V E R G E | Student Kane

"Breaking in" the News

by Nicholas Morehead

In the little more than two months I’ve spent working for a sick
online publication, I have bumped shoulders with the likes of Rick
Lazio and Orrin
Hatch, rode the elevator with Joel
Klein, received vehement feedback on articles, been tracked down by a former
classmate who saw my name online, been approached by potential future sources,
and even managed to make friends with a fellow journalist who also covers
technology on the Hill.

But the other day I came across a particular op-ed
piece by The Washington Post writer David Ignatius, and, in so doing,
couldn’t help but feel as though a rite of passage was now behind me. I had
seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all
the way to the op-ed page of the Post.

Ignatius is an award-winning columnist who covers business and
technology issues, so he’s pretty smart. And now I can say, in my humble
opinion, the man has impeccable taste. His column touched on the recent
semi-scandal dubbed by many as "Microsoftgate." In short, it involved
late-night sleuths creeping around a pro-Microsoft lobbying organization and
attempting to bribe several office cleaners for remnants of the trash. Shady
with a capital S to say the least.

The story unfolds from there connecting such players as Investigative
Group International, Inc., a private investigative firm Dick Morris
once dubbed "President Clinton’s secret police force;" a fictitious
company called Upstream Technologies; a fringe employee of the United
States Energy Association; and even the resignation of the president of Oracle,
a chief Microsoft
competitor in the software industry. Big time players in the technology industry
combined with an age-old twist of intrigue and deception, crime and punishment.
Good stuff.

I liked Ignatius’ angle because he wrote in praise of the
office cleaners who refused to hand over the trash - turning down what was
likely almost a months salary because they knew accepting the payout was wrong.
He brought to light a side of the story that would normally be cast aside, if
you’ll pardon the pun, with the trash. But the reason I really liked
the piece was because … WE BROKE THAT
STORY BABY!

You see, the company where it all started is called the Association
for Competitive Technology, and the founder and president of that company
is, thank the sweet lord, a friend of my boss. ACT called my boss, who called
me, and the two of us went over to ACT’s headquarters for a briefing. It was,
as they say, on. I listened to him tell the story and my boss ask
questions. I scribbled down notes frantically and tried not to look stupid. All
the while visions of Deep
Throat danced in my head. What followed was an adventure that was 100%
investigative journalism — the stuff that I dreamed of doing.

Many battles lay ahead, the first being who got to be Woodward
and who got to be Bernstein.

There was much research to do, and I did it with a work ethic
that I didn’t even know I was capable of. Records had to be found - corporate,
private, phone-related, tax-related. Background checks had to be completed.
Names and numbers had to be cross-referenced. Phone calls had to be made, and
then made again, and again. Charts had to be drafted to keep track of an
increasingly complicated web of players. Coffee had to be made - again.

Then came the on-site visits. Awesome. My boss and I in my “91
Geo Storm hatchback driving to obscure locations. Slow, sketchy drive-bys with
cameras. All in the name of files that were getting fatter by the snapshot.
Little by little, it was coming to fruition. We were starting to get the picture
of what was transpiring. But so too, we learned, was The
Wall Street Journal (the bastards).

Then, when we had enough to go on, I left that house in Adams
Morgan, which had practically become a second home, and let my boss craft the story
that was posted on the night of June 15. The WSJ could only manage to get it
up for the morning of the 16th. Score a victory for the kids online.

To be honest, the rush has all but died down since then. Such
is the essence of daily journalism. New day, new story to get - and get first.
Here and there I felt the aftermath of Microsoftgate, and gloated when it would
come up in conversation, quietly telling some and loudly telling others that I
had helped break that wild horse. Here and there it would appear in papers,
maybe a mention on NPR, all of
which made me proud. The resignation of Oracle’s president provided me, in
some sick way, with a strange sense of satisfaction - but that’s between you
and me.

But opening The Washington Post and seeing Ignatius’ column
there was the topper. A piece of news had reached the apex of its life, and I
felt somewhat responsible for seeing it through from a tip on the down-low, to
an op-ed piece above the fold.

Now if only I can get reimbursed for those background checks.
They ain’t cheap, you know.

Nicholas
Morehead is finishing his master’s degree at American University and is
currently reporting for Wired News. Student Kane will appear here every
Wednesday. Click here to read the previous column.

Sites Mentioned
In case you missed it, check out Wired News’ coverage
of "Microsoftgate" and David Ignatius’ column
The players:
Association for Competitive
Technology
Investigative Group
International, Inc.
United States Energy Association
Oracle