should the First Amendment ever protect the public dissemination of classified material?

    5. Does it matter that WikiLeaks is the recipient and distributor of stolen material, not the one who stole it?

    5. What is the greatest hurdle facing a prosecution? How might that be overcome?

    6. What is the greatest hurdle facing a defense? How might that be overcome?

    7. How should the U.S. deal with future Assanges? What should Congress do in response to this case, in writing the Espionage Act of 2011?

    8. Prediction time: What is the likelihood of an indictment of Assange? What is the likelihood of an indictment surviving a motion to dismiss? What is the likelihood of a conviction if a case went to trial?

     What would you like to ask the panel?

  • Tell us what you see in the WikiLeaks documents

    By Bill Dedman
    Investigative Reporter, NBC News

    If you see a document in the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables that we should highlight, use our form to submit links to the document.

    See more background on the release, with all the links, on our WikiLeaks live blog.

    You can browse the WikiLeaks documents here. 

    And Google allows a word-by-word search of the documents released so far, using its "site" command. Phrase it like this, without the quotation marks: site:cablegate.wikileaks.org clinton. Like this.

  • Welcome to Open Channel, your investigative blog from NBC News

    By Bill Dedman
    Investigative Reporter, NBC News

    Open Channel is a new blog from msnbc.com and NBC News, for and about investigative reporting. We hope you'll share your story ideas, documents and comments.

    Open Channel serves several roles. It's a place to:

     

    • Gather the investigative reporting by the staff at msnbc.com and NBC News. The principal contributors are NBC News correspondents Michael Isikoff and Lisa Myers, producers Rich Gardella and Amna Nawaz, and reporter Bill Dedman of msnbc.com. Projects editor Mike Brunker of msnbc.com is a player-coach on the team. We also expect to have contributions from many others on our news staffs.
    • Point you to investigative work by other news organizations and the growing group of nonprofit and university groups devoted to investigative reporting. Every day we'll post a round-up of investigative work on the Web.
    • Share with you our work in progress, to seek your input. You may have a document or know of a source who could help with a story we're working on. Sometimes we won't be able to divulge what story is in the works, lest we alert the competition, but there are times when we will be able to call out for your contributions. And after publication or broadcast of an investigative report, we can be more transparent about the choices we've made. Open Channel gives us a place to share updates on continuing stories.

    And something new:

    • Hear your suggestions for investigative ideas.

    What sort of ideas are we looking for?

    We're about investigative reporting on topics that matter: corruption or conflicts of interest, broken systems and lax enforcement, abuses by institutions and individuals with power. Holding accountable those who possess power in the world, whether that's national government, state or local government, nonprofits, or the press itself.

    What is investigative reporting? That's not an easy question to answer. Certainly, the tools of the investigative reporter are applied in all good journalism. The investigative reporter's work often is distinguished by subject matter (serious subjects, often hidden ones) and by the tools employed (especially time, public records and insiders willing to share their knowledge).

    It may be easier to define what investigative reporting is not: It's not a press release. It's not a group seeking publicity for its campaign. It's not reporting in support of a company's stock price or a politician's reputation or a party's ideology.

    We know what politicians and institutions are saying. There's plenty of that. But what are they doing? That's where we need more reporting.

    Thanks for joining us at Open Channel. We're eager to hear from you.

    Bill Dedman, moderator