The New York Times’ examination of Columbia, including a computer analysis of more than 30-million billing records, casts some light on the government’s concerns. One of the findings was that many Columbia hospitals bill Medicare for high-paying respiratory treatments far more often than do competing hospitals serving similar populations. Federal authorities called such findings an indication of possible overbilling of the program.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that lawyer and Chicago Alderman Edward Burke, chairman of the city council’s Finance Committee, was paid at least $189,000 in fees while helping developer Joseph Beale, who got a $1.2 million subsidy and other aid from City Hall. Investigative reporters Chuck Neubauer and Charles Nicodemus wrote in their November 15 story that the total paid to Burke may have exceeded $300,000, and that Burke’s wife, Anne, a state appellate judge, also received at least $17,000 from the developer. They also reported that Burke’s lobbying efforts on Beale’s behalf included writing a letter to a state official on city stationery.
A six-day series of articles entitled “Broken Trust” was published by the Cape Cod Times in January 1997. The articles discussed the mismanagement and other problems associated with the MMR cleanup.
Duffy, Novak and Weisskopf labored at the nexus of big money and politics. This required them to pore for days at a time over cartons of Federal Election Commission and court documents, to wheedle information from reluctant sources a sentence at a time. Their persistence paid off in three dozen pathbreaking stories on campaign finance in 1997, many of which were picked up and credited by major newspapers and TV news shows.
A Seattle Times investigation found that, across the nation, industrial wastes laden with heavy metals and other dangerous materials are being used in fertilizers and spread over farmland. The process saves dirty industries the high costs of disposing of hazardous wastes.
An expose by Charles Sennott detailing the complicity of the US government and corporates in marketing advanced conventional weapons the world to boost profits. This came at the expense of jobs at home and the threat of global instability.
Journalist Elizabeth Marchak in a series of articles raised questions about the Federal Government’s handling of air safety violations. The articles shed light on the inaction of the FAA on reports filed by its inspectors about unsafe planes, improper maintenance and inadequate training at low-cost airlines.