The Watchdog Still Barks: How Accountability Reporting Evolved for the Digital Age

Perhaps no other function of a free press is as important as the watchdog role―its ability to monitor the work of the government. It is easier for politicians to get away with abusing power―wasting public funds and making poor decisions―if the press is not shining its light with what is termed “accountability reporting.” This need has become especially clear in recent months, as the American press has come under virulent direct attack for carrying out its watchdog duties. Upending the traditional media narrative that watchdog accountability journalism is in a long, dismaying decline, The Watchdog Still Barks presents a study of how this most important form of journalism came of age in the digital era at American newspapers.

Although the American newspaper industry contracted significantly during the 1990s and 2000s, Fordham professor and former CBS News producer Beth Knobel illustrates through empirical data how the amount of deep watchdog reporting on the newspapers’ studied front pages generally

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