A great story. & currently HuffPost et al. are covering the government financing via fines & penalties in Ferguson, MO.

Beats may be the most important news coverage, local, state & federal.

Great program! Very thought provoking on many levels. But interestingly I see that there is a real conundrum for the newspaper business model.... If, as was said, reporters had been present at Bell's meetings, the scandal may not have happened, then, the resulting investigation, story and Pulitzer Prize wouldn't have happened either. To some degree, beat reporters could help to prevent the very stories that sell papers and win prizes.... I'm just saying....

Great show. The watchdog function of the press is disappearing in local communities. I have been a news reporter for more than 20 years and now cover federal courts on a contract basis for a major news outlet. Like your guests, I worked my way up from village and city councils, school committees and county government beats.

I am slated to talk to a college j-school class this week about beat reporting. All I can think is who on earth wants to break into journalism these days? There is no career path anymore, only old timers at the top holding on by their fingertips amid layoffs and buyouts. The scoundrels operating in darkness without the old standby of sunlight as the best disinfectant must be having a ball with such little public oversight.

This may have been the best OTM show ever. So many sleazeballs, so little coverage. One can't help wondering whether Chris Christie, Andrew Cuomo and their ilk are even more brazen because they really think nobody is watching. It's a shame that far too often they may be right.

Whenever you have a slow week and need a rerun, please use this show!

By the way, when you teased your final segment as being about obits, I will admit I thought the show had run out of gas. But how absolutely superb that was too!