Live Blogging: David Cay Johnston

Minute by minute coverage with David Cay Johnston during his visit to Ithaca College's Independent Media class.

2:40 p.m. "The only degree I have is night high school... but I never stayed at any college for more than 30 units."

• Has enough credits for a masters, went to 8 colleges, but never got a degree from any of them

2:45 p.m. "Before I came along, the LAPD was treated like a god like institution from the LA Times."

2:48 p.m. "I took the LA Times places where they never intended to go."

• referring to LAPD political spying and abuses
• the intelligence unit was not being controlled

2:57 p.m. "A few days after this blind date, I went to this police social function...No matter how mad Gates was he would always talk to me... because he wanted to know what I was doing and that what Henry Kissinger's way."

• Johnston's bind date was spyed on, tried to use intimidation factors on him
• that first date, blind date is now Johnston's wife

3:03 p.m. "I have to manage my editors and figure out how to get things into the paper"

• Editors jobs would be on the line so the LA Times did not want this story covered 

3:12 p.m. "You will have the same work, but not the same benefits and that's not all due to the economics facing all news organizations."

• IRE has gone down 16%, but journalists 30% decrease

3:14 p.m. Take law, public communications courses, learn numbers because you will be able to turn them into useful things

3:17 p.m. "My head is kind of a spreadsheet."

• this is a way Johnston makes numbers easy to understand for his readers

3:18 p.m. "The CIA Factbook is a trove of information."

3:20 p.m. "You'll have bad editors, you'll have good ones. You'll have bad producers and you'll have good ones. But you'll also have people who make you look better than you deserve."

3:22 p.m. "Editors: they have real power."

• They have the power to put a huge investigative piece on page 87 

3:24 p.m. "There are no rules in journalism they there are only judgement but because you sign your name to everything you write you have to live with those judgements." 

3:25 p.m.  "George W. Bush was sold to the American people as a product."

3:30 p.m. "Once you tell me what the bar is and I hit the bar you got to put it in the paper."

3:36 p.m. "Disclosure is the best disinfectant," Professor Jeff Cohen said.

3:35 p.m. "If you are just Joe-Schmo and I am interviewing you, I will give you a tremendous amount of leeway...If you are Bill Clinton I am not going to cut you any slack under and circumstances." 

David Cay Johnston's Coming To Town!

I am so thrilled that the IC chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is hosting Pulitzer prize winner David Cay Johnston tomorrow night in Textor 101 at 7 p.m. Johnston is an incredible investigative reporter, mainly focusing on areas of taxes and economics that evaluates the idea of the 1 percent. Johnston also is the current president for Investigative Reporters and Editors. His third book, The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind, was just released and is becoming a big hit.

So why should we care about this speaker? Because investigative reporting, finding a story in the silences, defines independent media. This is exactly Johnston's message.

Interested in hearing more about his economic views and his new book? Check out his interview on Democracy Now here.

Interested in seeing him in person?! Stop by Textor 101 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13th.