Bell's Guardian Angels

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A team of reporters from the Los Angeles Times took home the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Journalism. Host Megan Rose Dickey spoke with Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, who led the "Breach of Faith" reporting team to expose corruption in the city of Bell, about their efforts.

"The hard part really was in the beginning," Vives said. "It's like we knew we had to get documents, we're making requests for documents. It was like the city was just stalling."

Vives and Gottlieb discovered that Bell’s City Manager at the time, Robert Rizzo, made $787,637. The documents also showed that most Bell council members earn nearly $100,000 for part-time work.

The public interest in the Bell scandal helped show the Times "what was important," Gottlieb said. "It sort of re-focused our newsroom into doing these kinds of investigative pieces."

The Award recognizes published investigative reporting that evokes change.

"Clearly this shows what happens when, if a paper stops keeping an eye on an area or a place, things can fall apart pretty easily," Vives said. "The checks and balances are gone and what's left is basically corruption."

The investigation took over 9 months of work. But still, there is more to be uncovered. Follow the ongoing coverage at the LA Times.