Jobs of the Future: Government Reporter

U.S. Senate candidate and former journalist John Dougherty has an interesting campaign promise: if elected, he’ll give jobs to journalists.

It’s not a charity case: Dougherty plans to hire investigative journalists to find abuse and waste in government agencies. The findings, he said, would be used in congressional oversight meetings.

Dougherty has said the journalists would file regular reports with his office. He hasn’t said who would pay the reporters’ salaries, but if their money is coming directly from the government, there would have to be some way to ensure the writers aren’t afraid to bite the hand, etc. etc.

One of Dougherty’s opponents is currently leading in the Arizona primary, but polls have shown that 80% of Democratic voters are as of yet undecided.

Another question: what kind of person works in investigative journalism for 30 years and yet isn’t disillusioned enough to never consider running for office?