The Watchdog of Journalism, Jim Schaefer

By: SOUMAYA EL FILALI

Last Thursday, American investigative journalist Jim Schaefer spoke at the American University in Dubai about how digital media companies promote their content.

Schaefer described presenting at AUD as one of those rare opportunities where he gets to talk to media students about his experience in the investigative journalism field.

His journalism experience started as a copyeditor, writing headlines and proofreading stories, to becoming a police reporter covering crime scenes, drug deals, and fires. Schaefer's stories also varied from covering sports news, to sexual abuse of children, to drug epidemics, writing video game critics as well as criminal justice issues. He provided a personal example where he investigated a man convicted for life in prison for murder. Upon more investigations, the man was freed due to substantial evidence.

"That is the kind of 'watchdog' journalism I’d like to do" Jim Schaefer said as he explained that "giving voice to people who don't have a voice is what all journalists should like to do.”

Schaefer talked about his biggest and most famous story involving Kwame Kilpatrick, a former mayor of Detroit. The story revealed the corruption hiding beneath the "large and charismatic young man" that people once had hope in. His corruption came in the form of "love for power and women" – from hiring twenty five police officers as his own bodyguards to being a wild party man surrounded by exotic female dancers. For the next six years, Schaefer continued to investigate the mayor of Detroit, until he landed on the biggest story of them all – the mayor's affair with his female chief of staff and purging himself by lying under oath.

Schaefer's thorough investigative reports on the mayor's wrongdoings led to an FBI investigation. The mayor was then arrested by the FBI and convicted for 28 years in prison.

"So all those stories we thought no one paid attention to were actually being investigated," Schaefer added, emphasizing that one's stories may have more of an impact then they may think.

The media chat was attended by both Journalism and DPST students. Many questions were asked relating to his job such as those regarding incidents where Schaefer could have faced barriers in terms of freedom of speech or other incidents where covering a story might endanger his life. Schaefer answered such questions with a no, claiming that “investigative journalism is not as dangerous as it seems”. He then added, jokingly, that the worst thing that has ever happened to him was being called ‘Mr. Pulitzer’ by Kwame Kilpatrick.

Schaefer concluded with a message to all future media students, "It is your job as journalists to persuade people to talk to you. Get beyond the emails, get beyond tweeting somebody and making phone calls. The best way to get information is by seeing someone face to face."