“How do you decide what’s going to be in the newspaper?” One of the questions that I routinely hear whenever I talk about what I do outside the newsroom. The answer is, it’s an art, not a science. We pore through government records, read news releases, talk to the dozens of public relations people who call here every day. But our most valuable contacts are the calls, emails, faxes and old-fashioned letters from regular people alerting us to news we would otherwise never know about.

Whistleblower has opened a pipeline of tips into the newsroom. I admit, I can’t get to all of them, because the dozens of suggestions are too much for one person. But every day I pass the tips on to other reporters and editors, or take them on myself. Two stories in Tuesday’s newspaper originated with tips to Whistleblower:

A principal of an Eagan elementary school could lose his job after he made a child put his hand in a clogged toilet, Sarah Lemagie reports. She broke the story of the principal’s suspension in December.

The son of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease is charged with forging her name on checks after another son turns him in, Paul Levy reports.

My story Sunday about Peggy Greer’s experience with a guardian and conservator also originated with an email tip.

You can call me at (612) 673-4271, email me, send me a fax at (612) 673-4359 or write me a letter at the Star Tribune, 425 Portland Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55488. I’m eager to hear from you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 11:02 am and is filed under How to blow the whistle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.