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The Arizona Project
The Arizona Project is the first large-scale implementation of collaborative journalism, triggered predominately by the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles and with the support of the newly established nonprofit organisation Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc (IRE). In June 1976, Bolles died due to injuries amassed from a targeted car bombing in Phoenix. Bolles' rich investigative history relating to organised crime in Arizona and the rarity of such a murder indicated to working journalists that this attack was a direct response to his investigations. In the wake of Bolles' death, the Investigative Reporters and Editors organisation conceived The Arizona Project as a way to both continue and honour Bolles' investigative work within Arizona on a larger scale.
With then-Newsday editor, Robert W. Greene overseeing the project, over 40 reporters flooded to Arizona – operating independently from the 23 different news organisations they came from – in an attempt to form together and uncover corruptive relationships between politics, business and organised crime within the state. Their research aimed to expose and portray these deep-rooted links in a series of news articles to then be published nationwide, while also functioning as a message meant to reflect the unity of journalists and the consequences of killing a reporter.
The findings were distributed in numerous publications; however, due to various controversies surrounding the project, some newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post avoided the series. Robert Greene described the findings to a CBS reporter, stating they reveal, "that Arizona is facing a massive problem in organised crime," and the 23-part series indeed exposed names and stories regarding corruption, land fraud, and organised crime in the state."
Donald Fifield Bolles was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey and graduated Teaneck High School in 1946, after which he completed a degree in government at Beloit College. Following a term in the United States Army in the Korean War, Bolles found a job at the Associated Press and by 1962 was hired by The Arizona Republic newspaper.
By age forty seven, Bolles had carved out a career unearthing corruptive practices within the political sphere as well as exposing organised crime in Arizona. In the fourteen years he worked at the Arizona Republic, "he had uncovered secret political slush funds controlled by the state patrol, bribery of state tax commissioners, land fraud, and Mafia influence in a national sports concession firm, Emprise Corporation." Bolles' investigative work was the catalyst for the Arizona State Legislature commanding Emprise Corporation to divest investments in a number of dog and horse racetracks in 1976. Together with another reporter, Bolles released the names of almost 200 organised crime individuals and their respective ties to legitimate companies in Arizona. Investigative work like this earned Bolles a nomination for a Pulitzer prize as well as an established reputation in the journalistic sphere throughout America, including an honorary award in his name at his former college.
Bolles had stopped doing investigative work for various reasons around ten months before he received a phone call on May 27 from a man claiming to have evidence of land fraud schemes implicating the aforementioned Emprise Corporation and well known business and political figures. After speaking briefly, Bolles agreed to meet the man, John Adamson, at 11:25 am on June 2 in the lobby entrance of the Clarendon House hotel in Phoenix. Adamson didn't turn up however, and instead called Bolles to inform him that their meeting was cancelled. Bolles was known to be a cautious man in his investigative days, habitually placing a piece of scotch tape over the front hood of his car so he would know if someone had tampered with his engine. However this wouldn't help Bolles from the six sticks of dynamite that were detonated underneath the vehicle's chassis as he started to pull out of the Phoenix parking lot. As Bolles lay half out the driver's side of the car, bleeding profusely and lapsing in and out of consciousness, he managed to whisper, "They finally got me... Emprise – the Mafia – John Adamson – find him." He died in hospital 11 days later on June 13.
Coincidentally, the newly established IRE had scheduled their first national conference just days after the bombing, and as a result, the meeting was abuzz with different ideas and theories concerning the attack. News of Bolles' murder shocked reporters, "and particularly those of us in the field of investigative reporting," said experienced investigative reporter Clark Mollenhoff. "For years we had proceeded about our business ignoring threats to our lives and our job, more or less assuming that the bosses of organised crime and politics would 'be too smart' to kill a reporter or editor and stir up the whole journalistic community."
The community of journalists were unsurprisingly rattled, projecting fears that subjects of other investigations around the country may be encouraged to act violently toward investigating reporters following the attack on Bolles. After days of discussion, it was decided the best course of action to defend what they considered an assault on press freedom – as well as to signal to the world that reporters could not be muzzled – was to form a team to continue Bolles' work.
