R. Jeffrey Smith,
in The Columbia Journalism Review
For Nothing (Sept.-Oct. 1983), 200 Alton PI., Marion,
Ohio 43302.
One morning last March, a Washington Post headline announced: EPA FIASCO: THE SYSTEM WORKS! The "system" was the check on bu- reaucratic malfeasance imposed a vigilant press. But Smith, a Science magazine writer, doubts that such journalistic self-congratulations are in order.
Actually, he argues, reporters (especially those in Washington) ig- nored red flags at the...