Zoo story an example of ‘watchdog’ reporting
A headline on Dispatch.com on March 5 said, “Columbus Zoo reviewing use of zoo-owned houses for family of executives.”
And there was more. Top Columbus
Zoo and Aquarium executives not only had allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo, but they also sought zoo-controlled tickets for their family members to attend various entertainment events.
The thousands of people who read that story wouldn't have known about this breach of public trust without the work of Jennifer Smola and Alissa Widman Neese.
That apparently includes the zoo board, whose leaders indicated they weren't aware of the information revealed by The Dispatch and launched an investigation of their own.
Both zoo President and CEO Tom Stalf and Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell resigned last week in the wake of the investigations.
The Dispatch reported earlier this month that for several years, Stalf 's inlaws rented a home that had been donated to the zoo, and Bell's daughter was a tenant of another home controlled by the zoo. The properties were never advertised for rent or offered to outsiders or other zoo employees, the Dispatch reporters learned.
Smola is an investigative reporter who previously covered higher education, and Widman Neese combines two of her passions by covering primary education and the zoo.
Their work on this story is what some call “watchdog” reporting – keeping a close eye on public officials and those who spend public money, including the zoo, which relies on both tax dollars and the goodwill of central Ohioans to maintain a world-renowned attraction.
This type of reporting is expensive, given that it often takes weeks or months of work to get the facts, verify them and conduct interviews. It's reporting you won't find elsewhere, and we couldn't do it without your support for local journalism. By subscribing or buying a paper at the local newsstand, you are supporting the work of reporters like Smola and Widman Neese, and we greatly appreciate your investment in them.
Occasionally in the wake of such stories, we hear from some readers who are upset by the news and wonder why we're “attacking” the subjects of the investigative reporting.
Make no mistake: We don't randomly seek targets for investigation. We keep our eyes and ears open for tips or other indications that something might be amiss.
And fact is, many of us in the newsroom support the zoo in one way or another – at least by paying to visit on occasion, and some of us, including me, are “members” of the zoo, which means that we pay a fee for an annual pass to enter the zoo.
And for decades, The Dispatch Editorial Board has given editorial support for various zoo initiatives. We take no pleasure in reporting that the leaders of an organization we appreciate have stumbled, but neither will we shy away from reporting the story because we, corporately or as individuals, support a community asset.
With this type of reporting, we take the role of the friend who will always tell it to you straight, or as I often told people on beats I covered: “I appreciate you, but if you screw up, I'm going to write about you and what you did.”
It's never personal. It's our job, and our goal is to reveal facts so that the public and people with the authority to take appropriate action can do so.
Alan D. Miller is editor of The Dispatch. amiller@dispatch.com @dispatcheditor