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The Arizona Project
The Arizona Project is the first large-scale implementation of collaborative journalism, triggered predominately by the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles and with the support of the newly established nonprofit organisation Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc (IRE). In June 1976, Bolles died due to injuries amassed from a targeted car bombing in Phoenix. Bolles' rich investigative history relating to organised crime in Arizona and the rarity of such a murder indicated to working journalists that this attack was a direct response to his investigations. In the wake of Bolles' death, the Investigative Reporters and Editors organisation conceived The Arizona Project as a way to both continue and honour Bolles' investigative work within Arizona on a larger scale.
With then-Newsday editor, Robert W. Greene overseeing the project, over 40 reporters flooded to Arizona – operating independently from the 23 different news organisations they came from – in an attempt to form together and uncover corruptive relationships between politics, business and organised crime within the state. Their research aimed to expose and portray these deep-rooted links in a series of news articles to then be published nationwide, while also functioning as a message meant to reflect the unity of journalists and the consequences of killing a reporter.
The findings were distributed in numerous publications; however, due to various controversies surrounding the project, some newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post avoided the series. Robert Greene described the findings to a CBS reporter, stating they reveal, "that Arizona is facing a massive problem in organised crime," and the 23-part series indeed exposed names and stories regarding corruption, land fraud, and organised crime in the state."
Donald Fifield Bolles was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey and graduated Teaneck High School in 1946, after which he completed a degree in government at Beloit College. Following a term in the United States Army in the Korean War, Bolles found a job at the Associated Press and by 1962 was hired by The Arizona Republic newspaper.
By age forty seven, Bolles had carved out a career unearthing corruptive practices within the political sphere as well as exposing organised crime in Arizona. In the fourteen years he worked at the Arizona Republic, "he had uncovered secret political slush funds controlled by the state patrol, bribery of state tax commissioners, land fraud, and Mafia influence in a national sports concession firm, Emprise Corporation." Bolles' investigative work was the catalyst for the Arizona State Legislature commanding Emprise Corporation to divest investments in a number of dog and horse racetracks in 1976. Together with another reporter, Bolles released the names of almost 200 organised crime individuals and their respective ties to legitimate companies in Arizona. Investigative work like this earned Bolles a nomination for a Pulitzer prize as well as an established reputation in the journalistic sphere throughout America, including an honorary award in his name at his former college.
Bolles had stopped doing investigative work for various reasons around ten months before he received a phone call on May 27 from a man claiming to have evidence of land fraud schemes implicating the aforementioned Emprise Corporation and well known business and political figures. After speaking briefly, Bolles agreed to meet the man, John Adamson, at 11:25 am on June 2 in the lobby entrance of the Clarendon House hotel in Phoenix. Adamson didn't turn up however, and instead called Bolles to inform him that their meeting was cancelled. Bolles was known to be a cautious man in his investigative days, habitually placing a piece of scotch tape over the front hood of his car so he would know if someone had tampered with his engine. However this wouldn't help Bolles from the six sticks of dynamite that were detonated underneath the vehicle's chassis as he started to pull out of the Phoenix parking lot. As Bolles lay half out the driver's side of the car, bleeding profusely and lapsing in and out of consciousness, he managed to whisper, "They finally got me... Emprise – the Mafia – John Adamson – find him." He died in hospital 11 days later on June 13.
Coincidentally, the newly established IRE had scheduled their first national conference just days after the bombing, and as a result, the meeting was abuzz with different ideas and theories concerning the attack. News of Bolles' murder shocked reporters, "and particularly those of us in the field of investigative reporting," said experienced investigative reporter Clark Mollenhoff. "For years we had proceeded about our business ignoring threats to our lives and our job, more or less assuming that the bosses of organised crime and politics would 'be too smart' to kill a reporter or editor and stir up the whole journalistic community."
The community of journalists were unsurprisingly rattled, projecting fears that subjects of other investigations around the country may be encouraged to act violently toward investigating reporters following the attack on Bolles. After days of discussion, it was decided the best course of action to defend what they considered an assault on press freedom – as well as to signal to the world that reporters could not be muzzled – was to form a team to continue Bolles' work.