Episode Information

The internet has become an incredibly useful tool for citizens and journalists looking to hold government accountable for the money it spends.

Add in non-profit organizations willing to do some data-mining, and it seems that nearly everything you’d need to track the bank bailout, the recovery, or the salary of state workers is just a click away.

But does more information mean we really get the story? Is there a new style of journalist whose job is to compile all the information out there – and make sure the rest of us can understand it?

We’ll talk with Kate Hinds, a public radio reporter working on Shovelwatch, a project tracking stimulus funds, and with a reporter from ProPublica, which is charting all aspects of government expenditures.