Alec Klein presents his experience investigating accounting irregularities at AOL that inflated the company's revenue in the run up to its merger with Time Warner. He received an anonymous tip about an AOL executive's suspension related to accounting. Through contacting numerous sources, Klein discovered that AOL had questionable accounting practices that created the illusion of significant advertising revenue, allowing it to finalize the merger. Klein's Washington Post stories aimed to reveal AOL's financial weaknesses, threatening the merger. AOL fought the stories through legal means, but Klein was ultimately able to publish after meeting with AOL and Post leadership.

1. Presented by Alec Klein Professor, Medill School of Journalism Northwestern University Las Vegas, June 9, 2010

13. But who has time to pursue investigative business stories, especially when you’re on a busy beat and your editor is breathing down your neck to file early and often?

40. Example: Anonymous tipster: “ How did you find me?”